C J Hook's Fishmongers

A high street is not complete without the businesses that meet a community’s everyday needs.

Rochester High Street is loved for its pubs, restaurants, cafés, antique shops and bookshops. Together, they create the familiar rhythm of activity from morning to evening. But for a high street to be truly successful it also needs a cross-section of businesses. It’s the practical places that form the backbone: From Butchers, hardware shops to greengrocers, pet shops and stores selling clothing and homeware.

Rochester is fortunate to retain many of these independent businesses, but for some time there has been a noticeable ingredient missing.

A great deal of thought has gone into bringing the former Our Little Cherub frontage back to life. Once the home of handcrafted and hand painted children’s wood furniture, now reimagined as a traditional fishmonger’s, it makes an immediate visual impact while feeling perfectly at home among the historic shopfronts of Rochester High Street.

Chequered tiles at the entrance remain, while the broad glass frontage with stained-glass detailing is framed racing green. Above the entrance, traditional black signage carries the name ‘C.J Hook’s Fishmongers’ in gold lettering. Beyond the window, the day’s catch is arranged across an ice-filled metal display, bringing colour from the oceans and the sea beds to the street.

Inside, black and white tiles line the walls, while a long stainless-steel counter stretches along one side of the shop. Behind it, founder and fishmonger Ryan Caston weighs, cleans and prepares each order, taking care of the messier work for anyone who might feel less confident preparing fish at home.

Customers are in capable hands. Ryan has worked in the fish trade for more than 12 years and within the wider food industry since the age of 16. He developed his knowledge through working in Michelin-rated restaurants across Kent, alongside a period spent on the Côte d’Azur.

Chalkboards announce the day’s selection, which changes according to what is available at market. There might be whole crabs, oysters, whelks, skate, sardines and squid, alongside prepared platters of fruits de mer. The shop also supplies fish and seafood to local restaurants.

Prices may occasionally sit above those found in a supermarket, but fresh fish is shaped by market price, availability and season. Shopping here also offers something difficult to find in a supermarket aisle: the knowledge of a fishmonger whose enthusiasm is apparent in every conversation. Ryan is happy to explain what has arrived, suggest how to cook the fish and prepare according to the customer’s needs.

That enthusiasm continues online, where Ryan shares new arrivals, demonstrates preparation techniques and celebrates dishes created by customers using fish bought from the shop. His personality has helped generate an early buzz around the business, both on social media and amongst local fish lovers.

Recently, Ryan has been invited into secondary schools to show pupils how to prepare a whole fish, from gutting and filleting to removing the bones. It is a practical skill that is quietly disappearing from many homes and one he is helping the next generation keep alive.

C.J Hook’s feels like more than a welcome new opening. It restores a traditional trade to Rochester High Street and fills a gap that had been noticeable for some time.

Now all the street needs is a friendly neighbourhood Butchers. Perhaps one day.

Opening Times
Please check the official website or social media for the latest opening days and times.

C J Hook's Fishmongers is just one of the many independent businesses that give Rochester High Street its character. Discover more in our guide to Rochester's independent shops.