Those of us who have lived in the country or beside the sea are spoilt for choice with local produce.
Venison, pheasant, Aberdeen Angus beef, scallops, fresh fish and other mouth-watering Scottish delights can sometimes be a bit difficult to find in the middle of a city. Unless you know where to go.
Chattan Place is the new address to shop at in Aberdeen.
Located in the west end, number 16 has recently become JK – The Home of Fine Foods. With both a traditional butcher and fishmonger under the roof, the shop is like an indoor farmers’s market.
The founder, John King, understands that customers need choice and convenience. What started out as an website for ordering fresh produce has gained so much popularity there was demand for a building which customers could visit.
Owner John King said: “Since we launched the website in 2015, our focus has always been on quality and what we are offering customers is the best they can buy on the market at prices which truly compete with large supermarket chains.”
John had always thought about opening a shop in Aberdeen after creating the website. When the unit became available on Chattan Place, it was all hands to the pumps.
Within a month the building had been renovated and was ready to open.
Since January, John has been welcoming customers to the new shop.
Even the canine friends are not forgotten – the pooch park offers a safe place for dogs to wait while customers explore the indoor market and the luxury dog biscuits made in Aberdeenshire, which are on sale inside, certainly make the wait worthwhile.
The fresh local produce is looked after by the industry trained staff and in-house chef Barry Coutts prepares dishes for customers to take home and pop straight in the oven.
The initial concept of the website was to bring fine dining into the home, delivering restaurant quality food to the front door and the chef creates dishes which are fresh and delicious.
The JK fish and chicken pies have all gone down well with the public since the shop opened. In particular, the steak pie, which has been created by head butcher, Robert, using his family’s secret recipe, has had rave reviews. The business is also coming up with more easy and fresh ideas for the family to enjoy, including a range of burgers, fajitas, sausages, beef wellington and chicken bake, with a good selection of gluten free options available too.
“All of our fish comes daily from the market at Peterhead and our meat produce is all locally sourced too. And everything from our dairy products to our luxury dog biscuits are made in the north-east of Scotland,” said John.
Millers of Speyside provide a lot of the meat and the milk comes from Graham’s Family Dairy.
Stepping away from the cold counters, the larders are stocked with local produce.
After much research, a selection of chutney and preserves have been added to the shelves, with more being added all the time. All of a high quality, the larder shows off some of the best products from the north-east and the rest of Scotland.
John said: “We have specially selected what we sell in the shop to reflect our support for local businesses as much as possible.
“There are so many fantastic, independent food producers around Aberdeen and the north-east and further afield across Scotland, and by stocking these products it encourages our customers to buy local and put money back into our economy.”
Supporting many businesses, JK Fine Foods stocks organic vegetables, cheese and dairy products, cold meats, preserves and chutneys. It would take a while to try them all.
Fresh bread is stacked high on shelves and includes gluten free options. There are even gluten free burgers, sausages, fajitas and kebabs in stock.
Just ask the butchers and they will point out everything to suit your diet. For the health-conscious, they’ve even launched a 5% fat or less slimming and fitness pack which can be ordered online and delivered or collected from the shop.
“The food market is changing and people want to know where their food is coming from so they are reverting back to buying locally to ensure full traceability in the food they are eating,” said John.
“This has been evident since we opened our doors and we’ve had so many repeat customers delighted with the quality and prices they are getting from what is essentially a traditional local store. Even simple things like the dirty, organic vegetables from a farm in Midmar has people commenting about how it tastes like vegetables used to before mass produced supermarket products.”
Offering high quality seafood is something which runs in the family for John. His great-grandfather, George Main, would dock his boat in Aberdeen and take his catch to the old Aberdeen fish market for auction. George would spend long days at sea, catching only the best seafood he could, before returning home to the cooking of his wife. His passion for good food has travelled down the family and John now focuses on selling sustainable, quality produce.
JK Fine Foods is encouraging people to use their neighbourhood store again. With their competitive prices on par with many supermarkets, the indoor market is filling a gap in the market and the need for good, local food. You can even pick up a lunchtime sandwich from the popular cafe.
So Aberdeen, while you grab your groceries while you are there. The market store is jam packed with goodies to tempt all taste-buds, helping customers to eat more healthily, while buying local and supporting local producers.
