CROCODILE WITH CHIPS AND MAKE IT SNAPPY
Edinburgh Evening News – Saturday 13th May 2000

Chip shops in Edinburgh have always had a reputation for deep frying everything from pizzas to Mars Bars.
But now one of the capital’s chippies has broken new ground with the latest addition to its menu – crocodile suppers.
L’Alba D’Oro is serving up the battered reptile to customers who have been snapping up the delicacy since it first went on sale on Wednesday.
Filippo Crolla, who owns the takeaway at Henderson Row, says he spent 22 years looking for a supplier of the exotic meat ever since he bought a stuffed crocodile from a second hand shop in Leith in 1978 to decorate his shop.
“It was really battered and I had to take it to a taxidermist in Cramond to patch it up, but as soon as I put it in the window people started coming in asking if we sold crocodile and chips,” he said.
“I’ve been trying to find a supplier since then and now I have found a firm in England who produce the meat and we have crocodile on the menu.
“A couple of Americans came in on Wednesday night and ordered crocodile and they were delighted with it.
“Another chap came in and bought six portions but he took them away so I don’t know what he thought of them.”
Mr Crolla has taken delivery of four two-and-a-half kilo crocodile tails which are now on sale in the shop cooked to his own special recipe.

“All you can use are the tails,” he said. “The rest of the body is no good so you just get from the legs backwards. You can get about 20 fillets out of a tail once you’ve taken the bones out.
“I marinate the fillets in milk, salt and pepper and breadcrumbs and a couple of eggs and mix them all together to give it the good flavours. Then you dip it in batter and just cook it very lightly for two or three minutes. It’s very tasty.
“The taste is very difficult to describe. I did a test run on my staff and some said it tasted of monkfish, others said it was like chicken or pork.
“People are fairly shocked when they see it on the menu. It’s a bit different from ordering a pie and chips. But it’s my job to cook new things for people and let them choose whether to eat them.”
Mr Crolla still has the original stuffed crocodile which spurred him on in his hunt for the real thing to serve up in his chippie.
“The beast now takes centre stage at the shop hanging on the wall. I fell in love with it when I first saw it.
“I got it in 1978 and since then I have been enquiring about where I could get a supplier for crocodile meat. It felt so good when I found a supplier because it was something I’ve always wanted to serve. We have tried a few alternatives over the years. We did kangaroo for a bit and tried ostrich and emu but I think people are often a bit scared to try something new.
“The crocodile has been popular but I can’t see it overtaking the fish supper. That’s the fast food leader and will never be beaten.
“And I have to charge £5 for the crocodile which is much more than fish.” Celebrity chef and food critic Clarissa Dickson Wright said she would be keen to try the supper.
“I think it might be quite nice fried,” she said. “It’s quite like a textured meat. I don’t dislike it.
“Kangaroo meat is quite nice. I’m half Australian and when I was last out there I had some roast leg of kangaroo.
“Ostrich meat is not nice but the liver is delicious, especially made into a pâté. I shall certainly try out the crocodile.”

– Chris Marks