A day with Conseiller Culinaire – Ben Purton

Most offices contain desks, computers and meeting rooms. Ben Purton’s new office contains live lobsters, oysters, fish, automated processing equipment and a fully functioning demonstration kitchen.

The Chaîne is often fortunate to gain access to places that many food lovers never get to see, and a recent visit to Daily Fish Supplies was a fascinating glimpse into the scale, precision and passion behind one of the UK’s leading seafood suppliers. Members were given a behind-the-scenes look at the company’s impressive facility, which has recently expanded from approximately 12,000 sq ft to 24,000 sq ft.

The tour showcased every stage of the operation, from live lobster tanks and frozen storage to fresh fish processing. Highlights included automated scaling equipment and precision filleting machinery capable of portioning fish to within just 4 grams, providing valuable insight into the scale and sophistication behind a modern seafood supplier. The range of products was equally impressive, spanning fresh and frozen fish, oysters, scallops, smoked salmon and a variety of shellfish.

Following the tour, we gathered in Ben Purton’s new “office” – a purpose-built demonstration kitchen and chef’s table space – for a memorable tasting lunch. The menu featured trout ceviche tacos, Isle of Wight tomatoes with stracciatella, deep-fried razor clams with harissa-spiked Marie Rose sauce, sea bream with samphire and broccolini, monkfish with nduja and couscous, and a hake slider paired with Powder Monkey’s Empress beer. A refreshing lemon sorbet provided the perfect finale.

Our thanks go to Daily Fish Supplies and GB’s Conseiller Culinaire, Ben Purton, for an informative and delicious visit. What a unique opportunity to better understand the journey from supplier to plate!

You can find Ben on his Instagram @chefbenpurton and Daily Fish Supplies website at https://www.dailyfishsupplies.co.uk