It’s The Cods Scallops!
John Molnar knows good pubs; he is behind four respected gastro pubs, ‘The Moleface Pub Company’ in the East Midlands, which are well known for quality and locally sourced seasonal produce. Realising that fish and chips were the best sellers in the pubs, John and his team saw a gap in the area for a fish and chip restaurant that offers a wide variety of produce at a high standard and since The Cods Scallops has opened its doors in September in Nottingham, it hasn’t disappointed.
‘We saw how popular fish and chips were in our pubs so knew it would be a good concept to create a hybrid model between a gastro pub and a fish and chip shop,’ John explained. ‘Sourcing good quality produce is a key element to me so for this shop I wanted to have fresh fish delivered daily and where possible sustainable. I wanted to offer more than just cod, haddock and plaice and I have a good relationship with my fishmongers; we actually offer between 12 to 14 different types of fish in the shop every day.’ Customers aren’t just spoilt for choice with the variety of fish in their Wet Fish Counter, the fish can also all be prepared the way the customer wants it and the chefs are more than happy to give advice on how best to cook the customers’ sea food at home.
Although John had vast experience of catering, he had never worked in the fish and chip industry before so him and his team researched into the different types of fryers available. ‘I wanted to buy the best, so we went to the best places like Steins and Mitch Tonks and saw they had a Florigo. I soon realised that Florigo were the Porsche of ranges!’ And how has the 4 pan wall range performed? ‘Phenomenally!’ John answered. ‘It’s a very clever piece of kit: the recovery time as well as the filtration.’
Frying Solutions didn’t just provide him with a phenomenal fryer; Robert Furey gave John key advice on the layout: ‘As the type of food is such as massive focus Rob suggested having our range at the back of the shop so we can display what we are cooking more. Rob also arranged for key members of my staff to work in a working chip shop, Ruddys in Gloucester, for the day so they could get a real feel of how the range works in a busy shop environment.’
John and his team took a risk with this new concept as their benchmark has previously been their other pubs, but it is a risk that has paid off: ‘Business is phenomenal,’ John revealed. ‘We had a massive start which has although reduced slightly, it’s been very, very good. We’re actually looking to roll the concept out to other places and we’ll be definitely calling on Florigo again!’
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