Chef Paul’s Blog

New Opportunities……

7th December 2025
Well, we have excellent news……

As many of you will know, we have developed our business somewhat.  We have invested in top-end portable equipment to allow us to work in locations where food trucks are not permitted.

New equipment includes :

Two x German made stainless steel 28 litre professional gas fryers
Stainless steel chip warmer/crisper
Stainless steel microwave
One each stainless steel fridge and freezer
Stainless steel twin bin
New tables and various other smaller items

We have already used this new equipment and format several times at Café de la Poste in OLONZAC with the kind permission of the owner, Stephane Martin.  Customers can buy a drink and eat their Fish & Chips inside the bar or on the terrace in warmer months.  We go there once a month, on the third Saturday evening of each month.

We are also very excited to announce that we have been invited by Bruno and Isabelle Di Megglio, owners of Café Le Commerce in LIMOUX, to work in their bar every Wednesday evening.  Again, customers will be able to buy a drink and eat their fish and chips inside the beautiful,  comfortable bar or out on the sun terrace as the weather improves. 

The start date for Le Commerce will be announced soon.  Watch this space!

We’re still working at certain venues upto the 20th December, then we will take a break for the two week festive period.  Please check our locations page on fishchips.fr for details.

We hope to see you before Christmas, but if we don’t, then we would like to take this opportunity to wish you a very Happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year.

Chef Paulus and his lovely Assistant Val

New on the Menu……

12th July 2025

We are pleased to announce our new Chinese style chicken curry.  Just a fraction on the mild side of medium, it is a full-flavoured dish, with a generous amount of Red Lable chicken.  I use 75% thigh meat and 25% leg in order to guarantee moist chicken.

It will be a a special dish available through the rest of July and August and at certain times beyond.  Since its launch two weeks ago, have sold over 150 portions and a regular and much valued client of ours has today ordered 30 for his freezer.  It is made fresh so is perfect for freezing if you wish.  

The recipe itself is secret having been passed down through the generations from my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Chinese grandmother…………………..

At the Quillan Night Market, it is ONLY available by pre-order.  We will normally have stocks, however, so why not give it a try.  It will be available at all other markets that we work at but advance ordering guarantees that we will not have run out.

New night market……

3rd July 2025

We are now working at the night market in the town of Maury, on the road to Perpignan.  First impressions were not of great confidence.  I think we are the only ‘professional’ seller there, apart from an excellent baker and a very good goats cheese producer.  In the main, the rest of the sellers are small producers who only do the Maury market.

What a surprise!  We have been mobbed every evening.  In addition, the quality of the produce on sale explains who so many people visit that market.  Starting from six pm on a Thursday and finishing quite early, it is a nice place to visit.

Of special mention are a couple selling superb home made quiches, a stand with freshest vegetables you will find.  An artisan baker (pictured below), and next to him a very high seller of local goats cheeses that are delicious.  Also of course, the best Fish & Chips in France!  The Chef is also very handsome fellow.

Val is pictured with the baker:

The bread on the left of the picture is a mixture of between 12 and 15 different varieties of wheat flour.  He blends the bread in the same way that a master wine maker blends different grapes.  An absolutely delicious bread with a firm bite.

Under the bread in a paper bag in the picture is a bread made from a variety of wheat first grown 12,000 years ago.  The ears of wheat have a particularly long length and the bread is very low in gluten and has the acids which assist the stomach and digestion.  To be frank, I was less keen on this out of the two but it is a very interesting experience to find what our ancestors were eating.  Quite hard but with a long aftertaste.

Superb quality stuff and every week he also has a variety of different products.  This market is well worth a visit.  We will work there until the end of August when we have other venues which we will announce soon.  The market itself continues for several weeks afterwards I believe.

Lazy Chef……

27th December 2024

I have been told off!  No, not by Val, that would be a daily occurrence.  No, I have been told that my blogs have been missed.  Well, fix bayonets.  Time for more tales of heroism and fish frying.

2024 has been a spectacular year for us.  Not least the 6-week holiday that we took off and spent 4 weeks in a mixture of Italy, Greece and Austria.  Fabulous.

Since returning we have fine-tuned our work schedule.  After Christmas and New Year, we will return to working 6 days a week with Sundays off.

We have a fabulous new venue at Montréal near Carcassonne.  We work with the Bar l’Express on the main street on the second Saturday of every month and our next visit is on the January 11th.  It is always a fabulous sold-out evening and booking is recommended.  The bar is a friendly place with a good range of wines and beers and it is a convivial place to eat in.

Paulus

Illness and Idiots……

20th July 2024

On Friday evening we were working at the Quillan PMU night market.  It was busy but extremely hot.  37 C outside and not a breath of air.  Inside the food truck, with all three fryers blasting out 54 kw of heat, when on full, you can imagine……

The thermometer that I bought only goes to 50 C and broke on the first evening we installed it.  I have not bothered with a replacement……

When undergoing my first day of training under Monsieur Raymond all those years ago, I remarked to another trainee, that, “Wow it is hot in here”.  The sous-chef overheard and beckoned me to his presence with a hooked finger.

“Mr Bridgestock”, he said, “Tell me.  Are you a professional or an amateur?”.  The last word was almost spat out.  At that stage in my career, I was not too sure myself but bravely replied, “A professional sir.”.  In that case he said, “NEVER say it is too hot.”.  With a slight sneer, he continued, “That is for amateurs.  If you do get hot, you are allowed to say that, “It is a little warm this evening.”.

Well dear reader, I can tell you that on Friday last, it was, “A little warm.”.  We had a queue and I was trying to get the food out in as timely a manner as possible.  I have a serious heart condition, and I started to get heart pain, which is unfortunately not rare.  Also, I started to struggle for breath, and after a few minutes had to go outside and sit down.  A passer by, seeing my distress called the Pompiers.  They arrived 9 minutes later, complete with a SAMU doctor and a guy who works at the hospital as well as a complete team of highly trained Pompiers.

Now, what follows is completely true.

I had my chef’s jacket pulled open and a young pompier was affixing electrodes for a ECG.  The Doctor was listening to my chest with a stethoscope, and yet another pompier was taking my blood pressure while another, my pulse.  I was laying on a stretcher.

Suddenly an English lady appeared and gently excusing herself through the ring of pompiers, enquired, “Is it possible to have a portion of Fish & Chips?”.

My wife was surprisingly calm, and merely said, “If my husband is still alive later it might be possible”.

As it turned out it was just the heat that had affected me.  I was taken to Carcassonne Hospital under blue lights, which was great fun.  I don’t think that the driver ever got below 70 kmp, and at times the Renault ambulance was travelling MUCH faster.  I had a scan and an X-Ray within 30 minutes of arriving and after seeing the Doctor.  Immediately I was seen by the heart specialist.  

I was allowed out at 3 am and went home as right as rain.

While I tell this story for its humorous value, the service that I received, not for the first time was absolutely superb and I thank the attending Doctor, the Pompiers team and the excellent staff at the hospital.

Paulus

The season so far…..

1st July 2024

First this season is far busier than last year.  As regulars will know, our aim is to sell out of fish every evening, as we have fresh deliveries most mornings.  This ensures fresh fish every day.

We have regular positive comments, especially about how good the fish is.  Having a normal chef-sized ego, ie, enormous, I am always tempted to reply, “Well you see, I have been cooking for many years and my training was in first, a two-star Michelin restaurant and after other Michelin establishments.  That coupled with my natural talent, dedication and………………….”.

Sadly, none of that matters.  Our meals are produced with good quality sunflower oil, specially produced for deep frying.  The batter, which I make, is simple, but again made with good quality ingredients, ‘Rice cones’ as they are known in the trade and which are just extremely fine flour made from rice.  We use it to dust the fish with so that it takes a deeper cover of batter, and also dries the fish at the same time which helps maintain the quality of the oil.

The final ingredient is the most important.  Fresh fish.  Normally, every day except Sunday, we either have deliveries of fish or we go to our fishmonger in Perpignan, or sometimes Narbonne to collect it.

We hope everybody is having a great summer and enjoying the hot weather.

Paulus et Val

NEW on the Menu…….

6th March 2024

We are now serving baby langoustine tails in breadcrumbs.  Often referred to as Scampi, they are absolutely delicious and we suggest eating with just a little lemon juice squeezed over and a touch of salt and tartare sauce.  8 pieces with chips and lemon. 15 €.

Go on, try them!

Chef Paul

Ups and downs ……

28th February 2024

Well, just to report some problems……

First, I was taken into intensive care for over a week recently with a serious stroke.  The very good news is that it was later diagnosed not as being a stroke but rather a serious virus in the inner ear, which apparently has the same symptoms.  I am back at work now, although it is difficult as I have double vision and some balance issues.  I must say here, however, that the care that I received at Carcassonne Hospital was superb.

The show must go on and we are working well.

In another sad development, however, we have been forced to abandon our partnership in Léran in the Ariège, with Oliver and Jacqueline at the Le Rendez-vous.

We have been doing very well there and always enjoy our visits but the Mairie have increased the charge we pay to a ridiculous level and it is no longer feasible.  We are sad but stoical about such events.  He wanted us to pay over four times what we pay at even the most expensive of our other installations.  Perhaps he thinks that Léran is the new Las Vegas!  We particularly wish our friends Oliver and Jacqueline well.  If you have not visited Le Rendez-vous then we recommend it.  A lovely atmosphere and a great outside terrace for spring and summer.

On the plus side, our new venues in Belvèze du Razès near Limoux and St Estève, near Perpignan airport, are both booming. Key visits for us.

NOTE please that we are changing our calendar in Belvèze to the following dates in Spring – see here.

We are still fine-tuning the dates of our Saint Estève visits so watch out for details here.

A final exciting note is that our presence at Camping La Cité restarts on Tuesday evenings from 26th March. Always a great venue for us and we can’t wait to get back there.

Chef Paul et Val

A fantastic evening at a Winery …….

29 January 2024

Well, followers of ours will have seen that we are working seven days a week as we develop sites and locations.  It is going well I am glad to say.

Last Friday we were invited by Jon Hesford and Rachel Treloar to their renowned winery in Trouillas, near Thuir, Domaine Treloar.  Full Story | history world trade center (domainetreloar.com)

It’s quite a trek from Axat but we are fans of their wine and have been seeking it out for some years, so it was an easy decision.  Their wines are regarded by Jancis Robinson MW, Britain’s most respected wine critic, as the best in the Roussillon, with eight of their wines currently ranking in her top fifteen.  They get my seal of approval as well, which is far more important, I am sure you will agree!

Quite seriously they are delicious wines.

All the wines we have tried have been nothing short of excellent but as far as I am concerned I particularly like 

White – La Terre Promise (Robert Parker (91pts), Jancis Robinson 17.5/20)

and 

Red – there are several but I would choose Le Secret, A Syrah-based wine which is aged for 2 years in French oak barrels.  Robert Parker 92 pts, Jancis Robinson 17.5/20, 

Parker in particular gives points only grudgingly.  92 points is extremely high and reflects this sublime wine.

When I worked for a top wine merchants in the UK, there was an in-house joke that I always remember.  “If Parker scores it under 85 we can’t sell it, and if he scores over 85, we can’t buy it”!  

We had an absolutely lovely evening. 

Over-subscribed in advance, we squeezed in about 100 people and everybody was served, just about on time.  Feedback was excellent with most people ordering the cod.  As ever, delivered fresh that morning it is in tip-top condition,  Both our haddock and cod are arriving in superb condition but if I had to choose at present, then much as I love haddock I would go for the cod.

The only blight in the ointment is that our ever-friendly delivery driver, Francois has been promoted within the business, and we now have Robert who arrives early morning.  Whereas Francoise would give me an idea of delivery time the evening before when I ring the fish order through Robert normally refuses.  I, in turn, have to be up early every morning and hang around between 5.45 am and 7 am.

He does sometimes give me a delivery time, and on those days he is greeted with coffee.  On the days he just turns up, nothing.  My strategy seems to be working as he gave me a delivery time three days last week.  He likes his coffee, and I like getting up as late, if you can call 7 am, late, as I possibly can!  Slowly, I am winning the war as well as this battle.  I predict by next week he will give me a time for every visit.  Watch this space.

We are excited to be back to Domaine Treloar on the following dates, all Friday evenings from 6 pm.

23rd February
29th March
26th April
31st May
28th June

At the time of writing the sun is shining, and I do believe that some better weather is coming.  Don’t hold me to it.

With the kindest regards to all our clients.

Paulus et Val.

Cooler times …….

7th December 2023

Well, back at work and it is fun. 

Would I rather be on holiday? Well yes.  I would also like to win the Lottery.  By the way, the people who say upon winning 13 squillion Euros, “It won’t change me, I shall carry on the same”, is absolutely 100% without doubt, completely and utterly, not me.  Despite working jolly hard all my life, I can tell you that a sudden onset of sloth and indolence would over come me in a giant wave never to shrugged off again.

Of course after the outrageous range of sports and classic cars have been put in the garage, and an up to date and wide ranging wardrobe of new clothes has been specially made by some flunky in Saville Row, I would pay off all our friends mortgages and give them a bit of cash.  All I would expect in return is a bit of bowing and forelock tugging.  I am not a pretentious person.  Val has started laughing but I have no idea what about.  On the subject of clothes, I will of course keep my current range.  Waste not want not and besides, I am certain that flares will come back in style.

Imagine the chain of Food trucks of every hew and colour I would purchase.  I would rebrand the business, Fish & Chips to the stars!  With Rolls Royce bodies cunningly converted into vans with beautiful blond ladies serving the portions of cod and caviar, my empire would know no bounds.  The first Fish & Chip trucks to earn Michelin Stars and I would be a as fated as a Nigerian Prince.

Sadly, my lottery numbers have not yet come up so Val’s Christmas present will not be a diamond the size of a tennis ball.  Instead we are working all over Christmas and look forward to seeing customers old and new.

We have a new venue in Belvèze du Raz_dat the Bar Le Chêne Vert starting tomorrow evening at 6pm, 8th December.

We are also back at the Brasserie at Puivert next Saturday evening (16th) and that is always a great bash.

Current venues are : Belvèze, Carcassonne, Chalabre, Léran, Puivert, Quillan, St Paul de Fenouillet.

Just concentrating on work for a second, our Cod is coming through in really quite generous sizes but we have kept our prices the same.  If you are feeling peckish, then go for the cod.  You will not go away with hunger pangs I guarantee.  

Well, we have been working for about a week after the holiday  and with one exception when the rain came down like a Biblical inundation, we have been very busy every evening.    During the summer, it is obviously extremely hot in front of the frying range but actually this time of year especially with the current, very cold weather, it is not too bad.

If I do not have time for further blogs , then please have a wonderful Christmas period and New Years Eve.

With sincere best wishes for the season.

Paulus, and the real power behind the throne, Val.

Summer is here……

2nd July 2023

Well, summer is upon us and the kids are orrrfffff school.  In fairness, while we have no children, we find French children very well behaved, and last night we had two the most polite kids ever.  We are still marvelling at their politeness.  I was well brought up but in comparison I fear that I was a little tyke. 

We are in full swing with the night markets and at present this is our workload.

Sunday mornings – Esperaza market.

Monday evenings – Camping de la Cité next to the chateau.

Tuesday evenings – Limoux night market in the square.

Wednesday evenings – Puivert, next to the lake.  HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.  It is a great market for food and the Bastille celebration fireworks are marvellous.  I think they will be on Wednesday 19th but check the date before travelling.

Thursday evenings – The Métairie bar, next to la Cité.  This is a lovely bar with a large terrace, relaxing music and great wine and beer.

Friday evenings – Quillan night market, every 2 weeks.

Saturday mornings – Quillan market. 

We had a complaint the other evening.  I was lectured by an English client.  He was unhappy because I was sweating too much.  I am still laughing to be frank.  While obviously any chef will try not to ‘drip’ for want of a better word, over food, in a restaurant kitchen it is hotter than Hades. 

The main reason why we closed the restaurant was due to me having a bad heart condition and it being too hot in our restaurant kitchen.  

I will tell a story from my first morning training as a callow youth.  In the kitchens of Le Manoir, I, in passing, commented that “It is very hot”.  One of the senior chefs overheard me and was very annoyed.  It was my first, but not my last ‘bollocking’.  He had taken great exception to my comment.

“Listen sonny he said.  Never, never, never say it is too hot in any kitchen you work in.  First, it will get a lot hotter than this on an evening service and secondly, are you or are you not a professional chef?  My stammer returned with a vengeance, but I managed to stutter out a “y, y, y, yes”.  Well there you are then.  If you can’t stand the heat get out of my kitchen.  The only people who complain about it being too hot are housewives and”, at this point he spat out the word.  “Amateurs”.

I have never complained since but I have been in kitchens where the serving staff avoid entering as it is like a volcano.  All the chefs are soaked in sweat and the perspiration runs down their bodies.  When I used to go out in the restaurant to say Hi or check on tables I always changed my chefs jacket to at least look reasonably presentable.

If the complaining client could see the state of the chefs on a hot and humid July evening, he would be shocked indeed.

Paulus

A Record Weekend……

19th – 21st May 2023

This weekend we were at the wonderful winery Nicolas Therez in Serres.  

We worked on the Friday evening and to be frank it was OK rather than wonderful.  The weather dampened demand for wine sales but we did very well with fish sales.

Despite the reasonable sales, I was somewhat worried.  We had been lead to expect a huge demand and I had ordered a LOT of fish for delivery on the Saturday morning.  I actually tried to phone late on the Friday evening in order to reduce the quantity but I was too late.

When our delivery arrived at the normal un-Godly hour of 5.55 am on the Saturday morning I was somewhat glum.  Despite a couple of earlier espressos and the annoyingly cheerful greeting from Jean-François who brings the fish, there was an awful lot of it to say the least.

Coupled with the 11.30 pm late finish at the event the night before the thought of the cats having a feast from what was surely going to be a mountain of unsold fish was somewhat depressing.

In fact we should have not worried.  The Saturday was an absolute triumph.  I had left half the fish in the restaurant fridges, so pessimistic was I.  In fact at 2 pm having almost sold out at lunchtime, I headed back home “tout-bleeding suite” in order to pick up the rest and lots more batter and boxes and yet more mountains of fresh chips which I had been able to get a friend to spend two hours putting through our peeler and chipping machine, thanks to David!

We started again at 5 pm and had a big queue. 

Imagine the scene.  A black and white 1950’s cowboy film is showing.  With much sweating and cursing the engineer on an old steam train is throwing coal into the furnace.  His partner screams “More speed Paulus!  More speed!”.

Well the only difference is that it was me in a, by this time, soaking wet with sweat Chef’s uniform throwing haddock into the fryer rather than the furnace and my lovely but somewhat stressed wife, Val was screaming, “Where the hell is the fish for table 7!  More fish!  More fish for God’s sake!”.

Well, by 9.15 pm, we had run out of fish.  By 9.30 pm we ran out of fried chicken.  By 10.15 pm we ran out of large sausages.  By 10.35 pm we ran out of small sausages AND chips and this was despite our long-suffering friend bringing not one, but two extra deliveries of mountains of chips which he had been furiously peeling by hand after the electronic peeler jammed.

To be frank, I had been tempted to pull the siding down about two hours earlier we were so hot and tired but there were always inconsiderate people shoving credit cards and cash into our (very) sweaty hands.

Well, with all three fryers going at full power and no breeze, it had been over 40 C in the van and we had drunk five bottles of Perrier.  We were still very thirsty, however.  We tried a glass of the superb Crémant Rosé 2021 and I can tell you it was far better than any fizzy water ever made.

If you get the chance to visit this superb winery then we particularly recommend the Crémant Rosé and the Carignan red.  One friend declared it dry.  Well yes, obviously that red is a young version from very old vines.  It will need three years in bottle I would estimate in order to allow the tannins to soften but it will be a wonderful wine.

New Venue & more ……

29 March 2023

We have been invited to serve at the main camp site in Carcassonne La Cité and are there working every Monday evening in April.  We are at the campsite but not actually inside it.  We are next to the road so we will be able to serve non-campers as well. 

Address Chemin Bernard Délicieux, 11000 Carcassonne. 

Starting from 6pm. 

New Potato Variety

Many people ask what our variety of potatoes is and we change the type regularly as they come into peak condition in the season.  From this weekend we will using Agata.

The warmer weather and lighter nights are ideal for Fish & Chips.   Please remember to order in advance if you can although we do carry extra stocks as well.

We hope to see friends old and new soon.

Have a great week.

Chef Paul and his little elf, Val.

An Epic Weekend!

17 – 19 March 2023

I think that we can sum up the weekend by saying that we very happy.  But not as happy as Margaux!

Potatoes……

16 February 2023

Our variety of potatoes changes this from Agata to Challenger.  There should be no difference in flavour so you cab continue to expect great chips.  Please be aware that we prefer a softer finish compared to French Fries which have a crispy texture.  Basically we try for a British chip shop style.  

We hope to see you soon.  It is slowly getting warmer.  Well, a bit anyway!

Have a great week

Paul et Val

Chapter 4: Ramping up……

January 2023

When we started a couple of months ago, we were only working at a handful of venues.  We have been met with such success that we have had requests from as far afield as Toulouse, Nimes, Narbonne and Montpellier.  One evening in Quillan we served a Belgian gentleman with Haddock and chips.  He returned 30 minutes later full of praise and thanks and with a request.  Would we please do a private function at his house for 50 people.  Well, our response, was of course, yes.   Where and when?  It then turned out that it would be in Brussels!  He was very happy to pay our travelling costs and time.  I tried to explain that the van is limited to 50mph but he was almost begging.  In the end he realised it was a no go and left somewhat dejectedly.  It was nice to be asked however.

Our regular venues are:

Carcassonne

Quillan

Limoux

Chalabre

Saint Paul de Fenouillet

Léran

See our venues page for a full list of all our venues.

If you have any new venue suggestions, then do please contact us.

Chapter 3: From Triumph to Catastrophe……

22nd October 2022

Well after the sad affair above, we went from strength to strength.  We had universally good reviews and started to build a loyal client base.  We were booked up to do Saturday night Fish & Chips at the excellent brewery in Puivert.  If you have not visited then go along.  The beer is excellent.

We arrived in good time.  I opened the rear door of the van to be met by disaster.  A pipe had broken and 45 litres of brand new frying oil came cascading over the step and out onto my feet.  Not only did we have no oil to fry in but we had no fryers!  In addition the inside of the van was unusable with think oil all over the floor.

Well, don’t let anybody say that we Bridgestocks are not made of stern stuff.  Val drove off at great speed to replace the oil for the one fryer that we were able to fix.  Frantic cleaning left me filthy and covered in grease.  Luckily I had a spare chefs uniform, and with the help of hot water and soap, looked reasonably presentable.

I have to say that despite the late start, that the clients in Puivert were absolutely wonderful.  No complaints and only very warm words of support and thanks.  We really appreciated it.

I shall clarify my comments I shall just say this.  Our clients in Puivert were wonderful.  Thank you very much to everybody.

Chapter 2: Onto the first service……

14th October 2022

Despite a few teething problems on the first evenings service in Quillan, we had received good feedback.  We had had one major problem however.  Two dear friends had both ordered pies.  We had tested the gas pie warmer prior to the first evening and it had cooked efficiently and without problems.  On this special evening of all evenings, the bloody thing would not cook properly.

We explained the problem to our friends and if I am honest I would rather have had the problem with our best friends rather than an unknown client.  My reasoning was that I could trust them to be understanding.  I was utterly and completely wrong.  Don’t get me wrong.  They waited a long time but I was just too busy and stressed on this first high pressured evening to check on them once.  When the pies were almost ready my friend came to the stand.  He was beyond being furious.  So annoyed that he never even looked at us but his words were as stinging as could be.  He was childish, cruel and as nasty as a bullying five year old.

At the end of the evening the guests of our friends all came up to thank us for the excellent food and service and to wish us well.  Our closest friends were of rather less class and stormed off without seeing us.

I did not mention their appalling behaviour as I very much wanted them to continue being our friends.  It was clear from the lack of communication that there continued to be a problem between us.  They finished the relationship a few days later with an exchange of snotty emails.

I would rather not have ever started the new business if I had known it would cost us such an important relationship, but I have to also say, how can any close friends fall out over Fish & Chips.

Well that was a very sad chapter but we move on and we learn.

Chapter 1: New beginnings……..