Quinlan’s Fresh Kerry Crab Meat was awarded the Supreme Champion award, as sponsored by Bord Bia, at
the 2015 Blas na hEireann awards, their Smoked Irish Salmon cured with Irish Atlantic Sea Salt infused with Dill Pollen was also a gold winner. Find details of these and more in our directory of winners & finalists
www.kerryfish.com
When & why did you start your business? My father started the business in 1963 and I joined in 1985 as I always had a passion to be involved
Who is your food inspiration? Rick Stein and his passion for seafood
What do you love about your job? Variety and the constant challenges faced from working with and trying to source fresh seafood
What is your typical day? I don’t have one and this is what is so good! However, a normal day would be in to the factory about 7.30 and I could end up in any one of our retail stores talking to our customers getting feedback and improving what we do.
What is your favourite part of the day? Early morning when the factory is in full flight
What was your best day since you started this business? There have been two… Winning Blas Supreme Champion as it recognised the quality of seafood we are producing and winning the Radio Kerry Business of the year as it recognised our solid business base
Where do your ingredients come from? We are lucky to have vessels that land their catch every night in Portmagee and Dingle as well as larger vessels that can stay out for a few days so this provides us with a huge variety of seafood.
Tell us about the people you work with? We are lucky to have great people. We have 4 people with over 40 years experience each and they pass on skills to all the younger members of the team.
What three words would you use to describe yourself/your business? Honest, loyal and hardworking. These virtues will help any business succeed
What do you think is the key to success? Quality always wins
Has there ever been one single moment which has changed how you look at your business? Not one single moment however it is an ongoing process adapting to our customers’ needs.
Has there ever been a situation which started out as a negative but turned out for the best? The recession as this allowed us to expand our retail business
How are you preparing for Christmas at work?
We have just started smoking salmon for export this week and we are also busy freezing down the last of our Kerry Crab as the boats will shortly bring their pots ashore
What food really represents Christmas to you?
Dingle Bay Prawn Cocktail, Wild Smoked Kerry Salmon and Valentia Harbour Scallop Mornay