Introducing Janet Bee

Janet ready to cook up a storm at our head office

This month we feature our mother hen, Quality and Process improvement leader Janet Bee. We managed to catch her last Wednesday in our office in Barton on Humber (it’s not as easy as you might think, even in a relatively small building. Mrs Bee is always running around doing something or other at top speed!)

Janet has a vast knowledge of the fishing industry and processes at all levels and so she is a key member of the Regal team and the lady who most people go to for answers on just about anything!

What does a typical day at Regal Fish Supplies involve for you?

It varies depending on whether I’m at the office or factory. I might be auditing at the factory, attempting to interpret some new legislation, working in schools or nurseries teaching children about Seafood and healthy eating or cooking up some delicious fish dishes at the office – every day is different!

 What led you to Regal and how did you learn your trade?

My background is food microbiology and I’ve spent most of my working life in a laboratory. The opportunity to work at Regal meant I had less travelling and a more varied (and dare I say less pressured) job role. Working in a laboratory is almost 24/7 so it’s still amazing to wake up on a Saturday morning and not have to go to work and great not having to worry about how to cook the Christmas dinner and go to work as well – unfortunately bacteria don’t have holidays!

 What’s your favourite Fishy recipe?

Difficult to answer because I’m continually trying out different ideas so last week’s favourite is not necessarily this weeks! I suppose if I have to pick one it’s my easy peasy battered fish – works every time and never gets any complaints though I did like my fish topped with mushy peas and chopped chips idea and the smoked haddock scotch eggs were a success…….see what I mean??!!

 How about your favourite Regal ready prepared product?

At the moment I would say our new cod in white wine and tarragon is up there with the colcannon to go with it!

 What do you like to do in your spare time?

Oh lots of different things – I have an allotment where me and my assistant gardener (my husband) grow fruit and vegetables or rather where I grow fruit and vegetables and the assistant gardener wiles away the time conversing knowledgably about growing fruit and vegetables to any passing stranger while leaning heavily on a spade! I like to cook and bake bread, make jams and jellies (from all the fruit!), read and make jewellery (not all at the same time of course) and spend many happy hours in my little summer house den where I keep all my ‘witchy’ stuff – crystals, tarot cards, runes, my pendulum, spells etc etc.

 Tell us something we didn’t know about you.

I’m a witch but a green one!

Finally what would be your favourite Quote?

Quote would be ‘All is well’ and as for favourite word, after going to see Miranda at her show in Leeds I would have to agree with her that ‘plunge’ is a good word – you only have to say it a couple of times and it makes you feel so much better – or is it just me!

 Thank you very much for your time Janet, we’ll let you get back to cooking up a storm!

#FRD2014

We went to St Peters school  to celebrate ‘Food revolution day’ and what a fantastic time we had!

We worked with a very enthusiastic class of 30 year 2 children, between the ages of 6 and 7 and the feedback we received from the children was amazing.

First Janet sat with the children and gave a presentation about healthy eating, the food groups and how seafood can be beneficial to the way their body works.

The children were engrossed by the presentation

The pupils then went and worked out which of the ingredients they would like to use in their recipe from the seafood and vegetables we brought for them.

Our budding chefs worked together to create ‘fishy masterpieces’

The kids loved getting involved and putting together their recipes. Some of the kids chose Salmon whilst others preferred prawns, they all made sure they topped up their bakes and pies with lots of scrummy vegetables!

Fishy quizzes and activities

Whilst we worked with a handful of children at a time, the other children took part in ‘fishy’ activities, quizzes and games and had a great time learning more about how fish are caught and the sustainable fishing methods used by the fishermen. We also answered questions about the different species of fish.

For some of the kids it’s the first time they have prepared their own meal so it was all very exciting!

We really enjoyed ourselves and were so please that the kids had an excellent time too. The following week we received a lovely envelope from the class teacher with a thank you letter from each of the children that attended. Here are some of the fantastic comments…

Thank you very much for teaching us about fish. I enjoyed the activities and making the fish pie! – Kyle Jackson

I really enjoyed eating it! – Libby Robinson

I ate all of it and it tasted yummy, thankyou. – Kaysha Cockling

Thankyou very much, I enjoyed making the fish pie and eating it. I shared it with my sister! – Blake Kirby

We learned lots about healthy food and fish and how it makes us strong! – Harry Ford

Such a delicious pie – Stevie White

The fish pie was yummy! – Libby Killick

Thankyou for helping to teach me about fish, I ate all of my fish pie and liked it – Roxanne Miszewska

I ate my fish pie for tea and it was fabulous – Maddison Lewis

The pie was gorgeous! – Chloe Pettit

My favourite part of the pie was the salmon – Emma Barke

We had an amazing time at Castledyke school in Barton today. We were given a class of 30 year 6 pupils to work with and they had some brilliant ideas and comments.

Janet gives the children a brief presentation on healthy eating, the food groups and the benefits of including seafood.

Once Janet had given her presentation, the kids were given a huge list of ingredients to work with and they sat and worked out a recipe. They then had the opportunity to put together their fish bake.

Some of the year 6 pupils putting together their fish bakes.

The children had an extensive list of vegetables to choose from and they did a brilliant job of working out what went together and what herbs and spices would compliment them. They also chose which type of seafood they would like in their dish and although some of them hadn’t tasted some of the types, they were keen to embrace it.

They worked together fantastically!

We were so pleased with how the day went. The kids learnt a great deal about the types of foods they should be eating and they didn’t shy away from the healthy foods and trying new foods too.

Making healthy choices.. all the children were keen to pack their bakes with nutritious vegetables and healthy seafood.

We were glad to hear the kids enjoyed the day as much as we did and they are now as fanatical about fish and healthy eating as we are! 🙂