By: TOM MICHIELSEN April 2, 2021, 7:00 AM for De Tijd

In the midst of the pandemic and lockdowns, Jan Kegels is expanding his ‘Jean sur Mer’ hospitality, catering, and retail concept centered around fish. In December, he opened the fish bar Harbour Café on Antwerp’s Groenplaats, and in March, The Shop opened its doors.

From an early age, Jan Kegels (42) has been passionate about everything related to the sea and fish. ‘As a child, I would walk the beach for hours with my shrimp net at the ready. Later, I took up sport fishing. I’ve also often sailed on North Sea fishing boats.’

After studying marketing and spending several years in car and insurance sales, the Antwerp native decided to turn his passion into a business. A five-minute brainstorm with his sister produced the name ‘Jean sur Mer’, while the core concept—making fish ‘hip’ again—came from Kegels himself.

Since he was only 32 and didn’t have a large budget, he bought a 1974 caravan and converted it into a mobile kitchen. ‘From there, I sold my own premium fish products and street food: shrimp croquettes, battered fish, fish and chips, and fruits de mer. It was hard work, but I got to choose my own route and schedule every day.’

In less than ten years, he added two more food trucks. A brand was born. Kegels also started selling his products to shops and hospitality businesses.

The pandemic was no reason to sit idle. Kegels decided to use his food trucks as a drive-in for picking up products in a friend’s restaurant parking lot. ‘In the first four months, a thousand cars passed through, and it’s still doing well today,’ he says. To compensate for the loss in turnover, he also started selling dishes from a ‘dark kitchen’ (a kitchen without a dining room) via Uber Eats and Takeaway.com. These were co-developed with young chef Peter Vlyminck, who had joined the business two years earlier.

‘The delivery concept served as practical market research. We could experiment with dishes and get a feel for the demand. That gave us the confidence to take the next step.’

Read the full article by TOM MICHIELSEN on De Tijd

The essence

• Jan Kegels started selling fish dishes as Jean sur Mer in an old caravan ten years ago.
• Later, he added two more food trucks and began selling to shops and hospitality businesses.
• During the pandemic, he successfully launched a drive-in and home delivery service.
• In the past year, two new businesses have been added: Jean sur Mer The Harbour Café (a cross between a restaurant and a fish shop) and Jean sur Mer The Shop (a cross between a fish shop and a trendy fish bar).

Visit the website of Jean Sur Mer

Source: De Tijd