[Simon] John Noble, (1936-2002), of Loch Fyne Oyster Co
Michael Rhodes
Loch Fyne Oysters, died 9 February, 2002, after a short illness. He
was 65.
Johny Noble was a Highland landowner, and keen environmentalist.
He was born 31 October, 1936, the only son of John Samuel Brunel
Noble, by his wife Elizabeth Virginia Lucas.
Johnny Noble was a grandson of Sir John Henry Brunel Noble, 1st
Baronet, of Ardkinglas, and was, on his mother's side, descended from
Sir Juliam Goldsmid, 3rd Baronet.
Noble's pride and joy, Lochy Fyne Oyster Co. is now up for sale [as of
December 6, 2002].
Anyone with at least £5m to spare and a passion for the West
Highlands, conservation and fine dining can apply by getting in touch
with merchant bank Noble & Co, which has family ties to the late
laird.
As befits sellers of gourmet food, LFO's management plans to be picky.
The ideal buyer would be interested in "a philosophy, not just a
brand" said LFO managing director Andrew Lane, who co-founded the firm
with £100 in the mid-1970s.
Loch Fyne Oysters also sells mussels, fresh and smoked fish, venison
and organically farmed meat.
"We're all about the provenance of the West Highlands...We're
providing a market for lots of small rural folk," says Mr Lane, a
spokesman for the company.
Buyers of its upmarket molluscs include the Royal Opera House, London,
and Singapore's lavish colonial-era Raffles Hotel.
LFO has annual sales of £8m and exports to 22 countries, with sales
evenly split between three main markets - UK hotels and restaurants;
exports; and home delivery and its loch-side shop.
The Loch Fyne Restaurants chain also sells LFO oysters, though it
became an independent company five years ago and is not up for sale.
LFO's more bizarre marketing experiences include selling kippers to
Zambia and oysters to Moscow's Bolshoi ballet, until the sudden
disappearance of the firm's Russian agent in the mid-1990s.
"We've always enjoyed our exporting," Mr Lane said
"We deal with a fund of very interesting individuals."
The peak season for oysters is from September to December - the
Victorians dined on goose and oysters for Christmas rather than
turkey.
Oysters were not always an upmarket dish.
They were the Victorian equivalent of fish and chips, sold at cheap
diners such as Edinburgh's "oyster howfs" along with a glass of claret
or brown ale.
They remained popular with the poor until about 1900 when overfishing
and pollution made wild oysters scarce.
Mr Lane said oysters were becoming increasingly affordable again -
LFO's start at 50 pence each.
The firm has 4 million of them sitting in mesh baskets under the
waters of Loch Fyne.
The reefs they create help to support other marine life.
"The waters off Western Scotland are completely free of disease and
parasites of shellfish," Mr Lane said.
It take five years to fatten up an oyster, after which they are full
of trace minerals, which may explain their reputation for possessing
aphrodisiac qualities.
LFO's organic approach and emphasis on knowing where its products come
from is "the exciting future of food," Mr Lane said.
"We're looking for the right partner here, we're not just hanging out
looking for the highest bidder."
