SEAFOOD and sell it! Mum- of- three Sheree French wants to sample the salty smell of success after setting up her own seafood takeaway businesses.

Sheree, 35, has opened her Winkles seafood van at Great Chalvedon Hall pub in Rectory Road, Pitsea to cater for a growing demand for seafood locally.

Despite the van being her first business venture and still in its early days, Sheree says the number of customers she has served so far has been overwhelming.

“People's comments have been so supportive and I believe customers appreciate that we are local and serve good quality and fresh seafood without them having to head coastal,” said Sheree.

“With the added benefit of it being at a public house so they can enjoy a pint and a nice seafood lunch/supper all in the same place.”

Sheree said she has thrown herself into the business after years spent raising a family and working in the accounting industry. She noticed a gap in the seafood market and decided to plug it.

“I have lived in Pitsea for 15 years and have noticed similar outfits closing, one in particular had a long standing reputation where the owner retired. It just never opened again and I noticed there was a niche for a seafood business and had worked out that it would be fairly low cost to establish,” she explained.

“I spoke with family who thought it was a great idea and my mum and dad gave me tremendous support and offered me a family loan to get it established.

“From there I sourced a very old and tired catering trailer from Ebay. Most problems with the trailer were cosmetic and easily fixed. With lots of hard work, and help from many, we turned it round into a fully operational business."

Echo:

The perfect spot to pitch her van seemed serendipitous. Sheree was already good friends with Laura, the landlady of the Great Chalvedon Hall pub and she was regular at the pub herself. Also the pub is just few meters from where she lives. All three elements helped her see this was the place to begin.

Sheree added: “Two of my children were approaching school age and I no longer wanted to return to my old accounts job full time Monday to Friday and place my children into childminding services at a cost of nearly as much as I earned.

“I was looking for independence that fitted around my family life and after talks with the landlady at the pub she also felt it would benefit her as a business as more people would be visiting her business also -.and it has! We have good working relationship and friendship that benefits both businesses.”

Sheree sells a variety of seafood – from cockles, whelks, winkles and jellied eels to prawns, mussels, crab and crayfish tails. All her stock comes from suppliers in Leigh-on-Sea or Billingsgate Fish Market. But does she have a personal favourite herself?

“I love my half shelled New Zealand Mussels which I enjoy simply with a dash of malt vinegar and a sprinkle of black pepper. Seafood really can be that simple!”

“Our biggest seller so far is probably jellied eels, people just love them.

“Things are going as planned and I have big hopes for the spring to establish a small cooked menu that can be served during the colder months of winter and also enjoyed by people during the summer months.

“I'm also currently looking into a delivery service that will visit local care homes for the elderly or disabled that are unable to get out to enjoy the once east end traditions of seafood. “My 14 year old son Cameron has already made a few deliveries for me on his bike.”

With our changeable UK climate it can’t be easy to know what customers taste-buds will hanker after on a day-to-day basis?

Sheree added: “The hardest thing about running a seafood business is second guessing how much stock to buy on the basis of the weather and other local events happening but so far I have not failed and have been blessed with the sunshine.”

But autumn is practically here so what does Sheree have in store for the colder months?

“I have plans to create and prepare a warm hearty seafood broth to warm my customers’ cockles this winter that can be served with fresh crusty bread and butter and left to simmer each day that I'm open. By spring I'd also like to have five or six pub benches out the front of my trailer for my customers to sit and enjoy also.”

Echo:

Sheree admits she’s no master in the kitchen and is even a bit of a novice when it comes to seafood, but that hasn’t held her back.

“I'm not much of a cook myself, creatively anyway but I can follow processes and have a good head for marketing it correctly,” she said.

“ I feel my happy go lucky bubbly ways are encouraging for my customers and I'm already getting to know my regulars on a friendly basis.

“I have already learnt a lot thanks to my suppliers who have been more then helpful with guiding me on what to buy, where to go and how best to do things, in particular Terry, a fishmonger from Fishy Business in Upminster who has been trading for many years.

“His lengthy knowledge and experience has always been at hand with any support or advice I've needed.

Sheree is also passionate about getting more youngsters into enjoying seafood.

“Lots of young families have visited with their children and I'm always trying to encourage the children to try different seafood,” she said.

“I think it's important that the younger generation enjoy seafood otherwise the trade will eventually die it's death. Maybe that’s why seafood trailers like Winkles have become fewer in recent years.”

Finally, Sheree wants to make it clear there is reason why she is striving so hard to make Winkles a success – her dad, John French who was a much respected Inspector with Essex Police after rising through the ranks as a young PC. John retired as an Inspector in 2012 and served at Basildon, Laindon, Tilbury, South Ockendon and Grays.

“Just a couple of weeks after buying the trailer, before any renovations had started, my dad fell ill and sadly passed away at a young age of 55. My Winkles business and trailer are in honour of his memory and without his support and guidance through my life I wouldn't be the person I am today.

“I strive to do him proud. I even have a photo of my father looking over my till in the trailer and he's often recognised by customers for being a great man and a long serving officer of 30 years for Essex Police. I owe him a lot. I'm doing Winkles for him and I know he shines down on us daily.”

FEELING INSPIRED? TRY OUT THIS RECIPE FOR CLASSIC FRENCH SEAFOOD SOUP, BOUILLABAISSE

INGREDIENTS

¼ tsp olive oil

5 clove garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

½ bulb fennel, diced

1 red pepper, diced

1 yellow pepper, diced

2 28 oz can diced tomatoes

1 pinch saffron

2 leaves bay

8 cup (2 L) fennel stock, fish stock or water

250 g ling cod

250 g halibut

250 g mussels

250 g clams

1. Over medium flame, heat the olive oil then add the minced garlic and diced onions. Sauté until translucent.

2. Add the fennel, peppers, tomatoes, saffron, bay leaf and stock; bring to a simmer.

3. Add the seafood and simmer until cooked through; ling cod and halibut are opaque, mussel and clam shells have opened. Serve immediately.