Cockles and whelks

Didn't use to be a fan of these shellfish, but after trying this recipe I'm converted.  It's for Red Hot Cockles, and they are red hot!  You can always omit the chilli if you make this recipe, then it could just be called Red Cockles!  Find the recipe at http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/Whelks__winkles_and_cockles.html

Gareth was at the opening of Reading's Christmas celebrations last week, feeding the penguins!

Fox on the pitch!

Brave fox on the pitch at Crystal Palace vs Reading on Saturday!  He didn't seem to want to leave.  Lots of urban foxes around, it's rumoured that they are caught and dumped out in the country - we see plenty out here in the Somerset countryside where our office is, but they seem very used to country ways, so maybe this is an urban myth!http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/

New animals - is this a fishmonger or an animal sanctuary?

New cats this week, from a friend who couldn't keep them - Freddie and Ollie.  And a new hen as company for our cockerel.  And took in a feral cat, but he had to be put down the next day, he had Plasma Cell Pododermatitis or "pillow foot", this seems to be an increasing problem.  His feet were lacerated and he was in great pain.  We have a pet cat with this problem, but she doesn't go places where her feet will be damaged and so far she has escaped any real problems.  RIP Bernard.

Donkeys, dolphins, foxes and fish

Kevin's talking about his life as a fishmonger and about the "animal sanctuary" this evening, to a women's group near Reading.  His talk always ends with his famous story of the dolphin.  If you'd like to hear it, follow this link

http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/A_fishmonger_s_life.html

The dog and the mule

This blog is supposed to be about the joys of herring roe, it's just arrived back at the shop, it's only £4 for 250g, but it doesn't look very nice raw, so I'm going to wait until I've cooked some.  It's very nice on toast (apparently).  Have a look instead at this photo of the mule, I've just put him on our website, together with the dog.  They look much more attractive!http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/The_animal_sanctuary.html

The Best Small Shops in Britain Awards 2012

It's that time again, the Daily Telegraph is asking for nominations for the Best Small Shops in Britain, here's a link to find the nomination form
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/promotions/8776059/Telegraph-Best-Small-Shops-in-Britain-Awards-2011.html
(not asking for nominations, just letting you know where to nominate shops - there are a lot of categories, so don't stop at us!!!)

Cat finds home in fishmonger's animal sanctuary

Just found another blog that mentions one of the cats in the "animal sanctuary" - how lucky he was to have found a home in an animal sanctuary run by fishmongers!  Sorry, can't find this blog again.

http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/The_animal_sanctuary.html

Bring back smoked mackerel - it's great!

Smoked mackerel on offer! Including peppered smoked mackerel. 

Smoked mackerel is often disregarded, but it's a great time-saver, and there is something very more-ish about it.  And if you are in a hurry, a quick lunch or supper only takes minutes - all you need is some fresh granary bread and butter and a wedge of lemon, or make life easy and buy some ready made potato salad.  And if you whizz it in a food processor with some creme fraiche it makes a great starter, we had it once with some smoked salmon pate, the two together looked great!  And there's something about that great smokey taste!  Two fillets, at least 150g, are only £2.75, just for a week. In case you are thinking "they were only £2.45 last week!" that's because we've now started selling them in pairs, because they come to us in nice gold packs! So, two fillets for £2.75 compared to one fillet last week at £2.45!
You'll find it here
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/smoked_mackerel.html

Seafish recipe!

Seafish has just started a Facebook page, a blog starts on Saturday.  What is Seafish?  It used to be the Sea Fish Industry Authority, so we're glad they changed their name!  There's a great recipe at
http://www.facebook.com/fishisthedish

but we don't agree that the best scollops come from the west coast of Scotland, ours are from Shetland, and they are the best!

Christmas isn't far away!

Planning Christmas already? I'm just not that organised, but I admire you, if YOU are! A hamper of fish and shellfish from The Smelly Alley Fish Company is an ideal gift for that hard-to-please relative, or your boss, or your colleagues, or ...
You'll find all the help you need in choosing YOUR present here
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/

Town centres - parking, traffic, do you feel welcome in your town?

We are a Reading company, based in the centre of town. Does anybody have any comments on coming to Reading - parking availability and charges, parking wardens, traffic flow, etc? Do you feel you are welcome in the town, or are other towns more welcoming? What's the parking/traffic situation in your town? It would be good to have your comments.

Crabs down £2 each at The Smelly Alley Fish Company

We've got some great crabs in at the moment.  And they are down in price by £2 each!  Foreigners to Britian are always envious at the quality of our crabs, they are the best in the world.  You'll find them at http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/crabs_and_crabmeat.html

Radio Berkshire at The Smelly Alley Fish Company
Kevin the fishmonger on Radio Berkshire this morning, Nicki Whiteman in the shop early! Talking about sustainability - Kevin deeply convinced that the future of the UK lies in leaving Europe, especially with regard to the fishing industry. Fish is an asset that is worth more than all the oil we can produce, it was sold off to Europe when we joined and since then our fish, our fishing and our fishermen have suffered greatly. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's fish campaign has highlighted the fact that half the fish caught in the North Sea is thrown back dead - an example of the nonsense that comes out of Europe.
Interviewer Nicki Whiteman's children love fish, and has given Kevin the challenge of giving her some more unusual fish that she can cook for them that they will like. We'll wait and see what fish he suggests and how Nicki's children like it!

Angler catches a scuba diver

From The Telegraph last month
John Goldfinch, 61, was fishing for mackerel on the beach at Budleigh Salterton, Devon, with mates Colin and Alan Ashley when he felt a huge bite.

The thrilled lifelong angler had to fight to reel in the catch as he looked forward to netting a massive fish.

But his excitement turned to shock when his hook surfaced about 15 metres offshore to reveal the hapless frogman.

To add insult to injury the struggling diver had been hooked between his legs.

Mr Goldfinch, of Exmouth, said: "My mates were falling about laughing. I said 'sorry mate, I didn't see you there' and he just said it was very murky down there.

The Good Produce Guide 2011 Rose Prince has sought out the best independent food producers on the market. From farm shops to food markets, to delis, producers, pickyour-owns and websites, this book highlights the people who go the extra mile to make something remarkable to eat. If you are passionate about delicious food, and love shopping for it, The Good Produce Guide 2011 will be an indispensable handbook.

Rose Prince, is an expert food writer and award-winning Telegraph columnist, and now gives you her personal recommendations. Rose’s manifesto is to celebrate good food: she believes passionately in the importance of buying from a source you can trust, and as often as possible, from local producers.

... And The Smelly Alley Fish Company is there! This is not a guide in which you pay for an entry, it's Rose Prince's choice.

We've got five copies to send FREE to the next five orders we receive, just write GOOD PRODUCE as well as your delivery instructions in the box where we ask for your preferred delivery day - you'll find this box as you go through to checkout.

Cockles, clams, whelks and winkles

The Smelly Alley Fish Company was mentioned in The Independent a couple of weeks ago
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/shore-things-cockles-clams-whelks-and-winkles-2350945.html
in a very interesting article about cockles, clams, whelks and winkles. 
Find them on the Smelly Alley site at
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/Whelks__winkles_and_cockles.html
and
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/Clams.html

Wonderful old-fashioned smoked haddock

http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/Just got some smoked haddock pieces in at £8 for 1kg, they are a bargain, and ideal for pasta, kedgeree, fish pies, or just to poach in the microwave and have with some bread and butter as a quick treat.

Wild seabass

We like Stevie Parle in the Saturday Telegraph, he knows a lot about fish, he was talking about wild seabass this week.
The reason farmed seabass are not as good as wild is, once again, related to supermarkets and their need for cheap food (not that cheap is always economical!).  Cheap fish are small fish, and small bass are not as good as large bass.  That's why we are selling large farmed bass at the moment!
You'll find him at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/recipes/8765626/Going-wild-for-fresh-sea-bass-recipes.html

Blowing our own trumpet!

Don't wish to blow our own trumpet (well, we do, really), but here are a few quotes from customers in the past two months.  I didn't ask permission to use these quotes, so no names!
"Just wanted to say that the last box was wonderful. We really loved it!"
"Just wanted to say so far kebabs and clams consumed and all very good...thank you. Will definitely be replenishing very soon."
"Fantastic service and you're obviously good at what you do."
"Your site is really easy to use, which is very important!"
"The fish & shellfish we have bought from you is fantastic, the service excellent & the only other place that has such good fish is Borrough Market."

Fish on Fridays!

Just heard that the Catholic church is recommending a return to meat-free Fridays.  Just put this photo on Facebook, it's a reminder of the joys of home-made fish and chips.  Eating fish on Fridays used to be common in many households, not just Catholic, but it also meant that horrible fish we used to have for school dinners, this is a reminder of how good fish can be!

Just remembering the old days (well, I have been a fishmonger for 45 years!) when I had a chance to buy some lampreys at Billingsgate.  In those days nobody worried about refrigeration and I was using my old Mini Clubman because my van had broken down.  Some must have escaped while I was driving back to Reading and I wasn't popular with my wife later in the day, she found lampreys dropping off the headlining onto her as she was driving.  They are like tiny eels that stick with their mouth to prey and suck the blood.  Lucky they thought the headlining was the prey and not my wife!  Henry I apparently died from eating too many lampreys, and according to Wiki, the Queen had a coronation pie of lampreys made by the RAF.

The rugby!

What's been popular?  A pint of prawns to go with that pint of the other stuff while you're watching the rugby!  You'll find the prawns at http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/

There is no shortage of fun in a shop like ours.  A customer came in late one evening and wanted salmon.  She told me that she had only days to go before her baby was born, and wanted wild salmon.  I said I only had wild sea trout and a lot of other wild fish.  But no, she could only eat wild salmon in her condition.  She walked off from the shop saying "I must find some somewhere", she was walking in the direction of the Kennet where there has recently been a sighting of wild salmon.  I can only assume she is trying to find it!

Rugby's keeping everybody at home

Rugby seems to be keeping everybody at home - even our local pub was quiet on Sunday night.  We had great meal of sardines and smoked salmon plus their home made air-dried ham.  Had to get home early to take delivery of 15 ducks and 11 geese to add to the menagerie - the owner has died and his wife can't look after all this lot as she is out at work all day.  If you look at http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/The_animal_sanctuary.html
you'll see the beginnings of a compilation of all the animals down on the fishmonger's farm. 

There's a lot of delicious no-cook fish and shellfish to enjoy, find them at
http://www.thesmellyalleyfishcompany.co.uk/acatalog/No-cook_fish.html
- nothing better than a pint and a pint glass of prawns to work your way through while watching the rugby!

The Smelly Alley Fish Company was voted Reading Retailer of the Year on the 2nd, well done Kevin, Gareth and Ricky!  The awards were presented at the Madejski Stadium by The Apprentice's Nick Hewer.