It’s early morning and Clement Boucherit is up to his elbows in ice as he packs boxes of fresh local shellfish for his company Langoustine the Box.
But it’s a task he’s more than happy to tackle as it represents almost two years of planning and finally realising his dream of running his own business.
The 33-year-old Frenchman moved to Scotland three years ago with his partner Laure so she could take up a position as a researcher in environmental economics at St Andrews University.
Leaving behind a career in France as a farm business adviser, Clement looked for work, undertaking short contracts here and there. It was a stint at the Fishermen’s Mutual Association (FMA), a fishing co-operative based in the picturesque Fife village of Pittenweem, that gave him the idea of delivering locally landed shellfish – langoustines, crabs and lobsters – to customers in the East Neuk of Fife.
“At the start of 2015 the FMA was keen to explore the idea of selling their shellfish direct to the public in Pittenweem,” he explains. “While doing market research for them, I realised there was a huge interest in the East Neuk for local seafood – but ironically there was no easy way for people to get hold of it,” he explains.
“In the end, it turned out the FMA had other plans, so in November 2015 I decided to go it alone.”
Combining a lifelong love of seafood with his business savvy, it took Clement a year or so to get Langoustine the Box off the ground. One of the first challenges was finding a base where he could prepare his boxes.
“The lack of affordable food business premises was a real problem but then I heard about Balcaskie Estate’s food hub project at Bowhouse Farm in St Monans – just five minutes from Pittenweem – where I could rent the perfect space,” he smiles.
Everything began to fall into place and by March this year, the business was up and running. Clement explains how it works.
“During the week, customers visit my website to place their order, choosing from a selection of langoustines, crabs and lobsters, all landed in Pittenweem by local fishermen,” he says.
At the crack of dawn on delivery day, Clement buys the freshly-landed shellfish he needs from the FMA.
Then he heads for his premises in St Monans and spends the rest of the morning packing individual orders in insulated plastic boxes with flaked ice.
“Because everything is kept on ice it is still alive so you have to be careful when you open a box of crabs – they’re still able to pinch!” he says. “Langoustines, being more fragile, tend to be too numbed by the cold to move.”
Boxes packed, he sets off to meet his customers, an aspect of the job that he relishes.
“I love reconnecting people to their food and helping them appreciate what wonderful food products they have on their doorstep,” he enthuses.
“I have always been passionate about food, and when I came to Scotland I realised how much fantastic food and drink was produced locally, including shellfish.”
Always happy to dispense advice on the best ways to cook his products when he’s making his deliveries, Clement’s website also offers a recipe section with goodies like langoustines with tarragon cream, lobster thermidor and crab cakes. But he’s keen to point out that it’s not just about buying fresh shellfish to enjoy cooking at home.
“We are also playing an important part in the local economy of the East Neuk and reducing the customer’s carbon footprint by choosing a short food supply chain,” he explains.
Clement is loving every minute of being his own boss although the biggest – and best – challenge came just as the business was getting off the ground.
“I became a dad,” he beams, “and so now I’m juggling my nine-month-old daughter Zoe and the business at the same time,” he laughs.
Now that things have settled down, and with Laure’s invaluable moral support and inspiration, Clement is eager to branch out and extend his service further afield as well as provide eateries in the East Neuk with his top-notch products.
“There are a lot of restaurants already working with local products and I think they might be interested in local shellfish,” he says.
He also hopes to increase his offerings to include other types of shellfish, like velvet crabs and surf clams, and other kinds of seafood.
“Fife has so much to offer foodies, so go on: eat local,” he smiles.
www.langoustinethebox.co.uk
