It’s the TikTok sensation sweeping the planet – fueled by a fish cannery in Fraserburgh!
Loved-up couples around the world are swarming to the Tinned Fish Date Night hashtag as the cost-of-living-crisis forces everyone – even social media influencers – to economise.
Instead of fancy restaurants and expensive steaks, cash-strapped youngsters are holding romantic candlelit dinners over canned mackerel and tinned tuna.
Because this is TikTok, the tins tend to be a bit more expensive than your average tub of pilchards.
Spanish brand Ortiz, a firm favourite for #tinnedfishdatenight, sells a can of sardines in olive oil for about a fiver, more than double the price of a supermarket brand.
Meanwhile, a 120g can of ventresca tuna from small-scale Basque cannery Olasagasti costs a nifty £12.
Crack the seal on one of these superior slices of tinned fish, set it down with some fancy cheese and crackers on an artful wooden board and you have the ingredients for a classic #tinnedfishdatenight.
Fraserburgh at the heart of Tinned Fish Date Night
But here in the north-east, we can’t let those artisanal Spanish canneries have all the fun.
As Tinned Fish Date Night increases interest in the cupboard staple, and after a pandemic that saw sales soar, supermarkets are upping their tinned fish game.
And Fraserburgh, home to the only fish cannery in the UK, is reaping the rewards.
International Fish Canners (IFC) has been around in some form since 1979. Sat right on Fraserburgh harbour, the company makes tinned fish for almost all of the big UK supermarkets.
If you buy tinned fish from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s or Waitrose, it was almost definitely made at IFC.
Which is why, on a recent Friday morning, I am here to see how the UK’s tinned fish is made.
And why #tinnedfishdatenight is causing a small-scale revolution inside the humble can.
‘All have overlooked the UK’s only fish canner!’
I know my trip to Fraserburgh will be worthwhile when my approach to IFC is met with unbridled enthusiasm by marketing manager Philip Andrade.
“Tinned fish is massively on trend just now and regularly featured in the tabloids, yet all have overlooked the UK’s only fish canner!” he says in an email from Australia where he is trying to drum up extra business for IFC.
In fact, Philip’s work trip to Australia and North America is partly in the hope that Tinned Fish Date Night can help attract new customers.
He firmly believes Fraserburgh can play an even bigger role globally, and is delighted to organise a factory tour so I can see what IFC is doing.
A beardnet and IFC’s global reach
In reception, I’m met by various members of staff. One tells me he’d never heard of Tinned Fish Date Night until an email went round about my visit.
“I had to Google it last night,” he admits.
But the rest of the team are on board. And after donning a fetching pair of rubber shoes, a blue jacket and other protective gear – hairnet for me, beardnet for Kami the photographer – we are taken on to the cannery floor by IFC production manager Andrew Mair.
Andrew has been with IFC for a decade and knows every inch of the factory.
He tells me about IFC’s domination of the UK supermarket own-brands and also the six million tins it sells into Australia on behalf of John West (UK John West fish, on the other hand comes from the sea off Seychelles, Ghana and Portugal).
The US is also a big market for IFC’s fish, most of which come direct from Peterhead fish market a few miles from where we are standing.
Later, Kami the photographer takes pictures of me eating tinned fish with some of the boats that caught the fish in the background.
I’m told IFC’s major selling point is the word ‘Scottish’ printed on their cans.
North-east fish have a reputation that goes well beyond our shores, and both UK customers and those overseas are willing to pay for it.
Nice and warm, and no overpowering fish smell
Andrew takes me around the mackerel production line that processes up to 160,000 cans a day.
It’s noisier than I expected – many of the production line staff are wearing ear defenders. It is also warmer.
The heat comes from the furnaces that cook the fish as they flow in from the defrosting area (all the fish arrive frozen as they are easier to process that way, says Andrew).
Along with the 20-degree heat, the cooking means the factory doesn’t smell overwhelmingly of fish.
In fact, according to Andrew, the place is very pleasant to work in.
“People don’t want to work anywhere else in the factory once they’ve been in here,” he says with a smile.
I’m not fully convinced so as we watch staff expertly pack cooked mackerel at a rate of 120 cans a minute, I ask one of them what it’s like.
Vanessa has been at IFC for three years and thinks it’s a great job. It does have one drawback, though.
“I’m not exactly a fish person,” she says.
The secret sauce for Tinned Fish Date Night
As we walk the rest of the factory, I see sardines being lined up in tin cans ready for sealing.
There is also the line where the fish are doused in oil or flavoured sauces, and the sauce room where flavourings such as tomato sauce, katsu curry and black pepper are made on site.
IFC makes all of its about 50 sauces except for teriyaki, which requires outside help.
Later, new product development manager Andrea Whyte tells me she’s always looking for the latest flavour trends.
The type of people that do Tinned Fish Date Night want interesting flavours to make their night go with a swing.
New flavour ideas are a great way of bringing in new customers to a foodstuff more associated with older people.
Our last stop in the factory is the packing area.
“Our two best workers,” says Andrew as he shows me the twin robots that with unexpected delicacy stack individual cans into packs of four.
From there, the cans are crated and whisked off to whatever Tinned Fish Date Night that awaits them.
What’s the best fish to buy for Tinned Fish Date Night?
IFC laid out a magnificent tinned fish spread to give P&J readers some ideas for hosting their own Tinned Fish Date Night.
Among dozens of cans all made in the Fraserburgh factory were a select few that Andrea in new product development believed gave a taste of their romantic potential.
She also cooked up a delicious sardine pizza and some katsu curry fish pockets that showed off the fun to be had with IFC-made cans.
So, armed with a fork and a ruby-red rose purchased just for the occasion, I went on my own tinned fish culinary journey.
Tesco’s Finest Hot Smoked Mackerel Fillets (£2.20 per 120g can)
I felt as if I knew these fish, having just come off the factory floor they were made on.
Absolutely delicious straight from the tin, and capable of giving lift off to any date night.
Danish snack mackerel (price unavailable)
Snack mackerel is popular in Denmark, where it is used as a sandwich filler.
This was equally good from the tin and had an almost barbecue quality to it.
Sardines in Oil (price unavailable)
I’m not a fan of sardines. But I can appreciate that this simple way to eat fish is attractive to some.
As the tail flipped past my lips I felt like a cat.
Waitrose Essential Mackerel Fillets in Olive Oil (£1 per 82g can)
Mackerel is full of protein so these simple fillets would be great for body builders looking to hit their macros.
For date night, however, you might need to add a little extra to spice up the evening.
They are cheap, though. Ideal for the thrifty romantic.
Tesco Peppered Mackerel Fillets (£2.20 per 110g can)
My favourite of the day.
No need to add anything to these, just give me a tin and a fork and I’d be happy.
In fact, I may even forget I’m on a date and gulp the whole lot myself.
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