Established in 2005 on the Lizard Peninsula in Cornwall, Kernowsashimi arose from a combination of the need for a better market for local small boats to sell their small volumes of high quality fish, and the wave of influence of the Slow Food Movement at the time. The core Slow Food principles of Good, Clean and Fair applied to context of fish are: “Good” for the high quality of day-boat fish, “Clean” referring to the low carbon footprint of static-gear small boats, and “Fair” meaning the fishers themselves are recognised and rewarded for their efforts in a transparent way. The model is only practicable if supplied directly by the boats, landing their catch to Kernowsashimi each day, rather than using the fish market as an intermediary. This is mainly for two reasons – firstly, as fish generally deteriorates in quality from the moment it dies, reducing the time and handling from the sea to the consumer maximises quality and reduces waste. Secondly, when fish is landing on the auction market, fishers will receive their “market rate”, whereas Kernowsashimi can positively discriminate by paying higher prices and pass these on to chefs that desire the additional quality, sustainability, providence and ethical produce.

Today we still hold true to our founding philosophy, relying solely on the direct supply of fish from our collective of boats fishing around the Lizard Peninsula. We continue to challenge the boundaries of quality control, for example the training of ikejime techniques to fishers and the development of the market to match. We owe this in part, to our mentor Yoshinori Ishii, previously of Umu Restaurant, London. We are indebted to the like-minded chefs we supply, some of which have been on our journey from the beginning.