We need a bigger cannery
It’s a juggle at the best of times when you’re running a fish cannery, but this week has been extra juggly as we put the finishing touches on our much-needed new extension here in Bridport.
We love where we are based; our cannery is sequestered in the beautiful West Dorset countryside, and sometimes we have to pinch ourselves that this is our view and where we get to work every day. But as the hunger for our original British Conservas has grown over the last couple of years, so has our need for more floorspace, more of the essential machinery and equipment that canning involves and more refrigeration for our fresh fish as it comes off the boats.
We knew almost nothing about canning or preserving fish when we started. And without any existing British Conservas brands in the field, we didn’t even have anything to reference. We’ve developed all our own processes and flows within the cannery, learning about brining and preserving, packing and seaming from scratch. And we’ve learned that the real art of creating Conservas that works is about capturing the flavours of something delicious in such a way that it will still be equally delicious when it is opened months or even years later.
So it’s a proud moment for us that, together with our outstanding team, we’re watching our cannery grow this week. As well as increasing floorspace, we’ve got a new container fridge going in and new areas for all the ancillary processes that support our main cooking and canning operations. It’s also great to have more room for our growing team, all without ever compromising our commitment to small batch production and hand-packed Conservas. And of course, keeping that view.
