Bob Leahy reflects on Japan pop-up shop for Fry Magazine’s Expert Eye
Fry Magazine / By Helen Edmonds / 22 May 2024
Last month our Bob brought Fish City's award-winning fish and chips to Japan, cooking up over 1,700 portions of fish and chips with our head chef Nick and a dedicated Japanese team at the Hankyu British Fair in the southern port city of Kobe. Helen Edmonds at Fry Magazine interviewed Bob about the amazing time he had there, which you can read at frymagazine.com.
What were your expectations ahead of leaving the UK?
Being my second time working the British Fair serving up Fish City’s award-winning fish and chips – the first being last year at the British Fair at Hankyu’s flagship Umeda store in Osaka, I had a fair idea of what to expect and felt prepared for it all this time around. The team at Hankyu booked our travel for us, and Mr Keiji Hayashi had sent us through a detailed itinerary for the week, so we knew where to be and what to expect. Just like last time, he greeted us upon our arrival at the airport, which is so kind and welcoming of him. It was great to see him again, our agent Shunji, as well as some familiar faces from last time!
How did the real experience compare?
The real experience was smooth sailing. Kobe is a smaller city than Osaka, and whilst the Kobe Fair remained busy, it wasn’t nearly just as fast-paced as we had experienced in Osaka. We were doing a couple hundred fish suppers a day in Kobe, whereas we were doing more than that in Osaka last year. The British Fair in Kobe, we were told, is getting busier every year, which we’re so glad to have been a part of.
For the excursion before the start of the Fair, Mr Keiji took all of us out to Himeji Castle, a feudal castle that was one of Japan’s first UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The castle complex was so impressive, and the cherry blossoms everywhere made it all that much more breathtaking. When we went, it was peak season for the cherry blossoms, so everywhere we turned was tinted with shades of white and pink– it was lovely.
What did the set-up involve and how did prep go?
Setting up our pop-up shop each day, we had to turn on the pans, maintain the levels, make the tartare, and make the batter. The Japanese team that supported us each day portioned the fish, and they took and packaged the orders for customers. The prep was easy, as we had all the ingredients for us to make our homemade tartare sauce, so all we had to do was cut up the ingredients and mix it together.
We had Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified haddock ordered for our fish and chip pop-up shop. With haddock being a fish native to the North Atlantic, haddock is a species not as readily available in Japan, so it was great to share our award-winning fish and chips with this particular species, and even better that just like back at home we served certified sustainably sourced fish from a well-managed wild fishery. It’s really important to us at Fish City that the fish we serve come from sustainable waters.
What was it like before opening? And how was service? What were the conditions/equipment like compared to what you have back home? And how many portions did you serve over how many days?
Well, when we arrived before the Fair opened, Fish City’s pop-up shop was all set up, and the Japanese team did an amazing job recreating the sea-blue paneling of our restaurant façade. Our photos were on big billboards all over the department store, and all the signage for the shop was printed and ready. We arrived early, did our prep and got set up.
Throughout the week, it was smooth sailing. We just did what we normally do if we were back home. Because it wasn’t our first time working the Fair, we were pretty familiar with the set-up and it was all so well organised, which made it easy for us to manage.
On the Saturday, which was our busiest day, Nick our head chef even helped box the fish for customers. It was at times challenging for the team to keep up with the pace of the orders, but I really have to commend them all– they did an exceptional job, and we are so thankful for their support.
The biggest challenge was working with the smaller fryer. At home, we have a massive Kiremko frying range with four pans on the go, so it’s easy to do everything you need to do when making fish and chips. It was challenging for us at times with the pans being so shallow to keep the oil temperature high for the perfect cooked product, but we got through it and made sure each order was cooked the Fish City way to perfection.
We did roughly some 1,700 portions over seven days. We were told that sales of fish and chips were up significantly over last year’s British Fair in Kobe, which we were delighted to hear. It was an honour to bring the best of Belfast to the shores of Japan.
How was your time split across the different stores while you were there?
We were only at the Hankyu Department Store Kobe. In my free time, I took the train out to Osaka to re-visit the Hankyu Umeda Department Store and see where we first set up for the British Fair last year. It brought back so many great memories when our owners Grainne and John and head fryer Zamira were with us for what was a first for Fish City and for every one of us our first time in Japan.
What did the Japanese think of your fish and chips and you being there?
I think it is safe to say that our Japanese customers loved it! We had queues from when we opened at 10 in the morning, and the queues remained a healthy length all the time. We got so many lovely messages on social media from people sharing pictures of their fish and chips and telling us how much they enjoyed it. The Japanese people are all so very warm and welcoming. Their hospitality is exceptional, I have to say.
It was hard to miss that everywhere across the department store were billboards with our faces on it. I found it a bit overwhelming seeing my picture everywhere! Customers had leaflets with our photo on it and were pointing to us. Some people came up and asked to take my photo. Even at a bar in a small side street in Kobe where we ate, the bartender pulled out his phone and showed our photo published online– it was surreal.
What else did you get to do while in Japan?
Outside of the Fair, I got to do a lot because we had a good amount of free time. The British Fair ran for seven days, and Nick and I both worked four of those days on and off, which gave us some time individually to do some sightseeing and experience Japan whilst we were there.
I took the train in to Kyoto and loved it there. I went up Kyoto Tower and checked out loads of the temples. Kiyomizu-dera Temple is up a steep hill and perched on a mountainside with amazing views over Kyoto. It was 500 yen (just over £2.50) to get into the temple, but I didn’t have any cash on me, so I asked where the nearest ATM was, and was I told it was a 20-minute walk down the hill I had just climbed up! It was well worth the extra trip though!
I went to a curry house on three nights of the trip with delicious katsu curry. We were taken out by our Japanese agent Mr Shunji to try the famed marbled Kobe beef, which was just beautiful. Mr Keiji took us out for ramen and okonomiyaki, which are Japanese cabbage pancakes– delicious! We had fresh mochi, a Japanese dessert cake made of glutinous rice; my favourite flavours were the peanut and the matcha green tea. In my free time, I made it to three different Pokemon stores, the Nintendo store, and I loved stepping into the many Don Quijote discount stores around the city. I loved every minute of it.
Did you think working in a fish and chip restaurant would lead to a trip to Japan?
Not in a million years. I’ve known John and Grainne for about ten years, and I joined the Fish City team three years ago just to help them out for the summer. Not long after that, I was moved to the fryer, and that has taken me to London, to Norway, and to Japan… now twice! Not in my wildest dreams did I think any of this was possible.
How many days were you away for and who went?
We were away for nine nights, and the Fair ran for seven days. I went with our head chef Nick, who was also on the Osaka trip last year. It was great to have each other to travel with and to support each other for the pop-up, in addition of course to all the support of our Japanese colleagues.
Anything else you’d like to add?
I would like to thank everyone involved for the smooth running of yet another successful British Fair. To those behind the scenes who arranged our transportation and accommodation, to our lovely Japanese colleagues working our stand taking and boxing up orders for customers, none of it could have happened without them. I had the best time, and it has been a tremendous privilege to represent Fish City, Belfast and Northern Ireland abroad and to share the good food we are so passionate about with the lovely people of Japan.
Read ‘Expert Eye: Bob Leahy, fry chef at Fish City, Belfast’ in the latest edition of Fry Magazine.