Connoisseur

Fresh Catch

Seafood expert Pattie Gaudreau on the winter bounty of our local waters

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Your company, Blount Fine Foods, is best known for seafood, but there are so many other foods you produce. Tell me about the some other notable products.
Blount is famous for its lobster bisque and lobster salad; both are made at Blount’s Fall River production facility, where hundreds of recipes come together for retailers and restaurant chains alike. We also make great seafood dips and Greek-yogurt dips. Our clam shacks are famous for their clam cakes and their fish and chips.

What will we find at Blount Market?
The Blount Market originally opened up as a small factory outlet store to sell Blount Fine Foods soups and chowders. Over the years it partnered with Halls Seafood and has grown into a specialty market where you can get fresh seafood, gourmet soups and chowders, local fresh bread, sauces, dips and freshly made sides and seafood entrees to go. All of our customers can come in at any time and sample our new additions.

What prepared foods are the favorites?
We make to order anything that our customers request. Our biggest requests are our cooked shrimp, seafood casseroles with fresh lobster meat, New England clam chowder, lobster macaroni and cheese, lobster bisque, seafood curry with coconut rice, baked stuffed shrimp, and our large panko scallops wrapped in bacon. We also make our famous clam boil in a can which people really love.

What’s new at the market?
We have just finished a renovation in order to better serve our customers and at the same time we have e panded our salads and gourmet side dishes by hiring a full time chef.

Chef Melina with be creating a few New England classics: freshly made Seafood Newburg, fresh seafood pies, salmon and dill pies and oyster stuffing, as well as adding to our menu many assorted appetizers. Our goal is to use all of the freshest seafood and to create more entrees that our customers can take home and heat for a meal. Along with the entrees, we will have freshly made sides. By popular demand we will also add all the ingredients to make your own salads. Our loyal customers have requested us to be more of a one-stop shop and we are pleased to accommodate!

You supply foods for Legal Sea Foods and Panera Bread. How did that come about? What do you supply them?
Blount has licensing agreements with Both Legal and Panera. We do not make core products for the restaurants themselves, but rather make identical branded products for sale at retailers across the country.

People think more about fresh fish in the summer. What’s in season in Rhode Island at this time of year?
During the winter months we remain extremely busy. Our large variety of soups, chowders, stews and chilis are always quick and easy. Even though many people do not grill in the winter, our fresh fish is still in high demand. Local fresh sole, haddock, cod, quahogs, lobsters (off of our own boat), and fresh Scottish salmon are just a few that customers eat year round.

Pattie is Director of Retail Operations at Blount Fine Foods.

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