Scottish RAS-grown shrimp scoop top gourmet award

Warm water prawns produced in a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) in Scotland have been awarded the maximum three stars in this year’s Great Taste Awards organised by the Guild of Fine Foods.

The crustaceans are sold to the food service sector under the Eden Valley Prawns brand by RevolOcean (formerly Rastech Ltd), which operates a RAS at Guardbridge, near St Andrews in Fife.

The prawns were the only unprocessed Scottish product to receive the top award in the ‘Fish & seafood’ section, although Isle of Lewis smoker Uig Lodge Smoked Salmon also got a three-star award in the ‘Fish & seafood – smoked, cured and tinned’ category for its Smoked Salmon Hand Sliced Side product.

A further 10 Scottish smoked salmon products and two smoked trout products received two-star awards in the category, with 11 smoked salmon products and one trout product receiving one-star awards. Salmon farmer Mowi Scotland’s own-brand smoked salmon slices received a two-star award, and Loch Duart Signature Smoked Salmon received a one-star award.

The right path

In a post on LinkedIn, Eden Valley Prawns / RevolOcean said the award showed that it’s possible to produce world-class king prawns in Scotland.

“We’ve always believed that exceptional flavour starts with exceptional husbandry - healthy animals, outstanding water quality, no antibiotics, no sulphites, and harvesting to order rather than months before it's eaten.

“This award tells us we're on the right path.”

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One of the Great Taste Awards judges described the product as “Fabulous king prawns, consistently sized and glistening with freshness”, adding that “the length of flavour after swallowing is remarkable, the finish bright and clean” and that the prawns were simply perfect in terms of taste and flavour.

Another said: “A simply stunning natural product. The prawns are generous in size, with a meaty bite, firm and fresh. The flesh was sweet and flavoursome and we wished we could have had 10 each.”

Trying to grow the best

RevolOcean chief technology officer Andrew Whiston wrote: “People often ask why we insist on clear-water RAS, natural seawater and feed that costs a third more than the alternatives. This is why.

“There are cheaper ways to grow shrimp. We were never trying to grow the cheapest. We were trying to grow the best.”

He added: “A huge thank you to everyone who has supported Eden Valley Prawns and RevolOcean on this journey. We’re incredibly proud of our team, and this award belongs to every one of them.”

The Great Taste Awards are run by the Dorset-based Guild of Fine Food, a family-owned industry journal publisher that covers gourmet food news.