Features / Issy Cox
Issy Cox: the Bristol catering scene’s next big thing
Issy Cox is a fishmonger by day and a chef by night. She works at Conscious Fish Co in Nailsea and runs her own private catering company Cin Cin.
Hosting supper clubs, pop-ups and all things in between, she’s been indulging the Bristol community with Italian-inspired, fish-heavy, curated menus.
She’s currently gearing up for her next supper club on September 17, a five-course menu at the Scrandit on Christmas Steps hosted alongside fellow chef Henry Wild, who runs Twisted Spirits.
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“We put on very different flavours and cuisines together – it’ll be a bit spicy, in a fun way!”
Issy’s version of Pizzetta – photo: Issy Cox
She fell into the food industry in a rather unusual way – cooking for the ultra-rich on super yachts.
She said: “I lied a bit on my CV, and said I had experience cooking. A boat took me up on the offer and said, ‘okay great, come cover for the chef while they’re on holiday!’, so I kind of got thrown in at the deep end.
“After about a year, I got very sick of rich people, and came home to Bristol and emailed all the places I loved to eat in Bristol.”
Southville classic Sonny Stores offered her a position in the kitchen and after three years she climbed to the very top.
She said: “I managed to progress up to head chef, managing a team. I have the fondest memories from that time and the people that work there – it made me realise how much I love cooking and how much I wanted to be a chef.”
However, the working hours of a head chef are long which can be incompatible with maintaining personal relationships: “The reality of being a chef is, even though the industry has changed, you’re still working weekends, you’re still working evenings and it does kind of pay a toll naturally.”
A beautiful squash and safe dish – photo: Issy Cox
Ready to move on to her next chapter, a curiosity for butchery and fishmongering pushed her in another direction.
“My favourite part of cooking was definitely the prep on the fish and meat side.”
Having worked with Conscious Fish Co as their fish suppliers, the owner, Jonny Burnett, suggested she worked for them.
On this, Issy said: “I loved the fish we got, I knew it came from a sustainable place, and knew that [Conscious Fish Co] was a really good independent company who cared about where the fish came from, which is exactly what I wanted.”
For the last nine months, she’s been spending part of her weeks in the shop, filleting and prepping fish and giving advice to customers on recipes; and the other half getting other kitchens to commission them as their fish suppliers.
Issy Cox and her partner, Mitch, outside the Scrandit – photo: Issy Cox
Alongside this work, Issa has also started doing catering work.
Her first ever supper club was hosted at the Lido, in collaboration with Conscious Fish Co, putting on a fish and shellfish menu.
“I felt quite thrown into the deep end, but I loved that. It was also so good to cook in another kitchen and work alongside Pash Peters (head chef at the Lido), who is an amazing chef”.
Her second supper club was hosted at the Scrandit, on the Christmas Steps, with another fish-based menu. All of the meals incorporated fish in some way “apart from the dessert – I did think for a while about doing some kind of fish dessert but I decided against that and just put some Maldon salt on top of my tiramisú, that was my nod to the sea!”
Issy’s tiramisú – photo: Issy Cox
Issy also recently collaborated with other local chefs at the Scrandit to put on a fundraiser for the people of Gaza:
“I think we raised just under £5,000 in the end, but, after months of looking at so many horrible stats and figures and feeling so helpless, I was really glad we were able to do something that actually gave back to such a worthy cause
“And, it was an amazing experience, I got to cook alongside some wicked chefs, people like Mark Chapman of Cor, Rob Howell from Root, Josh Eggleton as well.”
Steak anyone? – photo: Issy Cox
Issy is a big fan of Bristol’s independent food and drink sector and thinks it’s on a par with the hustle and bustle of London, where “there’s new restaurants popping up in every little suburb every single day”.
She adds: “There’s definitely things we could learn from London and be doing more of, but actually we already have such a good array of offerings and the things that we do have are done really well”.
Cox shouts out The Scrandit, where she will host her next supper club, and thinks every city should have a venue where each week a different chef can put on their own curated menus.
“You can pop in, you can have snacks, have a drink and a dessert, it’s really casual and informal, but super open and welcoming – and not unbelievably, eye-wateringly expensive!”
Looking into the future, she hopes to grow her company Cin Cin to a place where she can dedicate herself to it on a full time basis. She admits to occasionally browsing on eBay for vans she could turn into food trucks.
Cin Cin’s logo – photo: Issy Cox
Whatever the future may hold, she’s certain it will take place in Bristol: “I’m from Bristol, I grew up here, moved away for a short time to London but, yeah, Bristol is where it’s at 100 per cent!”
And how could it not be! Here are Issy’s favourite restaurants in Bristol at the moment:
Bokman, Kingsdown: “It’s my favourite, without fail – I could go there week in, week out, could probably have the same thing and enjoy it just as much. Duncan [one of the co-owners] is just amazing, I’m really excited for their new venture on Chandos Road!”
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Wangs, Montpelier: “The greatest new opening of 2024 so far, it’s just amazing, Emily, who’s head chef there, is a brilliant chef cooking from her heritage. It’s just amazing.”
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Mayflower, Broadmead: “This is my favourite go-to Chinese restaurant, it’s an institution that’s been in Bristol for years, not particularly fancy, just really delicious.”
Dishes at the Mayflower – photo: Mayflower
Main photo: Issy Cox
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