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Following the official launch of Skipper’s Scran Van at the end of September, we caught up with Alice to ask a few questions on how it went and to get to know a bit more about the Scran Van!
Why did you start Skipper’s Scran Van?
“I have always been inspired by seafood restaurants abroad and seafood trailers around the UK. You can’t beat eating seasonal local seafood whilst admiring where it has been landed. I have always been keen on cooking and ever since starting my fishmonger business within West Coast Sea Products I have become completely obsessed with the sea and fish.
Kirkcudbright is a beautiful seaside town that attracts a lot of tourists throughout the year. However, the town lacks places to eat out and particularly for seafood. Our fishmonger services are proving to be popular in town, so I want to grow and offer another service with our products. The fact that we can say we catch the fish, land locally, process it and sell it in Kirkcudbright fresh or cooked is special. You literally can’t get more local.
I want to encourage people to eat more than the usual traditional fish and chips and try new things. I have so many dishes up my sleeve that I can’t wait to serve up.”
How did you find the official launch?
“The launch weekend was a huge success, and we cannot wait to see this new venture unfold. The only thing we could have hoped for was a sunnier Saturday, but the rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits! We were overwhelmed with the huge response from locals and the last of the tourist’s visit of the town. We were queued down the street all weekend. I am so pleased with the success of the first outing in Kirkcudbright. It wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of my fantastic staff and family who have supported my latest mad idea and business venture.”
Was there much preparation for the launch?
“We bought the trailer in January and have been working all year alongside our usual fishmonger services to get the trailer ready for selling to the public.
We had our first run out with the trailer at Eden festival this year, so we had a good idea of what we needed to do in preparation. It was a busy few weeks building up to the event from planning dishes, staff buying extra equipment and packaging to the final touches of competitions and our set up at the harbour. We are offering a great range of Scottish seafood from hot to cold and grilled to fried so there was a large amount of prep to be done for each dish. For the lobster rolls alone, Craig and I spent about 4 hours picking the meat out from around 50 lobsters!”
What was your favourite part?
“My favourite part was getting all the feedback in person and online from our lovely customers. Everyone was so happy to have us there and to have such great feedback about the food we served is so rewarding and satisfying. I have always loved cooking for family and friends but never sold it to the public. To begin with this was my biggest fear that people wouldn’t like my food, but I soon realised that wasn’t the case. It was also so much fun working on the trailer with Connie and Craig. I couldn’t ask for better people to be starting this journey with.”
Some of the customer reviews:
‘A welcome and much needed addition to the region. Finally a place for my seafood fix. Brilliant meal on Sunday. Well organised and great food. Hopefully these pop up days continue.’ Michael Dodds
‘Skipper’s Scran Van was a total delight! We devoured monkfish scampi, fish goujons, scallops with chorizo, and the fries with Skipper’s seasoning was spot on. I only wish I had room for more… I’ve got my eye on the Lobster roll for my next visit. The view of the boats in the harbour just added to the experience. It was totally worth the drive from Broughton. I’d definitely recommend it for a tasty seafood treat! 
‘ Laurie Connelly
Is there anything you’d change about the event?
“The only thing we would have changed was the weather on Saturday, but we do live in Scotland…”
How do you cope under pressure when it’s busy?
“There were a few times I looked under the hatch to see what size of queue we had and there was at least 15 people. At that point we would just look at each other and laugh. There was a sense of WOW look at all the people that are here to eat our food and then also Haha Sh*t how are we going to do this. But we all kept our cool and focused on plating up high-quality food despite the queue. People were happy to wait so it was more important the food was at a high standard. We are working out of a small trailer so there’s only so much food you can pump out at a time. It has certainly shown there is a big demand for a local seafood outlet so we can’t wait to get out on a regular basis.”
The Skipper’s Scran team enjoyed a beer for their hard work the first night. Craig invented a new drinking game, you must drink every time Connie says ‘sorry’, but they’d get too drunk!
What are your plans with the trailer?
“We will be at Kirkcudbright Food Festival on 22nd October. We plan to get the trailer out full-time next year with our main park up being at the harbour in Kirkcudbright. We are also planning to do occasional food and music events as well as renting the trailer out for private hire.
Lots of people will have noticed that work is now underway in the former Polarbites fish and chip shop at the harbour square. I can’t let all the plans out the bag, but I will say the trailer is a hint of what’s to come.”
