Cape Town - “You can braai it, you can fry it, you can boil it - just don’t spoil it.”
These are the words passed down from generation to generation and can often be heard when buying fresh, dried or smoked fish along the corners of Eisleben and Spine Road in Mitchells Plain.
Snoek Point, or Snoek Hoek as it is affectionately called, has not only become one of the most well-known spots for fish on the Cape Flats - but also for customers who travel from as far as Gordon’s Bay for a fresh catch.
Clara Snell, 64, said her late husband Paul started the business 32 years ago after they were married for around 10 years.
“His love for fish started because his mother worked for a big fishing company. He saw how much people loved fish and told me he would leave his factory job to start his own fishing business.”
Snell said from the very first day, their business was blessed - which created a lot of opportunities for their family.
“(Our) house was built from fish money. The love for fish grew on our whole family, from my husband to me, to my sister and nephews, nieces and now my son Jesse.”
Snell added that her son Jeshurun “Jesse” Smart, 27, took over when Paul died in 2015.
“Paul always said he wanted Jesse to take over the (business), I wasn’t for it at first because I wanted him to study, but by the age of four his daddy took him with to the harbour to go fishing.
“By the age of 10, he could clean a fish, and when he was done with school he said he wants to help his daddy instead…Now I can understand why, because he loves what he does,” said Snell.
Smart, who spoke to Weekend Argus while cleaning a fish in under three minutes, said running the business was not all smooth sailing, but they managed to keep their heads above water.
“Business went down when my daddy passed on but we knew we needed to pick ourselves up because people then started asking where we were. And I got this feeling that I couldn’t just let go of the nets, so God pulled us through again.”
Smart said as soon as they had a bit of a makeover, business picked up again.
“We got old and new customers. I would say what makes us so unique is that nothing has changed, we keep it old school. You will still find the best snoek here, you will get someone who carefully works with the fish by washing it, brushing, cleaning it, and vlekking (cutting) it. This takes skill and a certain amount of passion.
“That is why I chose to continue my daddy’s legacy because I know you get out what you put in and I put in all my love and energy into this business and that's what we get out. I know my daddy would’ve been proud.”
There is one thing that changed though, but the change was made to spice things up a bit.
“I have many ideas, one (of them) is to introduce card facilities soon, because I know its more convenient for customers but for now we introduced the snoek platter, so we braai it with our famous, family secret recipe sauce and serve it with salads, especially for those who come straight from work and want to enjoy a nice family meal,” said Smart.
“Yes and the people love it they come back for more, they want to know our secret but we cant tell them, one ingredient is love,” Snell said with a smiled.
Customer Rafiq Fredericks from Beacon Valley said Snoek Hoek has been his family’s go-to spot for fish for years.
“We will always come back here, (we) drive past all the other fish spots and come here because we know they are reliable, and they sell quality.
Nadine Brookes, another customer, said she personally knows of people who drive all the way from Durbanville to buy at the Snoek Hoek.
“This place also means a lot to our community, because anyone knows when you talk about Snoek, you immediately think Snoek Hoek.”
Weekend Argus