The shop and restaurant owned and run by the Pinney family at Orford relies on their traditional fishing and smoking methods to bring local seafood produce to Suffolk and beyond.

When Richard Pinney returned to Suffolk from London in the 1950s he decided to turn his hand to cultivating oysters and fishing for sea trout in the North Sea. He experimented with smoking techniques and the Pinney family business was born. The first restaurant was opened in the 1960s and the family haven’t looked back since.

The Pinney family business is threefold; the seafood restaurant at Orford relies on produce sourced and prepared by the family. The shop on Orford Quay brings freshly caught seafood to the local community and visitors to the area. Finally the Pinney family provides seafood to local businesses to ensure that Suffolk produce stays in Suffolk.

The smoked fish served in the restaurant and sold in the shop is treated according to the methods first tried out by Richard Pinney. These traditional ways of preparing the trout, mackerel, sprats, eels and cod roe are labour intensive and time-consuming but set the Butley Orford Oysterage apart from other business and offer people a unique Suffolk experience.

The family continues also to grow oysters in Butley Creek, as first attempted by Richard Pinney. The oysters are purchased young and left to mature in the beds for 2-3 years before being harvested. The Pinney family is unique for having maintained these traditional methods in their business and are passionate about the work they do. For those interested in learning more about the smoking process a tour of the Smokehouse will be held on October 8th.

Photo Credit: Menage a Moi