Totally Tropics 

Using a range of Ceres products including Traditional Batter Mix and Curry Sauce, Tropics Two is blazing a trail around the villages of King’s Lynn with its brightly coloured trailer and high quality food

Thirteen years ago, Kurtis Green launched Tropics Two, a mobile fish and chip business to complement his father’s takeaway, Tropics Fish & Chips in Dersingham, King’s Lynn, Norfolk.

Operating three weekly village runs and catering to private bookings, parties and festivals, Tropics Two features a slimmed-down version of the shop menu, concentrating on cod, haddock, plaice, fishcakes, sausages, burgers and chicken.

Having worked at the takeaway ever since he was a youngster, Kurtis is enjoying his time on the road, explaining: “It’s a different pace, but incredibly rewarding. People often say the food tastes even better from the van. That’s because we fry hotter and faster, which seals all the flavour inside the batter.”

The van, awarded Fry Magazine’s 10 Best Fish & Chip Mobile Operators awards three years in a row from 2019-2021, uses Ceres Traditional Batter for its consistency, quality and the convenience of being packaged in 1.25kg bags. 

“We mix fresh for every fry, so the batter is always at its best,” says Kurtis. “It doesn’t sit around and go flat like in some shops. It means we’ve always got the lift and the crispiness. It holds up well in the hot box and people just love it.”

Kurtis also swears by Ceres’ Curry Sauce Mix and Mushy Peas Seasoning. “The curry sauce has a fantastic flavour and is the only gluten free curry sauce I’ve found on the market, which is a big deal for many customers,” explains Kurtis.

“And the Mushy Peas Seasoning takes all the hassle out of preparation while ensuring the same flavour every single time. There are no artificial colourings or flavourings in there either, which is important to me as I have a lot of customers with dietary requirements and we need to cater for them.”

Another product that Tropics has come to rely on – even more so now with the price of fish increasing – is Ceres Fishcake Mix. Kurtis explains: “We’re trying to cut our fish accurately every time so we can give a consistent portion, but what trimmings are generated we make a batch of fishcakes using the Ceres Fishcake Mix.”

Selling at £2.50 against £2.20 for a bought-in version, it’s not a huge price difference to the customer but to Kurtis it’s almost all profit. “There’s a lot of pressure on businesses like us right now, so these things massively help,” he says.

“Rather than chucking off-cuts in the bin, we are minimising food waste and maximising profits. And we’re doing it without mixing seasonings, weighing everything out, mashing potatoes, and trying to get the consistency every time. We just open a bag of Ceres Fishcake Mix, mix it with milk and our fish, and we’re done.”

Praising the service he receives from Ceres, particularly the support from managing director Stelios, Kurtis adds: “Stelios is always available to help. He hates problems so if there’s ever an issue, he sorts it straight away.”
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