fish! hooked on Kiremko

fish!Kitchen, East Sheen, Surrey

Celebrity chef Tony Allan opened his third fish!Kitchen in November last year adding to the two he already owns in Borough Market, London, and Kingston, Surrey. The upmarket chippy remains true to its original premise on which it was originally founded; fresh, sustainable fish, simply prepared and fairly priced.

All its fish and shellfish, and there is everything on offer from cod, skate and pollock to halibut, lobsters and prawns, is sourced solely from sustainable stocks and is guaranteed to offer complete traceability. Specials of the day are scribbled on chalk boards that hang over the chefs’ heads while an open planned layout means customers can watch as their chosen dish is fried or grilled in front of their eyes. It’s not surprising then that the restaurant is already serving well in excess of 700 covers a week, and that’s not even taking into account the takeaway operation.

A shop this busy needs a range that can perform, and for executive chef Nick Melmoth Coombs, there was only one in the running – Kiremko. “We have a Kiremko range in our Borough Market shop and it’s always been extremely efficient and offers the same high quality and taste time after time. This is extremely important to us, especially during peak periods as I don’t want people standing in the queue for longer than five minutes.”

The range, which sits proudly in the shop window, has an impressive five pans, as well as a chip box and a built in scrap box. “The scrap box was incorporated specifically for us as we are tight on space behind the range and couldn’t afford to accommodate a mobile unit,” explains Nick. The range also boasts automatic filtration, which Nick says is a joy to use. “One minute we can be frying calamari, the next white bait, so we can literally filter during the middle of service if need be and it’s ready for the next fish.”

Nick also has praise for the technicians who installed the range and had it up and running before anything else in the shop was ready. “The service they gave was very efficient and they worked with our engineers on a number of structural issues. For example, we didn’t have room on the roof for two sets of plant equipment, so they combined it with the kitchen ventilation and it pulls through very fast.”

FACTS

Fish!Kitchen only serves large portions of fish, around 200g each as Nick says this is the best way to eat it!

As well as traditional fish and chips, the restaurant also offers twists on the classic dishes for example a swordfish club sandwich

Over-expansion of the company and an aggressive opening programme saw the fish! chain collapse in 2002. However, owner Tony Allan bought back several of the sites some years later with Borough Market the first to re-open four years ago

Allan also owns Jarvis the Fishmonger located next door to its Kingston shop. Trading for over 60 years, it offers not only a wide selection of fish and shellfish species but also game fare and gourmet foods

Fry Monthly - February 2010.