118 WWW.THEFIELD.CO.UK
I
n between crossings,the
crewofCaledonianMac-
Brayne’s MV Clansman
ferry swabbedthedecks.
Onland,a fewyardsaway,
in the fresh and bitingly
rawwind, the Chineseflag flapped above
TheOriginalGreenSeafoodShack.
Onthequayside ofthe‘SeafoodCapital
ofScotland’,IonaRobertson,‘Skipper’Fiona
Dow, ShaunaMackenzie, MayaAl-Hosani,
Corrina Macneil, Marion Ritchie, Jacob
Barnsley and Andrew Brown get on with
their jobs:tubbing up hand-raked cockles
from Benderloch; weighing lobsters from
theFirthofLorn;crackinganddressingcrab;
shuckingCreranoysters;boilingupmussels;
and de-tailing creel-caught langoustines
landedthatmorningbyGordon the Prawn
fromtheOceanStar.
Nextdoor,inTheFishShopatD Wattand
Son– at 100 yearsold,Oban’soldestfamily
business– CarolWattis artfullyarrangingher
lemonandgreysolesandseafoodplatters.
“WealwayshaveflagswavingaboveThe
Seafood Shack,” explains Marion Ritchie,
fiancéeoftheObaninstitution’sowner,ex-
Scarborough trawlerman John Odgen (aka
‘OggieJohn’).
“Weputup flagswhen there’sa disas-
ter.We raisedone torecognisethe Greek
economy crisis and Greeks visiting town
sawit andcametoseeus.We’veflagsfrom
everywhere. Foralloccasions.It’s notjust
goodfortradebutit showssolidarity.We’ve
many Chinese and Japanese visitors who
loveScottishseafoodfareatfairprices.They
getofftheirtourbuses,eatandgetbackon
again.Stuffed!Wedon’tselltorestaurants.
Onlyblow-ins.There’s always a queue all
day, in season, March to November.”
BAITINGSHEDSMOKERY
Thegreenhut,onthesiteofanoldbaiting
shedwhere fishermenmadeand mended
their lines, has its own smokery. Andrew
BrownhasworkedinTheShackforyears.
“Peopleforgetit takestwodaysatleastto
makea propersalmonsandwich.Ithasto
besmokedforeighthours.”Heloves his job,
althoughheis allergictocrab.
Along the west coast of Scotland, the
fresh seafoodtrade is one extendedfam-
ily with The Shack being fed throughout
theseasonbyGirlNorma,HughieMacleod,
PeterBanham, JohnBayton, Cruicky, ‘The
OysterLady’JudithVajkoftheCaledonian
Oyster Co, Eric Groat and John McCallister.
BehindTheShackis TheWaterfrontFish
Restaurant, on the site of the old Fisher-
men’sMission.OnthemenuareIsleofMull
scallops, Korean-style east coast squid,
Scrabstercod andGreekseabass aswell
as octopus salad, crab rillettes and local
smoked haddock fillet servedwith bacon
and spinach mash. “The only way to eat
Gordon the Prawn’s langoustines is fresh
with homemade mayonnaise. For perfec-
tiontheyshouldbeboiledinseawater,”says
managerAlexNeedhamwhoalsorunsCuan
Mor(TheAtlanticOcean)ontheEsplanade.
Heis a trainedchefandhaggisjudge, presid-
ingatOban’swinterHaggisFest.
Thecity’sNorthPierboaststheMacleod’s
family restaurant Ee-usk (phonetic Gaelic for
‘fish’)sellinglocalseafare:NeilMacQueen’s
crabs, Toastie’s scallops, Jack’s mussels,
farmed halibut from Gigha and Gordon
Lamb’s langoustines.
GASTRONOMICTRAIL
Scotland’s West Coast Adventure Trail is
also now a gastronomic adventure trail.
ClosetoObanare theaward-winningIsle
of Eriska Hotel, the Loch Melfort Hotel’s
Asknish Bay Restaurant at Arduaine, and
ThePierhouseHotel&SeafoodRestaurant
intheoldpiermaster’shouseatPortAppin
onLochLinnhe,whichusedtobea stopfor
thesteamer‘puffer’ferriesfromObantoFort
William.LatvianheadchefSergejsSavickis
offers rope-grown, sea-loch mussels and
LochFynesalmoncuredinsugarandsea
saltandsmokedinInveraweoveroak shav-
ingsfrom‘retired’whiskycasks.
Obanhas 60 restaurantsandtwocathe-
drals. St John’s (1864-1910) has a St Bees
Along the west coast, the fresh
seafood trade is one extended family
Top:thefreshseafoodgangdisplaytheirwaresoutsideiconiclocalvenue,TheSeafoodShack.Above:SAMS
graduate Jacob Barnsley with ‘Skipper’ Fiona Dow (left); Carol Watt with a tray of langoustines (right)
