Due to the recent government announcement detailing lockdown plans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have received a lot of enquiries from customers asking how this will affect our service. We would like to reassure you that we are still delivering!
We are open for business as usual!
We implemented a number of changes to our service back in March/April including the introduction of ‘contactless deliveries’ which we have maintained for the safety of our drivers and customers. This has been positively received and as a result has meant that we can continue the same excellent service with minimal disruption.
All of the risk assessments have been in place and continuously reviewed over the past few months and all staff are provided with full PPE. Paired with daily temperature checks on all staff, face coverings throughout all of our buildings and increased hygiene measures we are confident that we are ‘Covid secure’.
We have implemented measures to ensure a covid secure business
We experienced an increase in orders since the initial lockdown and are very pleased to say that there was minimal impact on the service. We expect that this will be the same this time around however we ask you to please bear with us as the telephone lines and website may seem a little slow from time to time and our drivers may experience delays as they try to manage an increased number of drops.
In the event that a product becomes unavailable on the day of delivery, we may offer a similar substitution which you can choose to decline. This is a service that we offer so that you are not left without product but at the moment we do not expect any issues.
Once again thank you very much for your custom and loyalty, we hope that we can once again get through the upcoming lockdown without any disruption to the service and that all of our staff and customers stay safe!
It’s the 22nd annual curry week and like we need an excuse to eat curry, but we thought we would share the love and show you some of the best recipes we have tried and tested over the past few years!
To top it off we have a special offer pack containing two of our bestselling products which are perfect for your home made curries. Scroll to the bottom to find out more information about our cod loin and king prawn special.
Here are some of our favourite seafood curry recipes…
Goan Cod Curry, located on the west coast of India, regional cuisine known for seafood and coconut milk
If you prefer something ready made, we have a fantastic Hake and King Prawn Balti supplied as a frozen ready meal which we are sure you will love!
Regal Hake and King Prawn Balti
Delicious hake and king prawns in a balti sauce, not too spicy but packed with flavour. £5.95 each and currently on a triple offer, buy 3 and save £1.25.
Great British Food Fortnight (and why we think it’s particularly Great in Grimsby!)
An aerial view of Grimsby’s Dock Tower by Grimsby Telegraph
If you’re a customer of ours, you will know that we are proud of our Grimsby roots. You’ll have likely seen our gushing Grimsby stories either in our brochure or on our regular updates on social media, but we honestly believe that Grimsby is Great and we make it our business to ensure that the nation has easy access to Grimsby produce.
So much so that we have recently joined the Grimsby FMA (Fish Merchants Association) and you will soon notice that a lovely new logo will appear on many of our ready prepared products featuring the strap line ‘Made Great in Grimsby’.
We have been fortunate enough to hold our own as one of the nations best fishmongers and are proud to have been able to deliver the best seafood products Grimsby has to offer to homes nationwide for over 30 years!
What makes our service so special is that we only purchase what we need to fulfill the sales in the system. So we take orders from our customers over the phone or on our website ready for a delivery date the following week. Meaning there is no waste or old product to sell on, therefore our customers can be confident in the ultimate freshness.
Our system allows David Hussey our Fresh Purchasing Manager to have advance notice of exactly what is required, then he has the important job of sourcing the best available product.
Dave has worked in the Seafood industry for over 45 years and since welcoming him over 6 years ago the company has seen some changes in how we are able to source our fresh fish. His extensive knowledge and contacts in the UK, Iceland and Norway have allowed us to move our supply to where the fish is in peak season and plentiful.
As well as regular purchases from Grimsby market we have connections with several other markets, we buy from Cornwall and much of our white fish comes from Scotland or Shetland.
MTL Smokehouse of Grimsby has supplied our traditionally smoked products since 1989
With fresh fish being at the centre of our business of course it would be easier for us to concentrate on ensuring the quality of our market fresh fish and to simply supply a range of mass produced ready meals and prepared products that compliment. But our ethos is ‘best seafood, best service and best advice’ and the same goes for our ready prepared range.
Lincolnshire and indeed Grimsby have some of the finest producers and we are glad to share our love for the best quality seafood, combined with bespoke recipes, expert techniques and careful handling from artisan producers which we believe is what help to set us apart.
Much of the fresh fish that goes through our factory is frozen daily by us and goes into some of our prepared products, we also source the best quality fillets and portions to the exact specification required for our handmade bakes and meals.
Chapmans of Grimsby whom we have worked closely with for almost 20 years!
We regularly promote our artisan suppliers and believe our relationship with local producers like Chapmans of Grimsby is fundamental. We are constantly comparing quality and looking at new products and suppliers from Grimsby so that we can offer a range of delicious products that you wont find in the supermarket.
We’ve put together a list of our favourite ‘locally made products from Grimsby’, we don’t like to blow our own trumpet but we are pretty sure you will be impressed with what Grimsby has to offer!
Regal Wellingtons have been the best selling gourmet product in our catalogue for over 20 years! With various flavours to choose from and limited edition seasonal flavours.
Choose from Cod with cheese, prawn & mushroom, Salmon with butter sauce, or Smoked Haddock with cheese and spinach. Our limited edition flavours availble October – December include Cod with blue stilton and bacon or Salmon with wensleydale, port and cranberries!
There is so many we had to miss off as we ran out of spaces! For the full range of ready prepared products please visit our ready prepared section on the website and we are always adding new products so keep an eye on the ‘New to Regal’ section too!
Here at Regal, only the best will do for our customers and we have been supplying traditionally smoked Haddock and Cod Smoked overnight by MTL fish curers every day since 1989.
The process of smoking fish is an age old tradition, introduced hundreds of years ago as a way of extending the usability of fish by adding salt and yellow dye.
The smoke house used by MTL dates back approximately 150 years, making it the oldest still in use in Grimsby and it is now listed.
Graham Sopp (Regal Director) and Steve Leggett (MTL) in the early 90’s
It was in 1982 that MTL was formed when the smokehouse was taken over by brothers Martin and Terry Leggett and later Steve Leggett.
All
these years on and the business is now
in the very capable hands of experienced fish smoker Ian Button
who
joined MTL as a school leaver and has spent
the past 30 years following
the traditional methods of
smoking the fish.
He
starts each morning by selecting the absolute best fresh
fish available from the
Grimsby Fish Market,
in order to ensure a superior quality product, all of the fish selected use
sustainable fishing methods.
The
fish is then hand filleted by the experienced filleters on
the premises at the smoke house, before the fillets are immersed in brine.
Ian
then climbs up
and down the tar
lined chimney himself
and hangs
the
fillets
on long metal rods called spreats in
the
traditional manner.
The fillets are very gradually smoked using smouldering sawdust for a minimum of 12 hours. This provides a very different product from the mechanically smoked product that many supermarkets offer with a liquid smoke that is pumped over the fish. Instead the traditional smoke penetrates the fish throughout the fillet.
We are confident that we offer the best possible quality product. Our service guarantees that the fish can be purchased fresh from the market, filleted and smoked one day and in the customer’s home the next. This sets our service apart from others.
Ian Button MTL
We interviewed Ian Button from MTL and asked him some of your frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between yellow and natural smoked fish?
Actually,
not much! Well not in terms of the process and the flavour anyhow.
The
yellow dye is a mix of natural colourings, in our case turmeric and annatto.
The
natural and yellow smoked Haddock and Cod are smoked in the chimney the exact same way. The
colour is only added if requested and is only cosmetic as some customers prefer
the appearance of the yellow coloured fish.
How long does the fish last for once it’s smoked?
We usually give between 3 and 5 days on the label as best before but it should usually be good for a week on average. The fish is bought fresh from the Grimsby Fish Market each day and is filleted on the premises before it is hung and smoked and so it will reach the customer in the best possible quality. We don’t extend the shelf life by treating the product to a gas flush or with preservatives unlike much supermarket smoked fish. Also we wrap in the traditional manner in paper so its packed in a way that keeps the traditional flavour rather than extending the shelf life.
Does the fish vary in strength dependant on where in the chimney it has been hung?
There
are many things that can effect the taste and flavour of the fish.
The
texture and source of the fish can cause
variations as well as the air temperature, wind and damp in the air from rain
or fog.
The place within the chimney can alter the
flavour slightly dependant on how many
fillets are hung. The chimney can hold around 650 kg of fillet but we try to
stick at 450 kg in order to ensure the maximum infusion of flavour and a good
smoking of each and every fillet.
What is the PGI status and why has MTL been awarded with it? What does it mean to MTL?
In
2009 Traditional Grimsby Smoked fish was awarded PGI status by the European
Commission. PGI status stands for Protected Geographical Indication and is
supported through the European Protected Food names scheme.
The
UK’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), defines Traditional Grimsby smoked
fish as fillets of Cod or Haddock weighing between 200 and 700 grams, which
have been cold smoked in accordance with the traditional method and within a
defined geographical location within Grimsby
Grimsby
Traditionally Smoked Fish was only the 39th
food product in the UK to receive PGI status and only 4 had been awarded to
seafood products and so it is a huge accolade.
There
were only a handful of companies awarded the PGI status for Grimsby traditional
smoked fish, we were thrilled to receive it as it meant that it had been
recognised that our product was superior to other smoked cod or haddock.
We
are visited every year by Trading Standards so that they can ensure we are
correctly adhering to the strict controls and applying the traditional methods.
The
PGI status was awarded to the natural product and not the yellow, the reason
for this being that there are many different
possibilities for colourings so it would be difficult to monitor.
People
are thinking more and more about what is on their plate, where it has come
from, how it is prepared and whether artificial colours or flavourings have
been added.
The
PGI accreditation helps people to understand that we offer a superior quality
product which uses traditional and natural methods and that’s what sets us
apart. We look forward to continuing support from our customers and we will continue to supply them
with Traditional Smoked Fish which is
unsurpassed in quality and flavour.
It’s been a pretty crazy year and our suppliers have worked tirelessly to keep up with demand over the past few months but they have pulled it out of the bag and produced some amazing Autumn/ Winter specials for us!
Our full range will be released early October but we wanted to give you a sneak peak as a couple of our bestselling festive products are now in stock.
Two Fish & Prawn Roast with a Prosecco and Cream Sauce
Our ‘Two Fish and Prawn Roast’ is back by popular demand for the third year running! Using quality ingredients and made locally in Hull by family business Seafish UK.
Cod in Wensleydale Sauce with Cranberry and Orange Zest Crumble Topping
This bake has become a Regal favourite now gracing the Christmas catalogue for its fourth year. If you haven’t tried it yet you are in for a treat!
We are very happy to announce that our long serving supplied
of Trout fillets has extended their excellent service levels and will now be
offering Boned Trout Fillets. This is fantastic news and we are grateful for
the efforts that have gone into offering this service to us and our customers.
Pan fried trout fillets served with potatoes
For over 10 years we have been sourcing our fresh Trout from
Belleau Bridge Trout Farm in Lincolnshire. Harvested to order and delivered
twice a week so our customers really can enjoy the freshest Trout available.
A family business ran by keen fisherman Simon Harrop and his wife Ginny after Simon’s father Adrian set up the fishery in 1975, the absolute utmost care an attention goes into the whole process and they have earned an excellent reputation.
The name comes from the chalk bed river which runs through the farm and one taste and you will get a feel for the quality conditions the Trout are raised in. Spring fed with the purest mineral water and earth dug ponds which gives each Trout a close to nature condition and allows us to source the best quality fish all year round.
We are extremely proud to offer this product to our customers and can confidently say that we are completely satisfied that it meets with the very high standards that our customers have come to expect from our range. We hope you enjoy your new Trout fillets minus the bones!
Our fresh trout fillets are available to buy here.
Shetland vessel the ‘Venturous’ helping us to feed the nation!
The Venturous
We have had some excellent fish through the doors over the past few weeks and much of it has been supplied by Lerwick registered vessel ‘Venturous’.
Each morning our Cod, Haddock and Coley is landed in Shetland and brought to Grimsby via Aberdeen ready for our filleters to prepare to our customers specific requirements each morning.
Bringing the net aboard
The quality of the Shetland fish is absolutely superb and each fish is handled with care meaning that they are in perfect condition for filleting.
These fishermen work in what is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world and so we are so grateful for the sacrifices they make in order to keep fish on our tables!
Each fish is gutted on board and prepared with care and attention
The lorry arrives in Grimsby approximately 5am
Our technical manager and fresh fish buyer QC check each day
As soon as the fish is received at our factory, the technical manager and fish buyer check the quality of the fish ensuring it meets the expected standards and is well iced. Several fillets are then taken for further inspection and finally cooking up for our Torry Assesment.
Fresh Cod Loin
The beauty of our service is that we only purchase what is required each day, orders are taken in advance and so the fresh fish is purchased, prepared and sent out meaning there isn’t any stock left over.
Any tails or surplus fillets are trimmed and sent off each day for our ready meal or goujon production and so it gives us a clean start and ensures the optimum freshness! This is what we believe sets us apart, we call it our ‘fresh approach’.
Many people
ask us, when is a shrimp a prawn? Well when you live in the UK the two are
pretty much the same thing! With one or two exceptions. Confusing right?
In many countries the term ‘Prawn’ is used to describe larger species and ‘Shrimp’ is used to describe the smaller prawn. There is more information here but don’t worry we are on hand to help and advise!
Here at Regal we go to great lengths to ensure our team are highly trained and can advise you on the type of prawn that suits your needs. The last thing you want is to spend good money on a cooked prawn only to ruin it by heating it for too long in a recipe dish. We receive calls from customers who have in the past done just that and it’s put them off, so here is a little bit of information to help you out!
Cooked or
Raw?
First of all you need to decide how you wish to use your prawn. If you are looking for a prawn that is ready to defrost and pop straight onto a salad or sandwich then you need a cooked prawn and the smaller prawns are better suited.
If you are wishing to use a prawn in a curry or a recipe dish and it needs to be cooked or have heat added then we advise buying a raw prawn. They don’t take long to cook, usually 4-5 minutes on direct heat like a frying pan or a little longer in a curry or stew so keep an eye on the time and ensure you follow the recipe instructions. Adding prawns right at the beginning when the other ingredients take 20-30 minutes to cook might not be the best idea and you may end up with a tough prawn.
Coldwater prawns are wild caught, usually cooked and frozen on board the vessel and tend to be the smallest of the prawns on offer, that being said they vary in size from 100 to 250+ per 454g. Wild caught mainly in the North East Atlantic, they are cooked and peeled ready for you to defrost and use. These are widely available and are the most popular here in the UK.
Warmwater
prawns are the larger prawns and are usually farmed in Asia or South America and
grow much larger. Commonly known as king prawns or Tiger prawns, they are
available cooked or raw and are usually used in recipe dishes.
Available in both warm and coldwater, cooked and raw there is usually a shell on or a shell off version. This is down to personal preference. On the coldwater prawns you may like to shell them yourself as the shell retains more of the flavour but most people prefer the ease of just defrosting and adding to a salad or jacket potato.
The same goes with the king prawns. If you are having a curry you might prefer to use a fully peeled prawn so you don’t have to get your hands dirty during eating but paella dishes look great with the full shell prawn and again you can’t beat cooking a raw shell on prawn for the overall flavour. Everything is locked in when it’s frozen and they taste delicious!
Size
doesn’t matter when it comes to prawns, in fact the smaller prawns tend to have
a sweeter more favourable taste profile. That being said the larger prawns take
on flavours better so a marinade or sauce will match really well and that’s why
the larger prawns are the perfect protein for recipe dishes.
It is important to note that prawns when frozen require a good glaze to protect them. They burn in the freezer very easily so this is why larger prawns may have 20-30% glaze and the smaller prawns 8-15% protective glaze.
Don’t worry we aren’t trying to pull the wool over your eyes! We only declare the net weight and so you know exactly what you are paying for once the glaze has melted away. Just be careful when you open the bag that you seal it back up well as domestic freezers are more likely to dry out the prawn and opening and closing will cause the texture to deteriorate.
So now you have an idea of the differences, here’s what we have available in a quick and easy infographic!
‘Lemons’ have an oval body; more rounded than a Dover, with a lighter, yellowy-brown dark side. Ranging in size from 230g to 1kg, these sole have a sweet delicate flesh and are ideal for any sole recipes, working especially well with creamy white wine sauces. A great fish cooked on the bone, fillets are always popular, and are great for rolling around a filling (delice) then steaming or baking. Lemon sole from the UK’s South Coast are generally considered the best however it is also found in the Eastern Atlantic and North Sea.
Available fresh between June and November. Frozen available all year round.
High in: Protein; Vitamin B12; Selenium Source of: Niacin; Phosphorus
Latin Name: Pleuronectes platessa Flavour: Medium Texture: Soft Omega-3 Level: High Cooking Method(s): Bake, Deep fry, Grill, Microwave, Poach, Shallow fry, Steam, Stir fry
Plaice is best when eaten as fresh as possible, as the flavour quickly fades. Ranging from 230g to 2kg in size, whole fish is easily identified by its distinctive orange spots, the brighter the spots, the fresher the plaice. It has as pronounced a flavour as lemon sole, but it takes sauces and other flavours very well, and is great for battering.
Available fresh from June to December. Frozen available all year round.
Grilled Tuna Supremes and cut red bell pepper on grill
Great Fish to Use on the Grill!
1. Swordfish Swordfish is a fantastic fish for grilling! It’s a mild-tasting, firm, meaty fish that holds up great on the grill. You can buy our Swordfish Supreme to cook whole or cut it up and skewer it.
2. Salmon Whether you cook it as a steak or a fillet, salmon can withstand the heat of the grill, keeping its distinct flavour and staying together. Also consider grilling salmon on cedar planks for an added flavour twist.
3. Tuna Tuna is like the steak of the seafood world. It’s so versatile! Tuna steak is thick and hearty, with a distinct flavour. Perfect for a summer BBQ !
4. Red Snapper Perfect for grilling and the BBQ, this sought after fish boasts a firm texture and sweet flavour!
5.Mackerel This is a ‘good for you’ fish with high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and an excellent source of selenium (an essential mineral) and Vitamin B12. The flavour is rich with a moist texture and is excellent grilled.
Tips for Great BBQ Fish!
When fish cooks on a grill, it
loses moisture fast — faster than most meats. And over an open grill, the
juice drips straight onto sizzling coals. To preserve moisture, coat the fish
with oil, which will seal some of the moisture inside. And follow these steps:
Designate a cool area on the grill. Pile hot coals on just one side of the grill.
Start with clean grill grates.
Use tongs to rub the grate with a cloth or paper towel coated with vegetable oil.
For firm fleshed fish like salmon, halibut, and tuna steaks: brush the fish with vegetable oil and season with salt.
Most fish can grill directly on the grate, at high heat.
Flip as soon as the fish is cooked at least ½ way through.
For every 1-inch of thickness, expect about 10 minutes of cooking time (over medium-hot coals).
Wrap thin fillets or delicate fish in corn-husks, banana leaves, grape leaves, or aluminium foil — or place the fish on top of the foil. Place parchment paper between fish and foil to help prevent sticking. Courtesy of allrecipe.com
