Former chef opens new seafood processing plant in Edinburgh

A seafood company run by a former chef has officially opened a new processing facility in Sighthill, Edinburgh, reinforcing its commitment to keeping Scottish seafood production rooted in Scottish soil.

The move by the Scottish Seafood Company substantially increases the volume of fish and shellfish it can supply, says chief executive Campbell Mickel.

He spent 37 years as a chef before buying long-established fishmonger Eddie’s Seafood Market in Marchmont, Edinburgh, and then developing the Scottish Seafood Company as a wholesale business.

The opening of the processing plant comes at the time when two Scottish businesses that had previously supplied meat and fish have ended their seafood processing operations in the country.

Processing 'belongs in Scotland'

“Whilst others may be looking elsewhere, we believe passionately that Scotland’s seafood industry belongs in Scotland. Our new facility allows us to showcase the very best that our waters and our people have to offer,” said Mickel.

The Scottish Seafood Company sources fish from from Peterhead and Shetland markets, and has boats working for it “from Amble to Stornoway”, says Mickel.

“We buy direct from the salmon farmers, a couple of tonnes per week, and we’re now in a position where we’ve opened a processing unit with a sushimi cutting room, whitefish cutting room, crab / shellfish cooking room, and beside that we have a processing room for the picked crab, lobster, etc.

“We have a shellfish holding facility where we have a 2,500 litre tank, a 1,100 litre tank, and in my shop we also have a 1,500 litre tank. So we’ve got a facility that can dramatically increase the volume that we were doing.”

Scotland, England, Spain

He adds: “We want to do an awful lot more business in Scotland, we then want to look at sending a couple of trucks a week down to England. If we have to go as far as London, we know that’s where there’s plenty of business available. And we’re looking at a once-a-week delivery into northern Spain, to San Sebastian.”

Mickel started off in the fish business with himself, his wife, and a filleter who had worked in Eddie’s for his entire 30-plus year career. The staff now numbers eight, and he’s hoping to take on a first filleting apprentice next week.

Embracing aquaculture

The fish seller is a keen proponent of aquaculture, which he sees as essential for future fish supply. 

“We have to embrace aquaculture. We have to improve what it does, how it does it, but it’s here to stay and we have to support that industry,” he says.

“As a young chef, back in the late Eighties, I worked in a high end restaurant in Edinburgh and we used to take in a halibut maybe once a month that was 150-200 kilos, minimum. It would take three or four guys to bring it into the kitchen.

“These fish don’t really exist any more. If you go into Peterhead market you’ll see 3kg halibut on the pallet. It’s a shame that Gigha Halibut isn’t available at the moment but it’s great that the Norwegians are making great inroads into farming halibut. It has to be done. I try to promote farmed halibut to chefs because it is an excellent product. It’s very stable in price and it’s available 52 weeks of the year.”

A chef's passion

The Scottish Seafood Company has a long list of satisfied customers, including high end and world-famous restaurants across Scotland.

“Working closely with Campbell and his team is a joy. We know he can be relied upon for the very best quality and his service is fantastic. He genuinely cares about the products and displays a chef’s passion for everything he supplies,” says Douglas Roberts, executive chef at The Witchery.

And Harajuku, the multi-award-winning Japanese food and sushi restaurant, has been a long-standing customer for sashimi grade fish from the Scottish Seafood Company.