Whitby Seafoods: What is scampi? I went to the home of scampi in Yorkshire find out
Whether it’s sat in a bar tucking into scampi served in formica baskets or ordering scampi and chips in a pub, many people have enjoyed scampi without fully knowing what it actually is. Our reporter and podcaster ‘Mrs Yorkshire’ Sophie Mei Lan went to Whitby Seafoods - the home of Whitby scampi - to discover how they make scampi.
Before heading to the factory I thought I'd ask people on the streets: ‘What is scampi?’
"Is it left over bits?" "Is it chicken feet?” Those were just some of the responses.
The truth is I didn't really know myself.
In the shadow of Whitby Abbey lies the answer - Whitby Seafoods’ factory.
Now 40 years old, the family run business produces 140 tonnes of scampi each week supplying retailers, eateries and pubs.
The bold bright animated adverts for Whitby Scampi welcome you into their factory. Whitby Seafoods employs more than one hundred local people - with many of them following in their parents’ footsteps.
There's nobody who has scampi in their blood more than Laura Whittle. Her father Graham Whittle founded Whitby Scampi after taking over a failing company called Whitby Shellfish.
Laura and her brother Daniel now run the company.
She said: “My father thought he could launch the world's best scampi. Using the whole tails of the British caught langoustine without using additives or preservatives and only our really natural crisp crumb with no colouring added to it.
“And that was the birth of Whitby Scampi.”
What is scampi?
Scampi is well caught British langoustine caught in the waters around the British Isles.
Laura added: “Langoustine is from the lobster family and you can call it langoustine or Norway lobster or Dublin Bay prone, but it has to be that to put in to call it scampi.”
She said her father was ahead of his time when creating Whitby Scampi.
Laura said: “Scampi used to be a mixture of soy protein, anything It was quite processed. In the 80s my dad wanted to start a business and there was a business called Whitby Shellfish that had gone into receivership and he wanted to do something different with scampi.
“He noticed that the British public were more interested in providence, where food was from, than ever before and more interested in eating things that didn't have additives in.
“Some people made scampi out of fish and many out of a range of processed seafoods. There was no legislation.”
Whitby scampi is only "wholetail scampi" made in additive free breadcrumbs.
Laura added: “It couldn't be posher. What it actually is is langoustine from the lobster family. We take the shell off and we bread the best bit, the tail.”
She said British people often don't want to eat tails or shellfish but like scampi.
Laura added: “If you like scampi, just keep eating it.”