FRANCO PALOMBO
FRANCO PALOMBO
My dad's favourite saying was: "You're only as good as your last fish supper." He arrived in Scotland in 1934 aged 14 after leaving Villa Latina, a small village in Italy that is about 60 miles from Rome. My parents, Ernest and Ida, were married in the 1950s and my dad opened the first Palombos in Alexandria, Dunbartonshire, in 1966. I took over the running of the shop in 1990, then six years later we moved to Balloch, near Loch Lomond, and opened this place. My dad has since died but my mum, who is 87, lives two minutes away from the shop and still pops in every day.
Most of the knowledge in running the shop was passed on to me from my dad. Lots of people make good batter, but it is the frying technique that is most important. That is something you can only learn under a certain person. My dad served his apprenticeship in the restaurants of different Italian families around Glasgow. He then spent years teaching me and was always very patient. I remember being frustrated initially and getting burned a lot. As you get better, you get burned less, but that all comes with experience.
Our trademark is fish and chips and we have never tried to dissuade people from that. It is mostly haddock we sell but sometimes we will put cod, hake and lemon sole on as a special, but only if I am certain it is plentiful. By that I mean they are not taking fish out of the sea in a way that becomes unsustainable.
Sustainability is incredibly important to my business. Fish is not only my livelihood, but the livelihood for many other people, including seamen and the processing plants. If we run out of fish, that is it done for all of us. If there is any doubt or uncertainty about certain species of fish, there is no way I would take it.
The only people who ever buy fried Mars bars are tourists from abroad or English visitors. They genuinely believe the Scottish people eat this stuff but that is not the case. In the winter, when there are hardly any visitors, we sell few of these novelty items.
We have loyal customers who come from far and wide. We are on first-name terms with most of them now because they have been coming for years. The minute they walk in through the door, you know what they are going to order.
This is the second time we have been shortlisted for the National Fish & Chip Awards and it is fantastic to be recognised for your work.
My wife Moya looks after the restaurant side of the business, whereas I concentrate mainly on the cooking. I still enjoy that aspect and will never get bored of it. My last meal on earth would definitely be fish and chips.
I have three children and they have their own professions but still come in to help in the shop. My oldest son, Pierangelo, is a teacher, my daughter Natalia does a lot of work with film festivals and my youngest son, Gianluca, is at Glasgow University studying maths. They know the business well and always had jobs helping out when they were younger. I don't think any of them will take it on after me but you never know.
Palombos is one of six shops in Scotland shortlisted for the 2015 National Fish & Chip Awards organised by Seafish. The regional winner will be announced next month. Visit fishandchipawards.com.
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