Award-winning family seafood business strikes gold
A small seafood company based in Rossaveal struck gold at the recent Blas na hEireann awards held in Dingle. Flemings Seafoods won the Gold Award for Shellfish for their Peeled Irish Supreme Prawns. They were among a number of Galway winners at the Kerry festival.
But better still, they were first time entrants to the competition and didn’t quite know what to expect.
“We know we’ve got a great product, but for industry experts to choose our prawns simply validates the hard work we put into producing our prawns. It’s not always easy to find good quality Irish prawns, and we’re thrilled that we can now put the Gold Label on ours,” said a delighted Freda Fleming.
The Blas na hEireann awards are now in their sixth year and reward food producers across more than fifty categories as part of the Dingle Food Festival. To win the award means winning over more than sixty judges in the biggest blind tasting of produce in the country.
With over thirty years of experience in all aspects of the seafood business, Flemings Seafood is run by husband and wife team Gay and Freda Fleming. The company specialises in hand peeled Irish prawns which are available in over twenty five high end food retail outlets and fish shops around Ireland.
"It's very difficult to find wild Irish prawns in retail, which have been peeled while fresh before they are frozen," explained Freda Fleming.
"Typically prawns available in shops are farmed and imported from countries such as Thailand, China and Bangladesh."
A wild Irish prawn also known as Langoustine which has been peeled while fresh and then frozen, is very different in both taste, texture and even colour and far superior according to Flemings and their loyal customer base.
As well as Freda and Gay working in the business they have five dedicated staff who tail, peel, devein, freeze and pack the prawns. Preparing the prawns in this way ensures that the end product will be of the highest quality.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.