Inverness fish and chip van owner eager to welcome back customers after dramatic blaze
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The owner of a popular Inverness food truck is looking forward to welcoming loyal customers again after a blaze destroyed his van in November.
Paul Burnside, owner of the Fish and Chip Van, was at his home in Smithton when the van burst into flames in his driveway. The cause of the fire remains a mystery.
The 59-year-old – formerly a chef at The Classroom Bistro in Nairn – was left without his sole source of income for two months, but is now ready to bounce back with a brand new and restyled van.
He said: "It's been a long time since I have been out and I can't wait to take it to the road.
"I took the opportunity to spend more time with my family – and I had time to think about the branding and set up of the van. It's a bit funkier and totally different, and I could plan the entire inside to make it more efficient."
Mr Burnside said that despite the challenging times, he always looks for the positive side.
He explained: "As I said before, the important thing was that no one was hurt and the damage to the house wasn't greater so you've got to be thankful for that.
"From friends and family, neighbours and customers, they were all very supportive, I had a lot of messages, phone calls and people coming up to ask if there was anything they could do. I was quite surprised, in a nice way."
Mr Burnside started trading with the van over three years ago serving fish and chips around the Inverness area, as well as parts of Nairnshire and North Kessock. It is set to return to its operations next week.
He said: "I missed the social interaction and a lot of customers have become friends over the years. I really missed that.
"It's good to get out and about, no two days are the same," he said, adding that the coming season is already looking busy with many events booking the catering business again.
"It's very positive, there are many events we picked up last year and they asked us to return. The Beauly Holiday Park festivals and Beauly Gala and Truck Ness are brilliant events.
"We also joined a fundraising event for Croy Primary School – it's great to be able to give back to the community. Another fundraiser we took part in was for Search and Rescue at Dalcross and afterwards they took us up in the helicopter. It was awesome, really great!"
