Our end of the pier show: spot a delicious gap in the

Highland port’s catch of the day was once eaten everywhere

It was while out on a boat with their fishermen partners that Kirsty Scobie and Fenella Renwick had the idea to set up a seafood shack in their Highlands home town.

As they helped unload the catch of prawns, lobsters and crabs, the two women realised there could be local demand for the seafood, which ends up on diners’ plates all over the world – but not in Ullapool.

“We were frustrated at the lack of fresh seafood despite the town being packed with fishermen and fishing boats,” said Fenella, 31, who has two children with husband Mark, an off-shore diver who fishes for prawns and hand-dived scallops from his boat when he’s home. “I used to work in my mum’s seafood restaurant and Kirsty cooked venison and game in lodges around Scotland – so we thought, why not start a seafood shack right here in Ullapool, on the shores of Loch Broom?”

Ullapool, on the north-west coast, has five prawn trawlers and seven inshore creel boats, with a further two crabbing boats coming in each week and around 10 white fish boats landing regularly.

“That’s a huge variety of seafood,” said Kirsty, 29, whose fiancé Josh Talbot, 32, catches prawns, lobsters and crabs on the boat he skippers, Mon Ami.

“Our seafood is the best in Scotland, but it was it all going to restaurants in London, Spain and France. Why couldn’t we eat this incredible produce locally, fresh from the clear waters of The Minch?

“Ullapool is really busy during the summer and when visitors used to ask where they could eat fresh seafood we could only suggest the two fish and chip shops.”

The idea of a street-food shack went down well with their fishermen partners, Mark and Josh, who also wanted to see more of their catch stay in Ullapool – Josh brings in 1,000 creels a day when he’s out on The Minch seven days a week.

“Both said: ‘We have the produce, so you can do it,’” said Fenella. “Their ethos is sustainable fishing and Kirsty and I said we would love to play a part in keeping shellfish and the fish landed in Ullapool local so people can taste the wonderful produce we have on our doorstep.”

Kirsty and Fenella launched a crowdfunding campaign and used the proceeds and their savings to open a trailer, The Seafood Shack, serving monkfish, langoustines, crab, haddock, prawns, mussels and crabs – whatever comes in fresh that day off the boats.

“It wasn’t until we had the trailer fitted out that we turned to each other and said: ‘Are you a good cook?’ ‘I don’t know, are you?’ We’d been so carried away with our idea