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Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
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Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
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Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
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Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
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Rockfish Brixham
Rockfish Brixham
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rockfish Brixham
How does the new restaurant fit in with the Rockfish grand plan?
“We didn’t want a cookie cutter roll out approach for the restaurants so Brixham will bring something new. Dartmouth has it’s own cozy character, Torquay is very local, Plymouth is just fantastic down by the water but Brixham will have its own identity. We’ve put a big investment of £0.5 million into Brixham. “Our ethos for Brixham is good seafood with a mail order business. We’re launching a gateway from the harbour to businesses in London. We sold 35 per cent of the company the year before last to raise money to expand Rockfish.
“Our whole business model is very focused on our aim that our restaurants should be a big part of a community. That’s why we sponsor local events such as music festivals and make sure we employ all out staff from the towin in which we operate e.g. Rockfish Brixham will employ 40 staff, all from Brixham.
“We employ 120 to 150 people across the Rockfish group during our peak times. 90% of our money is made between April and October and so we employ our ‘seasonairs’ who come to us like a ski season and then go back to university. We take great satisfaction in helping to build a proper career for our staff through training and empowerment.
“We want to create a solid business, not one we’re building up to sell and float its equity. It’s something that is solid here; a typical Rockfish should be a real beacon for the town in which it sits. People have been very welcoming and we’ve received lots of support from Brixham.”
How is Rockfish different to other restaurants particularly those serving mostly fish & chips?
“It’s hard to find chefs that are comfortable with our ethos. Most don’t want to cook simple food; they want something more complicated. We’re more bespoke than a fish and chip shop but we’re still about good simple food. We create our own seafood cooks within our 12-week training programme. We also send our trainees up to London to experience working in kitchens there with friends of ours.
Do you think the new Rockfish will attract new visitors to Brixham?
“I think it will. There’s a lot of goodwill towards us here, probably more in Brixham than we’ve experienced elsewhere, possibly due to our obvious investment in the town.
“The people of Brixham are proud of Brixham and we all want the town to be better. There are great businesses here already and people are now rebranding their shops. Brixham is on the way up and people are talking about it. Different people are coming into the town. I love Brixham.
“When the Fishermen’s Mission was at the harbour, two ladies used to cook seafood taken fresh from the market in the morning and serve it with cups of tea. I’ve taken many people, including Rick Stein, up there to the original café until sadly the mission moved on.
We wanted to bring that tradition back by opening up the seafood café for breakfast at seven in the morning for the market workers and those who want to get up and experience it. And also come along and have a brandy! Market workers around the world have a shot of something with their breakfast.”
Do you get a kick out of this process of refurbishment leading up to an opening?
“I adore it, the whole conception of how our restaurant will look and feel and wouldn’t do it if it didn’t give me a buzz. We manage the whole project ourselves and are constantly making decisions as we go along. It can be a bit stressful as our furniture and furnishings, the kitchen equipment etc are all brought in from off site at the last moment. We just hope that when it arrives it’s okay.
“This will be my 24th restaurant in 48 years, from small cafes to big spaces, so it does get easier. I look at a space and instantly know what’s going to work. I walk around and absorb it for a day or two to feel the space. Mat (business partner Mat Prowse) and me have worked together for 20 years. We both think very laterally. I move, he moves; we’re like one body, it’s an invaluable link.”
What makes the restaurant experience successful?
“It’s in the little details and trying to create that thing you can’t quite put your finger on. Someone wrote about it recently and called it ‘restaurant umami’, the sixth taste. It’s something in the décor, food and service. Somehow or another there is a feeling of really liking a place, an ethereal feeling. For me it’s creating the invisible, the warmth, in every single detail – from the poster on the wall, to the staff uniform, to what goes on the table.
It’s all about attention to detail. We’re only as good as our worst detail. I think the food is 35 to 40 per cent of the experience. Most of it is from the service you receive as soon as you walk in to a restaurant, including the welcome we give you.
“Simple food is the hardest to get right. Cooking a piece of fish smothered in sauce on beautiful crockery in a beautiful setting is easier than just grilling or frying it. Everyone knows a good chip from a bad chip, what greasy batter tastes like, and old fish from new fish.
“We have the same production process in all our Rockfish restaurants. We keep our detail and consistency right and have the preparation done before people walk through the door. If you’re not prepared, something will go wrong.”
Is the Rockfish brand following a long-term plan or developing as it goes along?
“Our first Rockfish in Dartmouth was simply an opportunity we wanted to develop. We thought ‘we want to do a fried fish restaurant’ and we did it and got stuck into it. We’re always developing new ideas and thoughts. When we thought we’d like another one we expanded and thought about what Rockfish is all about. It’s about restaurants by the sea, fresh fish, family and making seafood accessible to all.
“Our brand guidelines apply to everything, including t-shirts etc. We ask is it real? Is it authentic? .
“But it’s not calculated – we’ve got no business plan that says this, this and this. I saw a site recently and thought ‘I love it’. I spoke to Mat and we’ve started a process. We don’t plan to open a restaurant every month, more likely one a year.”
Do you think good food destinations are important in helping regenerate seaside towns?
“Yes, I think they’re key to be honest. Look at Marylebone High Street in London ten years ago. It was a boarded up charity shop. Landlords there realised that to create a neighbourhood they needed great food shops and so brought in a couple of anchor tenants – a great cheese maker, great baker, great butcher. Marylebone High Street is now probably one of the most valuable bits of real estate in London, and one of the most vibrant.
“Everyone knows that living by the sea is fantastic. It’s certainly a better life than the city in terms of quality of air etc. But we don’t tend to live here because there’s not a lot to do or much going on. If you put something in the town it’ll attract other things and then people will come and in turn attracting more. Before you know it, you’ve got Padstow. I love walking around Padstow, with its great wine and food shops. Walking around there, you feel like you’re somewhere in the Mediterranean.”
Are you living the dream down here?
“When I moved to Devon to open The Seahorse in Dartmouth, it was about fulfilling a lifelong dream of living by the sea, being a restaurateur and living here with the kids.
“In reality, two years later after I moved, I lost all my money and then the stock market crash happened and we had to rebuild our lives. The big 50 was fast approaching and I’d already got the ambition to open Rockfish. My wife and I sat down and reasoned we didn’t want a bigger house, a bigger boat or faster car, so decided we would just build a great business and work in it. We have no great ambitions to sell it on and make millions of pounds but just carry on having a great life here.
“We love living here in Brixham - this is one Rockfish I can see from my bedroom window! I love the town and being active in the business. In that way, it’s a very rewarding lifestyle. It’s actually my 50th next year. I shall relax a bit so I’m taking my little boat out to the Med and doing a transatlantic crossing in November, albeit on something a bit bigger with a few friends.”
Visit www.therockfish.co.uk to find out lots more on Rockfish including menus and opening times.
First published By The Dart July 2015 Issue
