It's a wrap: Top TripAdvisor cooks in Hastings retire

Two of Hastings very own celebrity chefs will no longer be cooking up a storm this year as they have made the decision to retire.
Pat and Tush cooking up a storm in Ostend SUS-170124-133822001Pat and Tush cooking up a storm in Ostend SUS-170124-133822001
Pat and Tush cooking up a storm in Ostend SUS-170124-133822001

Pat and John ‘Tush’ Hamilton who were voted top of TripAdvisor for the past two years, have announced that they have retired from their business working along Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings Old Town where they have been cooking up freshly fried fishermen’s baps for many years.

Tush says it was a tough decision to make but the demand for their popular fayre had become increasingly hard work. “We enjoyed every minute we were working along Rock-a-Nore in our half boat. We’ve been there for 16 years, and it’s been a big part of our lives,” he said.

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“We have also enjoyed our trips out of town to promote Hastings. We particularly liked going to Ostend, where we worked at a large maritime show for many years, and we made lots of friends there.

“The decision to finish wasn’t easy, but we were finding it very difficult to keep up with the work last summer- most of which is behind the scenes, buying and preparing the fish.”

Tush has many early memories of helping his father, a fish hawker, on his barrow round in Hastings. Back then there were 20 boats which caught mainly four types of local fish and 20 fish shops. He added: “We know many customers will miss us next year, and we will miss all of them. Many have become friends over the years, and made us number one on TripAdvisor two years running.

“I would like to thank all our customers for their support over the years, we are going out at the top.”

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Kevin Boorman, manager of 1066 Country Marketing says Rock-a Nore won’t be quite the same again.

“It really is the end of an era,” he said. “Tush and Pat have become an attraction in their own right, drawing big queues at their stand in Rock-a-Nore, and when working at our various fish festivals and elsewhere.

“They attracted huge crowds at our stand in Ostend, at the massive ‘Oostende voor Anker’ show, and were great ambassadors for Hastings and 1066 Country. I wish them both the very best for the future.”

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