Simply Scallops introduces thousands of students to this British seafood delicacy
“Simply Scallops” is a new initiative enabling 5000 students in 50 schools across the country to cook and taste freshly cooked dishes made with British scallops. It has been organised by the Food Teacher’s Centre Fish In Schools Hero programme, which aims to ensure that every child gets a chance to prepare, cook and eat fish before they leave school, and trains food teachers to be confident in preparing and cooking fish with students.
While archaeological findings have shown that scallops have been eaten by humans for thousands of years, commercial scallop fishery took off in Scotland in the 1930s. Despite this, most of the students participating, have never eaten scallops before. They are more likely to recognise the scallop shell shape from the iconic logo of the Shell Oil Company.
Scottish Scallops have been provided free of charge to schools by MacDuff (Clearwater Seafoods), from Mintlaw, Aberdeenshire. 100kg of scallops are being donated, 2kg to each school.
John Ashmore, Marketing Director Europe, Middle‑East and Africa At Clearwater Seafoods LP said: “We are delighted to support the Fish in School Heroes programme by supplying our scallops for thousands of school children to try. It is so important for children to have access to foods they may not otherwise try and be the next generation of seafood enthusiasts. Scallops are so quick and simple to cook, delicious to eat, as well as being healthy and nutritious.”
M&J Seafood have taken on the massive logistical challenge to get the frozen scallops from Scotland out to the 50 lucky schools across the country. M & J Seafood stepped up to the plate to distribute the scallops through their existing logistics’ network and out to individual schools nationwide.
Matt Orr, Operations manager at M&J Seafood:
“The M & J team are passionate about seafood! We jumped at the chance to support this great initiative, using our network to deliver the scallops to 50 schools, as this will inspire and educate the next generation of fish lovers!
We have a great working relationship with MacDuff (Clearwater Seafoods) as they represent everything that M & J are proud to supply; British, fresh, sustainable, and delicious!”
“We are so pleased that scallops are arriving on the menu in school classrooms this week. By supporting Fish in School Hero to help teachers across the country to access and work with seafood products, we hope we are opening the door to conversations around nutritious, sustainable, locally sourced protein, especially in communities who may not traditionally access British seafood. Donations such as this one from Macduff, distributed with the reach of M & J, will make such a difference to the students 5,000 who are involved, and we are grateful for the ongoing contributions from the seafood sector in providing such reach and impact”
Our student chefs will be busy practising how to prepare and cook sustainable fresh seafood, and they will be learning how scallops live in sand and gravel on the ocean bed, as well as in mud, and are dredged from the seabed using purpose-built boats, to ensure a responsible, sustainable harvest.
The Fish In Schools Hero programme continues to grow and further initiatives are planned into 2023. If you would like to get involved and support the Food Teachers Centre to make a real measurable impact, please contact Simon.Gray@foodteacherscentre.co.uk
Throughout the campaign, schools are encouraged to share their experiences and photos on social media, and to use the #fishheroes hashtag.