Isle of Man Steam Packet managing director Brian Thomson and his team chat to Richard Butt after winning the Freedom to Flourish Award at the 2023 Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 I'm joined here by Brian Thompson who's the MD of the Steenbecket and to his colleagues.
00:04 The Isle of Man Steenbecket has won the Freedom to Flourish award from the Isle of Man Government.
00:10 Big year for you this year?
00:12 It is a huge year. We've delivered the maximum and on board we're trying to deliver a fantastic
00:19 service showcasing local products, local businesses and it's been a success so far and we want
00:25 to push that success into the future because we see that as our role as a lifeline service.
00:34 So we're very happy to receive the award for that acknowledgement of our hard work.
00:38 And so the Freedom to Flourish, I mean, is your able to facilitate other companies using
00:44 Steenbecket, you know, selling products and things like that? Is that part of it?
00:47 Yeah, absolutely. So not just the products that we sell on board but also the products
00:53 that we bring to the island. So as I say, we're the island's lifeline service so everything
00:58 that you see and find on island probably come on the Steenbecket.
01:01 Unless it's been smuggled in on a fishing boat.
01:05 You're an expert on that obviously.
01:09 So what does actually winning the award from the government mean? You know, this big prize here.
01:13 I'll let Matt answer that question, looking nervous there.
01:16 Thanks very much. I mean it's been a bit of an uphill battle, you know, kind of getting
01:21 people to buy into what we're trying to achieve with food. I think the Steenbecket's had a
01:25 bit of a bad rep in the past with food and I think we're slowly getting there. You know,
01:30 we're changing the menu every quarter so I think we're trying new things. Some things
01:34 work better than others but generally we're pretty pleased with where we're going with it.
01:38 So Matt is the executive chef responsible for all that fantastic new food that you can find on board.
01:44 I have to go and have a chip out without being made a great guest.
01:47 Don't be looking for a chip back, there isn't any, or your chips, cheese and gravy.
01:51 What can you look forward to Matt?
01:52 Lasagna della Mamma Maria.
01:53 What's that?
01:54 So my wife is Italian and that's her nan in Bologna and the recipe is from there.
01:59 So it's not just ping pong microwave?
02:01 Absolutely not. They eat fresh every day on board.
02:04 You're literally in Starlock.
02:06 We're the men from Starlock Service.
02:08 That sounds very good.
02:10 Well thank you very much gentlemen.
02:12 Thank you.
02:13 [no audio]