Renowned French caviar house Petrossian to open UK lab to combat Brexit red tape

Petrossian has been a French institution for over a century, and has been sourcing and maturing the world’s finest caviar since they first brought this incredible delicacy to Paris in 1920. This year the family-run company is expanding its UK caviar operations and is currently building a new caviar lab on the outskirts of London in Chessington.

The UK subsidiary of the brand launched 7 years ago and has introduced Petrossian products to some of the country’s best restaurants & luxury hotels, going on to launch a UK online store in 2020, which offers nationwide consumer access to the full range of Petrossian specialities, with guaranteed 24hr delivery.

Petrossian UK is currently a distributor of Petrossian pre-packed products from France. Since Brexit, the new regulations and heavy processes on food imports have encouraged the brand to develop their own caviar laboratory, here in the UK, to be more autonomous and flexible to customer demand. The UK lab is set to be fully operational in November 2021.

Raphaelle Simmons, Petrossian’s UK Managing Director, explains: “Until now we’ve had to forecast what products we may need 6 weeks ahead, head office in Paris then has to apply for export permits for specific batch numbers in precise quantities. They send us the export permits, and then we have to request import permits which can take up to 5 weeks. Then it takes up to a week to pack, ship over and get through border control. If we’re a single tin over or under what is specified on the permit, it blocks everything. It’s very process heavy, resulting in less shelf life on disposable stock, which is inconvenient to our clients. Having to forecast requirements so far in advance meant that we always ended up with either shortages or wastage.”

Petrossian has recruited a new Caviarologist, who will take charge of the whole caviar production in the UK from receipt of the raw ingredients, to maturation control, preparation, conditioning, traceability, H&S, stock control, as well as acting as a technical expert and Petrossian ambassador with visiting chefs.

Once the new lab is operational, Petrossian will import the 1.8kg mother tins of caviar. The mother tins will be refrigerated in a maturing chamber, turned regularly, and tapped with a hammer to make sure no air bubbles can affect the caviar. Regular tasting ensures the balance of salt and caviar is correct. The process of maturing caviar can take anywhere from four to twelve months.

“This will allow us to tin on demand, in the sizes requested by chefs and clients,” comments Raphaelle, “We will import less often, in bigger volumes, saving a lot of time and paperwork. The products in the UK will have a longer shelf life as they won’t be subject to the 6 week import process. We will also be able to offer greater availability, with all species available in all sizes of tin. We can even selectively mature the caviar to the levels requested by chefs, to suit their requirements. Giving the chefs the opportunity to speak directly to the Caviarologist will help further develop the close, personalised relationships with chefs that we at Petrossian pride ourselves on.”