Royal Schmidt Zeevis

Who's behind it

Schmidt Zeevis started in 1916 in Rotterdam, founded by grandmother Schmidt. The business stayed in the same neighborhood for nearly a century and has been in Spaanse Polder since 2015, in a building shaped like a ship. In 2016, at the hundredth anniversary, the house received the Royal warrant. Director Marcel van Breda started on the production floor and has been there for well over thirty years. Since late 2012 Schmidt operates independently again.

Today about 140 people work there, spread across six departments: from retail and wholesale to import, export and ship provisioning. Buyers stand at fish auctions including IJmuiden, Urk, Boulogne and Peterhead. That delivers daily over 130 fish species. The customer base runs from Michelin-star restaurants and hotels to caterers, cruise ships and superyachts. The court supply has been running for over thirty years.

What really makes the difference

Schmidt is not a middleman pushing boxes through. The fish is hand-filleted, not by machine, and every batch goes through a check on color, shine, firmness and smell before it leaves. Via a barcode system every order can be traced back to the boat it came from. That's exactly the traceability you need when a guest asks where the fish comes from.

Scale is the second advantage. Over 5,800 square meters of chilled space and a company fleet means a broad card is deliverable daily, including the less common species. Certification is in order with HACCP and BRC. For herring there's a track record of recognition, with multiple wins in the AD Herring Test, including one time the maximum score.

How to set yourself apart with this

The assortment gives you two things at once: the certainty of an established trader and room to buy sharp. Order whole fish and fillet in your own kitchen, then you keep bones and heads for stock and see from gill and eye what came in. Want speed? Then take fillet with skin or portioned pieces.

Put the origin on the card. Dorade royale from the market, hand-filleted, or scallops that are dry-harvested: these are concrete details that give a guest confidence. A broad and constantly available range also means you can follow the season's fish without your card suffering.