NEWS: Three years after opening Unity Diner, Surge co-director Ed Winters has announced the launch of The No Catch Co. alongside Kevyn Bourke, the former head of sister restaurant Unity Diner.

The No Catch Co. is a vegan company with a mission to take on the fish and chip shop industry. The first ‘No Catch’ vegan fish and chip shop is opening on Brighton’s iconic seafront this Saturday at 2 pm, and will be serving the Unity Diner award-winning and hugely popular ‘tofish and chips’.

Other menu highlights include vegan prawns, calamari, smoked haddock and battered sausage. The first 100 people who arrive will receive entirely free vegan cod and chips to encourage vegans to bring along a non-vegan friend or family member to try it.

The idea for The No Catch Co. came from co-founders Ed Winters and Kevyn Bourke who - after seeing firsthand the popularity of the tofish at Unity Diner with vegans and non-vegans alike - realised its potential to provide a delicious alternative to fish and chips but with the same dining experience, all while promoting a message of compassion.

“Kevyn and I used to both eat fish and chips before we were vegan and with it being such a British staple we decided we wanted to show people how delicious a plant-based version of the dish can be,” said Winters.

“We’ve always received such incredible reviews about the tofish from vegan and non-vegan customers at Unity Diner. In 2019 we handed out free portions of the tofish along the British coast to non-vegans, and their reactions alone told us that we had a product that we simply needed to do more with.”

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Although this is their first No Catch restaurant, Winters and Bourke already have their sights set on opening more in the future if demand is as high in Brighton as elsewhere. They have also expressed long-term goals to support vegan campaigns that address the plight of marine life.

“We’re so excited to open our first vegan fish and chip shop in Brighton and we can’t wait for people to come in and try the food,” said Bourke.

“However, we also have a long term goal of opening more locations and creating something that can take on the fish and chip shop industry in the UK. 

“We want to create something really powerful, and we want to support the growth of the vegan movement.”

A staggering 380 million portions of fish and chips are eaten in the UK every year. However, the fishing industry has had a turbulent year in the UK, with the release of the documentary Seaspiracy creating widespread discussion about the impact of commercial fishing and the ethical implications of consuming marine animals.

Globally, somewhere between 0.8 to 2.3 trillion fish are taken from the oceans for food every year, leading to nearly 90% of global marine fish stocks becoming fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted.

“Something has to change urgently”, added Winters. “Our oceans are dying and our consumption of fish is causing suffering to trillions of marine animals. It truly is time for a plant-based revolution in the seafood industry.”

No Catch is opening its doors to the public at 2pm on Saturday 9th October with the first 100 people receiving free cod and chips.

Visit www.nocatch.co.

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