2023-07-19 14:37:00
It is a must on the menu of restaurants on the coast and other restaurants featuring fish. Sole is also one of the favorite fish of Belgians. But its price continues to skyrocket and forces many restaurateurs to consider removing it from the menu, under penalty of having to charge more than €50 for the plate. Not sure that the customer will agree to pay such a price. The sole is therefore likely to become a dish reserved for the wealthy. At the fishmongers on the Coast, in Zeebrugge or Nieuport, the price per kilo flirts with 45 € for the “two pieces per kilo” caliber. For 4 pieces per kilo, count an average of 30 €. In the supermarket, cleaned sole (4 per kilo) is sold at €45.99 at Delhaize (with a 20% promotion this week, i.e. €36.50/kg).
If fresh fish, and sole in particular, see their prices explode, it is in particular due to the strong demand from Dutch buyers. A direct consequence of the reduction in the number of fishermen in the Netherlands. If fishermen are throwing in the towel Outre-Moerdijk, it is mainly because they do not benefit from fiscally advantageous tariffs on fuel, as is the case in Belgium. In addition, the government financially helps fishermen who stop their activities with the most polluting boats. Within a few years, it is estimated that half of the Dutch fishing fleet will have ceased its activities.
In addition, our neighbors are also harder hit by Brexit than Belgian fishermen and are seeing their fishing authorizations in British waters reduced from year to year. Finally, the establishment of numerous wind farms also prevents fishermen from practicing their trade in certain areas. So many factors that push Dutch buyers to rush to the auctions of Zeebrugge, Ostend and Nieuport.
So, finished the fresh fish on our plates? It is clear that if you swear by sole or cod, you better have a hell of a budget. On the other hand, there is a way to find many other fish at more affordable prices. Ray, for example, is currently cheap, as are dogfish, flounder, whiting and fresh seafood such as scallops. Monkfish has even been very cheap at auction for several weeks, posting prices down 33% compared to last year.
For restaurateurs, this soaring price poses a real dilemma. Should we increase the price of the plate or remove the fish from the menu? Ignace De Savoye of the fish restaurant De Savoye in Knokke, confided to our colleagues from the Nieuwsblad that he almost fell off his chair when he saw the wholesale price of sole this week, at just under €40 per kilo, excluding VAT. “I have never experienced such prices. I can either hope things are better next week or take sole off the menu and offer an alternative. Not easy, because all fish prices have gone up. But as a fish restaurant we have no other choice of course.”
At such a price, he is convinced that the customer will not pay the real price he should charge the plate. He therefore plans to temporarily put other varieties of sole on the menu, such as dab. The De Savoye restaurant is not the only one having to make choices. At RAS d’Anvers, sole remained on the menu, but its boss confides to our colleagues at the Nieuwsblad that at this price, he is making losses. “I pay 17.12 euros to my supplier for a ready-to-cook fillet of sole. You have to multiply this price by 3.2 to get out of the costs, so it would be a dish of 55 euros. And that’s without the butter you need for frying, without the fries, and without the sauce. We keep the price of 47 euros. We then try to make up for that loss elsewhere.”
Not everyone can afford to bear such costs. The sole therefore disappears from certain menus, particularly in the brasseries in Brussels. Hoping that prices will return to normal in the coming weeks. Because, even if it is not sole season, holidaymakers enjoy tasting it during their summer holidays. “However, this is also one of the reasons for the soaring prices,” says Eric Fernez, chef of the two-star restaurant “Eugénie à Émilie”. “The problem is that the Belgian always wants to eat the best, even out of season. However, there are many other fish that are delicious, such as whiting or flounder. Sole should be reserved for certain special occasions. , like salmon in the past, before there were so many farms.”
Eric Fernez also wants to justify the prices of sole in the restaurant. “A sole costs €18 to €20 to buy. If we add all the costs, see the bill reach €39 to €43, it’s really not exaggerated.” And he also gives his advice on how not to be fooled. “For me, the best thing is to serve the sole with the head. In this way, you can see the freshness. Likewise, if you observe milt, it’s a bad sign. This means that the sole was caught between November and January or February, when it is the worst. You are then served a fish that has been frozen.”
1689821896
#euros #kilo #sole #unaffordable #fish #price #remove #restaurant #menu..
