It's 1:30am, your alarm goes off. You're booked in to drive an hour to the Sydney Fish Markets to stock up on fresh seafood before driving around the Central West to offer "country folk" a pick at the sea's finest. Do you hop out of bed or hit snooze?
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For 18 years, Kent Baldwin has been met with that question every Tuesday morning, and more times than not, he's set about completing the weekly task that has seen his business - Kent Baldwin's Fresh Seafood - skyrocket and become a Mid-Western favourite.
As a former interstate truck and coach driver, the Central Coast local is no stranger to long trips, and while the grueling grind is no easy feat, he greets the job with a smile because meeting the people who appreciate quality seafood makes it all worth it.
"People in the country just can't get fresh seafood, they've only got the supermarkets to get from and a lot of people aren't happy with the quality they get there," Mr Baldwin said.
"I don't sell anything on the Coast because people there can get what seafood they want. I like to bring fresh seafood out to the country folk where they appreciate it.
"I get to know a lot of the country people and I enjoy travelling out to meet them."
Mr Baldwin is typically found at the St John's Anglican Church in Mudgee, out the front of Gobble and Go in Gulgong and also in Coolah and Rylstone where people can get an array of stock, from fish to prawns to lobsters - you name it.
"I don't sell any rubbish. If I'm not happy with the product, I won't sell it," he said.
With prawns and oysters a must for the Christmas spread in many households across the area, Mr Baldwin will be making another four trips to town with the final on December 23.
"I would advise people to put in an order. I will have extra but I can't guarantee I can service them because it's just a crazy time of year," he said.
"I don't bring out fish on the Christmas run because people mainly want the prawns and oysters. I can get lobsters now straight off the boat but definitely place an order for those.
"I will also probably have frozen lobster tails, they need to be cooked but they're good value because you don't get much waste. I'll also hopefully have some Moreton Bay bugs.
"The new season tiger prawns have just come out and they're sensational. At the moment, we're getting the Port Macquarie oysters and they've been fabulous, they're so fat and juicy so hopefully we'll have those at Christmas time too."
To place an order with Mr Baldwin, call or send an SMS to 0413 724 232.
For details on when Mr Baldwin will be stopping in Mudgee, click here.
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Jay-Anna Sleeman
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
Reporter for the Western Advocate. First began as a sports journalist with ACM in 2018 before moving on to cover news and court.
