insideKENT Magazine Issue 33 - December 2014 | Page 90

FOOD+DRINK

FRUITS DE MER
Established nearly 30 years ago, local fishmongers, Fruits De Mer, quickly gained a reputation
for supplying high-quality fresh fish and shellfish that is caught daily around the coast of
Thanet and North Kent by the inshore fishing fleet.

Broadstairs-based business, Fruits De Mer, lands
tonnes of fish each week from local fishing boats.
Every morning, at 3am, the catch is sorted,
graded, and processed for sale in the shop and
around the country, as well as exported all over
Europe.
The shop opens at 5am every morning,
after which the different species of fish are
prepared for sale. The popular fishmonger boasts
huge amounts of crabs and lobsters – upwards
of several thousand per week – for cooking,
dressing, or selling live.
In addition to supplying over 200 r staurants
e
and pubs in the surrounding Kent area, Fruits
De Mer also supplies fine dining Michelin-starred
restaurants in London with high-quality prime
fish such as turbot, brill, Dover sole, and linecaught bass.

With over 18 boats landing, and over 200
tonnes of fish delivered each year, Fruits De Mer
has one of the largest varieties in the country. In
fact, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall used some of
the fishmongers’ boats to highlight his fight
against the dumping of dead fish back overboard
for his TV campaign, Fish Fight, during which
some of the fleet sailed up the Thames to protest
outside the Houses of Parliament. Fruits De Mer
also supplied the fish used for cooking on the
TV series.
Fruits De Mer has catered for many
prestigious events including the Queen’s dinner
at Turner Contemporary, the Ferrari race team
at the Monte Carlo Grand Prix, and various TV
programmes such as the Great British Menu. It
also provides catering and fish-practice needs

90

for many colleges, plus it trains many E H officers
in the knowledge of fish.
The store not only holds a five-star hygiene
award, but it's mentioned in many magazines,
and regarded as one of the finest fishmongers
in the country.
As well as selling top quality produce, the
team are more than happy to offer any advice
on cooking or preparing the many different
species of fish available.

10 The Broadway, Broadstairs
P