Prize Catch: Seafood supplier with a rich history
From our videographers to our drinks suppliers, Bonnie & Wild proudly works with small suppliers from across Scotland. One of the most venerable is the fishmonger Bernard Corrigan, a third-generation family business from Glasgow that supplies much of the seafood on the menu at Bonnie & Wild.
From the royal family when resident at Holyrood Palace to Coia’s Café on Glasgow’s Duke St, Bernard Corrigan supplies hotels, restaurants, fish and chip shops, and all manner of catering establishments across Scotland, including Gary Maclean’s Creel Caught at Bonnie & Wild.
“Gary is great to work with,” says Managing Director Sean Corrigan, whose grandfather Bernard founded the business. “He’s always wanting to use the best produce that Scotland’s waters have to offer. We work well together, collaborating on ideas for new menus while having a good laugh along the way.”
As well as some of the country’s finest chefs and restaurants, Bernard Corrigan also sell direct to the general public and have a website that offers next-day delivery to households – an innovation that Sean pioneered during lockdown and which helped keep the business turning over as many in the hospitality industry struggled to survive.
“It’s probably not something we’d have considered had it not been for the lockdown,” explains Sean, who runs the business alongside his uncle Bernard and dad, also called Sean. “We’ve long had a retail element, but like our wholesale arm it was badly by the lockdown, so we had to do something and the web shop has worked really well for us ever since.”
The switch to e-commerce is a far cry from when founder Bernard Corrigan opened up his own fishmonger premises in Glasgow’s Bridgegate in 1949, having spent much of his teenage years working at a nearby fish market and other businesses.
As the business grew so did Bernard’s reputation, and local hotels, restaurants and chip shops joined the growing customer base. By the 1950s they got their first delivery van. By the 1970s the fleet had grown to six vans, a new warehouse and several new premises as the fishmonger’s reach continued to expand. Now, the business employs 34 staff, and Sean, who joined the business in 2012, says that the commitment to high-quality seafood remains key to the business’s success, just as it was for his grandfather all those decades ago.
“We purchase from approved suppliers that have Marine Stewardship Council certification,” says Sean, adding that seafood is landed at harbours across the country, including Peterhead, Aberdeen and Shetland. “This ensures that the fish we buy and sell is sustainably caught. We want future generations to be able to enjoy seafood which we as a family business have been blessed with for three generations.
“Scottish seafood is among the best in the world. There’s a such a sheer variety, while our rich, cold waters play a vital role in ensuring that quality and freshness is second to none. But we have to ensure its longevity.”
Like Bonnie & Wild, Sean says working closely with small businesses is key to the success of his own company. “A considerable portion of our business is working alongside small, family-run organisations like Creel Caught where the key decision-makers are hands-on and involved in the day-to-day dealings of the business. This means we can build a close and loyal relationship, which goes a long way in the continuation of our business growth.
“One of the great things about Creel Caught is that the team there actively celebrate the best of sustainable Scottish seafood, something that is also clearly important to Bonnie & Wild. And the Food Hall concept is brilliant as it means there’s something for everyone, including some of the best fish and chips you’ll ever find!”