Durham

The Durham campaign is coordinated by Food Durham and they need your help! If you are a food-serving business in Durham, please sign the pledge and help your city to become the world’s first Sustainable Fish City, or contact liz.charles@durhamrcc.org.uk for more information.

The following food-serving organisations in Durham have signed the Sustainable Fish City pledge for their fish buying, also promising to promote sustainable fish to their staff and customers.

Local authorities and schools

Durham County Council
Durham County Council provides services for one of the largest populations of any council in the UK - over 500,000 people - having taken over all the functions of 7 District Councils in 2009. Headquartered in the iconic County Hall, Durham, they manage food provision on behalf of the council staff restaurant, as well as the museum, theatre, and a number of secondary schools. Their pledge will see only demonstrably sustainable fish specified in all future tenders.

Finchale College
Finchale College is an established specialist centre for disabled adults. It  has become a leading national provider of specialist employment programmes for over 300 men and women each year, offering training and support for unemployed adults with a range of physical, mental and medical health issues and special needs .  In signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge, Finchale College will avoid the worst, promote the best and improve the rest.

Taylor Shaw
Taylor Shaw are a specialist education caterer, and provide 3.8 million school meals each year across County Durham. All the fish served in their primary schools is MSC certified, and they have been awarded MSC 'Chain of Custody' certification; guarenteeing traceability back to a sustainable fishery.

Hospitals

County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest integrated care providers in England, serving a population of around 600,000 people. They provide in-patient hospital services at Darlington Memorial Hospital and University Hospital of North Durham where they provide food for patients, visitors and staff.

Universities

Durham University
Durham University is the third oldest University in England. Over 16,000 students attend 16 Colleges, and each has its own restaurant, serving some of the most highly-rated and sustainable meals to be found in any university in the UK. Durham University have won many awards for their catering, including the 2104 Footprint Award for Sustainability in Education, and the Green Gown awards for Sustainable Procurement in 2010 and 2011. They have MSC Certification, and actively promote sustainable fish to students and to the wider catering community in Durham City.

East Durham College
East Durham College is a Community College spread over three campuses, and specialises in traditional academic subjects as well as catering, engineering and horticulture. Signing our pledging means that East Durham College are committed to supplying and educating their 6000 students with sustainable fish, and their pledge will affect over 230,000 meals served per year.

New College Durham
New College is Durham’s largest and most prestigious college of further education, offering A-levels, apprenticeships, professional qualifications, foundation degrees and vocational courses. The college has over 11,000 students (3,500 full time), and is therefore one of the largest in the North East. The college will now serve sustainable fish in the on-campus restaurant and café.

Workplaces

Durham County Council
Durham County Council is one of the region’s largest employers, and the central hub of the Council’s activities is County Hall in Durham city centre. County Hall has a large restaurant, serving both staff and official visitors with a selection of hot and cold food. The restaurant will now specify sustainable fish in all purchasing contracts.

Finchale College
Finchale College is an established specialist centre for disabled adults. It  has become a leading national provider of specialist employment programmes for over 300 men and women each year, offering training and support for unemployed adults with a range of physical, mental and medical health issues and special needs .  In signing the Sustainable Fish Cities pledge, Finchale College will avoid the worst, promote the best and improve the rest.

East Durham College         and

East Durham College, Houghall Campus
East Durham College is a Community College specialising in traditional academic subjects as well as catering, engineering and horticulture. Signing our pledging means that East Durham College are committed to supplying and educating their 6000 students with sustainable fish, and their pledge will affect over 230,000 meals served per year.

New College Durham
New College’s on-site restaurant, Le Nouveau Restaurant, serves staff students and visitors, and thanks to their pledge, sustainable fish will now be served and promoted to diners.

Tiffin Sandwiches
Tiffin are one of the UK’s leading suppliers of freshly made sandwiches. Their products can be found in universities, healthcare, railways, airlines, cafes and supermarkets across the UK, and in total they supply more than 7 million sandwiches per year. The pledge covers their full sandwich range, and they now serve only certified sustainable prawns and salmon, and will switch to pole and line or MSC certified tuna within three years.

University of Durham Staff dining
The University of Durham’s 4500 members of staff have access to their food retail outlets, and every year around 16,500 meals are served to staff working in colleges.  In 2015 Durham was awarded the ‘University of the Year’ award from the Marine Stewardship Council.

University Hospital of North Durham
Opened in 2001, the University Hospital of North Durham provides services to a population of more than 250,000 in County Durham. It has 591 beds and provides food for thousands of staff, as well as in-patients and visitors.

Restaurants and iconic businesses

The Botanic Gardens, Durham
The 10 hectare Botanic Gardens in Durham are set amongst beautiful mature woodlands on the southern outskirts of Durham City. The Gardens provide an academic resource to the University, educational visits for schools and welcomes thousands of members of the public each year as visitors. The gardens serve sandwiches and salads in a café available to visitors and passers-by seeking refreshment.

Bells Fish Shop
Bells is a group of famous local fish and chip shops across Durham, serving traditional favourites in their restaurant and take away. They will now support locally-sourced and sustainable fish, especially for their daily fish specials, to give locals and visitors chance to try different fish species

Café on the Green
Café on the Green is located in the historic 15th Century almhouses building between Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle on Palace Green. The café is renowned for fresh sandwiches, salads and hot meals, and will be serving only sustainably-sourced tuna throughout.

Castle Eden Inn
Castle Eden Inn is a traditional Pub in historic Castle Eden village just outside Durham. The inn is truly a gastro pub destination and was named Taste Durham’s Highest Quality Assured Local Produce Champion in 2011 and 2012. They are now committed to using only sustainable fish.

The City Hotel
The City is an 18th Century pub and hotel in Durham’s centre, offering craft ale and top-range pub food and accommodation. They will now serve sustainable fish including mussels on their relaxed, modern pub menu.

Oldfields
Oldfields eating house describes itself as a restaurant of ‘proper cooks, serving real British food, cooked properly’.  They build dishes around the best produce available locally, and offer a Real Food Club for loyal customers.

Taylor Foods
The Taylor family has been in the fish business since 1926, and are now part of Direct Seafoods.  Initially working for locally-owned fishmongers in the Newcastle area, Taylor’s own business was built on delivering freshness, and is now one of the largest employers in the fishing industry in the North East and a major supplier to restaurants and other venues in Durham.

#Fishface Durham



The world-renowned University is by far Durham’s most famous landmark, and as such Food Durham are keen to engage students in the issue.

In March 2015, WWF, the Marine Stewardship Council, Durham University and sustainability champions the Whitby Fish and Chip Company collaborated to celebrate and raise awareness about sustainable seafood =. The #FishFace campaign asked Durham students to share fish-face selfie on Twitter and Instagram, whilst learning about sustainable fish and fishing and sampling MSC Certified fish and chips.