Latest news with #JonRowley
Scottish Sun
10 hours ago
- Business
- Scottish Sun
English city's oldest shop is forced to shut after 160 YEARS in business as Brits mourn ‘huge loss'
Locals were saddened to hear the 'terrible news' END OF AN ERA English city's oldest shop is forced to shut after 160 YEARS in business as Brits mourn 'huge loss' Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) ONE of Britain's oldest shops has been forced to shut after 160 years due to soaring bills. WH Mogford & Son in Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol has been serving customers in its 'Aladdin's Cave' hardware store since the 1860s. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 5 & Son in Bristol has closed after 160 years Credit: Jon Rowley 5 The 'Aladdin's Cave' hardware store has been open since the 1860s Credit: Jon Rowley 5 Owner Paul Gillam, 57, said rising bills and decreased footfall have forced him to close Credit: Jon Rowley Owner Paul Gillam, who has spent 30 years working at the shop, said it was time to close permanently due to rocketing bills. He told The Sun: 'It's a culmination of footfall dropping off, banks closing in the high street, people shopping online, and the cost of amenities, bills and staffing costs. 'It wasn't an easy decision. It's taken me a couple of years to come to the decision to close down. 'I'm disappointed for the regular customers but it's the right decision at this time.' Paul, 57, added: 'I will take a couple of weeks off then I need to find another job.' The shop, which serves a once bustling high street on the outskirts of Bristol, will pull down the shutters for the last time in September. One Bristol local, who grew up nearby, described the imminent store closure as 'terrible news'. Another replying to Paul's post on Facebook breaking the news, replied: 'Very sorry to hear this. 'I have known the shop my entire life. 'There will be many many saddened people when they hear this news. Popular bank with over 400 spots confirms it is shutting 18 branches in August – it follows 148 closures by rivals 'Mogfords has been a much loved and relied upon business in the village throughout generations.' Another said: 'You will be very much missed. My sons call your shop 'the shop that sells everything'." 'As a fellow business owner I am aware of the significant rise in operating costs over the last few years. I can't imagine how difficult this decision has been for you. 'On behalf of the local community a huge thank you and best wishes for your next 'chapter'.' 5 Locals were saddened to hear of the shop's closure Credit: Jon Rowley 5 The shop will close for good in September Credit: Jon Rowley It comes as shops across the country struggle to survive in the changing consumer landscape. Both chain stores and independents have closed at an alarming rate, citing decreased footfall and rising prices as the reason behind the closures.
Los Angeles Times
14-05-2025
- General
- Los Angeles Times
Can Fish Be Too Fresh?
Is the freshest fish always best? Common wisdom says yes. Seafood expert Jon Rowley says no. He says the perfect time to cook and eat a fish is as much as five to six days after it died. Can he be serious? 'Some of the best chefs in the country,' he says, 'have difficulty getting their minds around the idea that fish can be too fresh or that a fish coming out of rigor mortis five or six days after harvest (in ice, of course) can be far better eating than a fish less than one day out of the water. To my knowledge, this phenomenon has never been written about, even though an understanding of how a fish goes through rigor is essential to achieving the best flavor, texture and mouth feel of any fish.' About three hours after a fish dies, says Rowley, it goes into rigor mortis--the progressive muscle stiffening that results from a coagulation of muscle protein. How long this state lasts depends on how it was killed and how it was treated after death. A fish that is killed properly and immediately iced down will stay in rigor mortis up to five or six days; an improperly killed fish will stay in rigor mortis only a few hours. If a freshly caught fish is going to be frozen, says Rowley, it should be done quickly, before it goes into rigor mortis. Rowley's been talking about his rigor mortis theory for some time, but until now he has never actually put it to the test. In The Times Test Kitchen, Rowley wears the nervous, excited look of a kid attempting his first chemistry experiment. In front of him are three pieces of catfish: one purchased as a fillet from a supermarket fish case, a second Rowley cut himself from a whole catfish killed within 24 hours; and a third fillet Rowley just cut from a whole fish purchased live within the hour from a live fish tank in a Chinatown supermarket. All three fillets are brushed with butter and broiled at the same time, in the same pan. The first fish, a bit pinkish raw, acquires a slightly grainy texture when cooked. The flavor is muddy to the point of tasting slightly moldy. ('That's a fish from Mississippi,' says Rowley. 'It tastes different from the catfish that are farmed in California.') The second is slightly opaque and very white. The texture, when cooked, is very pleasant and the flavor clean and delicious. The freshest, when filleted, is clear and slightly green. On cooking it seizes and scrunches up into a sort of ball. The texture is both mushy and grainy and the flesh is almost tasteless. It is not delicious. The best of the three is clearly the whole catfish that had just come out of rigor mortis when purchased. Rowley has indisputably proved his point. Which leaves us wondering why live fish is so popular in Chinese restaurants. We ask Ken Hom, one of the most respected Chinese chefs in America. 'With really fresh fish,' he says, 'nothing is ever done to it except steaming. And it must be steamed very slowly, so it doesn't seize up. If you go into a restaurant and order fresh fish and say you want it fried, the Chinese will say, 'Are you nuts?' But if you steam it, then you can really taste the freshness and the flesh won't seize up.' 'Yes,' replies Rowley, 'but it will still be mushy.'
