Seafood section set for success

Press, 28 November 1989, Page 25

Seafood section set for success

"Quality at good prices,” is the motto of the all-new seafood section at Countdown Northlands. This is the first time Countdown has had such an area exclusively set aside for seafood and it promises to be a great success with customers. The seafood department manager, David Miln, says the range of fillet fish, whole fish, smoked fish, shell fish, along with delicacies such as squid tubes and marinated fish, will be amazing.

“The whole area will be off-set by a 12ft refrigerated window display unit which will be very appealing to customers as they decide which fish they will select,” he says.

The traditional fish such as sole, flounder and cod will be present but so also will be a dazzling array of other varieties like orange roughy, grouper, warehou and ling.

"We will also have a full range of smoked fish which will include kippers, blue cod, Akaroa cod, eel and warehou. “Smoked eel, I believe, will be very popular. Presented in a IOOg vacuum pack similar to salmon, the packs are ideally sized for people who may wish to try the eel before buying in any quantity,” he says.

While most of the fish and shellfish will be sourced from within New Zealand, king prawns will be imported from both Australia and Asia.

“In season we will have oysters and whitebait, while we will also be stocking scallops, crayfish and crab. In store we will have a large unit containing live mussels.”

The seafood division will source the majority, of its fish from around Christchurch using several suppliers to ensure it

gets the best quality fish for its customers. Fresh supplies will be made daily.

Also incorporated into the comprehensive seafood section will be delicacies such as smoked, garlic and chiliflavoured mussels. Marinated mussels, plain, lemon, honey and garlic will also be available.

A comprehensive range of seafood kebabs will be on sale with speciality products such as squid ■

tubes, stuffed squid tubes, marinated fish and crabflavoured sticks, all of which will be popular additions.

To help shoppers, a full range of fish recipes will also be available. These have been prepared by Countdown’s own food consultant.

In the beginning there will be two full-time staff in the section and one part-time. David Miln will head the section. His family has a history in the fish trade going back more than 30 years while he himself has been involved with the industry for more than 12 years, during which time he has received a sound grounding in filleting, display and marketing. He has also been self employed, with his own fish shops.

Based in Christchurch most of this time, he also has experience in the fish trade in Australia.