The Nugget: Scott Brown

As a young boy growing up in Wellington, Scott Brown always wanted to be a soldier, so enlisted as soon as he could and ended up training as a chef. These days he’s still serving his country in a different way with active duty making some of the best fish and chips in the land at his brilliantly named Fishsmith joint in Auckland.

Interestingly the word “Smith” originated from the Old English form of “smite”, or “strike” - giving us the terms blacksmith, goldsmith etc. These days the word has evolved to denote those who are masters at their craft.

Given Scott’s attention to detail, and passionate desire to sell only the freshest fish, his chosen store name is a pretty apt one.

He never stood a chance of not owning a chippie given his parents had several themselves. But while Scott reckons his brother had to spend all his holidays frying fish, he managed to skive off most days and actually try and catch a few. Mind you, given he suffers from seasickness, the results of these excursions were, at best, mixed.

With a young family and early starts at the fish auctions three to four times a week, life’s pretty busy. But that doesn’t stop Scott from ditching the apron and heading out with his wife to try new restaurants at any opportunity. (The one thing he won’t order though is the fish - he just can’t stand the disappointment if it’s not out-of-the-sea fresh).

When he does he always dons 3 Wise Men gear. He loves it for its stylish good looks and ability to dress up or down, including this Flamingo velvet blazer ($400), our tan Shortland pant, ($120 or 3 for 3 hundy), and our just-out-of-the-deep-fryer-crisp white shirt with black contrast tape, (The Blackwhite, $120 or 3 for 3 hundy).

Next time you’re in town, look Scott up and make sure you order his world-famous fish tacos and hand-cut chips. Here are a few other things to talk about with him while you wait.