Features
Meet a local chippy, learn about how fish got their names, and how some varieties are becoming endangered
Meet the Owners: the Golden Fish Bar
Run by John Ruocco, the Golden Fish Bar is a traditional fish and chip shop and restaurant on Farringdon Road in central London. The premises has been a family-run fish and chip shop for around 150 years – before that it was a chemists. Originally from Ravello in Italy, the Ruocco family have been in the fish and chip trade since John's parents bought the shop as a going concern in 1970. John fried his first bit of fish in the shop's range when he was 12.
Endangered Fish
In recent years, fish has become a hot political issue, with serious implications for those who try to eat ethically. The problem is over-fishing, which has resulted in the populations of an alarming number of the most popular food species being seriously depleted. The Marine Conservation Society, a charity set up in 1977, monitors the situation closely, and tries to persuade supermarkets and restaurants not to trade in fish that have been caught in the affected areas.
Naming Fish
Consider the English names of fish: haddock, sole, gurnard, plaice, mackerel, halibut, huss, herring and cod. Say them aloud, and they seem among the strangest words in the English language. Where could these bizarre names have come from? Who was it who first looked at a large whitish fish and said, "It's a cod!"?
