Did you see the BBC documentary - The London Markets episode 1: The Fish Market - inside Billingsgate shown on Thursday 24th May?
There was lots of discussion about the programme here as it just showed the smallest slither of life at the market - and although it discussed recents topics, there is SO much more to the day to day workings.
We would have loved to have seen MUCH more of the many people who work here and run the businesses - each with their own story - and of the huge array of different species on offer and some talk about the very diverse range of buyers that visit here daily: fishmongers, catering supply companies, local restaurants and of course the public.
My personal objective for the week ahead is to persuade the merchants (one in particular actually) that pollock IS delicious - we love it at the school, but unlike cod that has a very good shelf life - it needs to be eaten fresh (fillets should be glassy and firm) - so I will have my work cut out next week!
If you are interested to get a real insight into a working day here, we offer early morning escorted market visits (Morning Catch - see our Food Lovers course) and you will get to see it all for yourself.
We are offering discounts on this course this week and we feel very passionate about showing the real Billingsgate.
Apart from lots of discussions about 'the programme' we have had a busy week. The market is opening at 4am these days. This takes some of the pressure off the merchants - who - up until the end of April - couldn't let fish out of the market until 5am - making the first part of the day a bit of a bun fight. Many independant retailers who buy from the market can't get in and out quick enough as many have to negotiate around congestion charging. An earlier start should take pressure off everyone.
Adam (our industry consultant and my right hand man) and I have been getting into work earlier than usual just to see if the 4am start shifts trading patterns. We don't take our market visitors onto the market much before 6.15am and we need to make sure that there is still lots to see. So far so good - there is still lots of fish and plenty of banter and chatter.
There has been some lovely fish here too this week, which is always a delight to show off during our market visits. Particular top choices include: diver scallops, razor clams, gurnard, black bream and plaice (that are now filling out again having spawned recently). I also had a fascinated group listening to Paul (Mr Salmon on J Bennetts) showing off the salmon he had for sale. Listening to the merchants talking with knowledge and experience about different species of fish is always fascinating.
If you are in the market - it is also worth collaring Bill (who works with James Nash and Son) if he is free to talk - he can give a very good commentary on cod and what he is looking for when buying that - and pollack, coley and haddock too.
Razor clams would be my pick of the week and they have been fat and juicy - my recipe for these is ceviche and it is one of the best ways to enjoy them. They must be fresh and live to start with - a kilo bunch will serve 4 as an hors d'oeuvre. Remove them from the shell and discard the stomach sac. Thinly slice the muscle and marinate in the the juice and zest of 2 limes, 1 finely chopped red chilli, 2 tsp runny honey (or use chilli dipping sauce in place of the chilli and honey). Toss in 2 tablespoons of chopped dill and parsley, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Leave it to stand for 20 minutes before serving then serve with soda bread or chicory leaves - balances the sweetness of the honey.
We delivered some of our popular Food Lovers courses: Monday @ Billingsgate, Catch of the Day 1, Mastering the Art and our taster session: Inspire Morning.
We have also had a couple of industry days - one being a group of fishmongers from the North East and Scotland who came down to spend a morning on the market and took part in an innovation cooking session with Eithne (our head chef trainer). The history and feel of the market is an eye opener for many and these visitors left glowing with enthusiasm about having visited - we love to see that!
The elvers are getting on well.... Dai was a little concerned that they may have experienced thermo-shock - caused by a change in water temperature. We have had a handful of fatalities - but on the whole they are in top form. In the tank they have a plastic tube to lie in - imagine a hampsters cage and wheel - same sort of idea... Once I open up the door in the morning and snap open the lid of their food they jump to attention and go wild for breakfast. Dai is planning on bringing in more next week.
Next week we are gearing ourselves for our Environmental Health Officers course - this is a great opportunity for us as we take them to all 3 of the City Markets to have a look round (Smithfield for meat and poultry and new Spitalfields for fruit and veg). We have 36 visitors turning up on Monday morning. They will have a week full of lectures, identification sessions with meat, poultry, offal, game, fish, seafood, fruit, vegetables and many dry stores. The have early morning visits and lectures at all 3 markets and on Friday - they are examined on everything. it is usually a huge learning curve for these visitors - but good for us to be doing something so important for the food industry.
We do deliver early morning visits to Smithfield and can arrange one to New Spitalfields too as we have some excellent contacts at all sites - so if you would like to arrange visits - do make contact with our administration team. You can often manage 2 markets in morning - if you are prepared to start early enough.
Lunch today is from Feng Sushi (also found at Billingsgate) and I am looking forward to their Seaweed Salad! My life doesn't completely revolve around food - but I do enjoy talking about it!
Saturday 26 May 2012
Saturday 19 May 2012
Seafood Gossip 19th May
Seafood Gossip 19th May - Back in the fold....
I am now back in the fold of Billingsgate Market - just where I like to be!
I got back from my Scotland trip with a clear head and ready for a busy week. We delivered both Catch of the Day 1 and 2 this week and demonstrated at Selfridges again.
We also received our new delivery of elvers (baby eels) ... Dai from The Severn Wye Smokery came by to set up our elvers tank and bought a wriggling mass of around 500g ... once fully grown they would harvest around half a ton!. We will elver sit: feed, clean and nuture them for a few months and like the last batch that we had for most of last year - they will then end up being released into the wild - in the hopes of helping increase the British eel population. Our tank is kept in the lecture room where it is warm, dark and quiet - ideal conditions for our 'babies' (Dai and I disagree as to whose babies they actually are... definitely mine whilst they lodge with us!).
The life cycle of an eel is THE most extraordinary adventure - involving lots of travel and challenges -- they provide a great talking point for all our visitors - particularly about environmental and sustainability issues.
Billingsgate was a hive of activity this morning. Saturday is the big public day with many coming in to stock up on fish for the week ahead. It was hard work moving around today as it was packed!
Saturday is a busy day for the Seafood School too - Mastering the Art is our course today. I popped my head round the door earlier and the group were preparing some lovely black bream that Mike from James Nash got hold for me. They have made some wonderfully rich seafood stock and this is now being reduced down to form the basis of the Seafood Bisque Sauce. The group will take this home to serve with their grilled bream fillets along with a selection of other fish for the weekend.
For lunch they have Salted Alaskan Pollock Fish Cakes with Tomato and Chilli Salsa that Frances (the chef trainer who is teaching the group today) is demonstrating and then they are all going to cook pollock goujons for lunch - with home-made tartare sauce!
Any merchants who are still at the market at lunch time often wander past our doors inhaling the aromas of stock, sauces and soups that waft down the corridors - hoping for a quick lunch. Today, I sit in hope too!
Saturday is also the one day that I manage to catch up with all (too many!) those unanswered emails from the week and then bombard the administration team with more requests ... they will like that on Monday morning, I am sure (it's my day off!)
This morning I was on the market early, placing orders for the courses that we are delivering next week - our Sushi Class with Silla from Feng Sushi on Tuesday needs pristine fish. I placed orders with Paul (Mr Salmon) from J. Bennetts, the boys from Fawsitt Fish, James Nash and Sons and R&G Shellfish - that should keep Silla happy.
We run lots of shellfish courses at the school, and slowly we are seeing an increase in interest in learning how to prepare it - we are so lucky to have some fantastic wild and farmed shellfish harvested around our coast. I am preparing a display for the Shellfish Association of Great Britain's annual conference on Tuesday next week (SAGB) - R&G, Bards and Ovenells (picking up a tub of oysters for the weekend in the process!) are sourcing this for me.
On the subject of oysters - I can't get enough of them at the moment. My current favourites are West Mersea Oysters (Terry at Ovenells sells them). We did a tasting of rock (Pacific) oysters for the SAGB last year to help them with their published tasting guide - the flavour from one to the next can be extraordinarily different. Most people think of sea-water when it comes to oysters ... but taste them like wine and look for flavours and you would be amazed to find lettuce, nuts, samphire, cucumber, grass, metallic (it's a long list) and then decide on the level of umami (essence of deliciousness). Oysters filter nutrients through their system and it is amazing how diverse the taste can be from one area to another. They are also a good source of omega 3 - so make a great change to oil-rich fish.
There is no peace for the wicked...! I am not hugely popular at home as I won't get a family Sunday again this week as I am off to Selfridges tomorrow to do a cooking demo in the food hall with Paula - as part of Project Ocean that they are promoting again this year. We are cooking some dishes that we prepare for our schools programme ... all designed to encourage children to enjoy more seafood.
We are the only ones left on the market now - all the merchants and market staff have left for the weekend and the market hall looks like the Mary Celeste... The merchants work unsociable and long hours here - and many looked exhausted this morning - but they will be back in full swing on Tuesday am (2am for most!). I am locking up now and will try my luck in the kitchen for those pollock goujons!
I am now back in the fold of Billingsgate Market - just where I like to be!
I got back from my Scotland trip with a clear head and ready for a busy week. We delivered both Catch of the Day 1 and 2 this week and demonstrated at Selfridges again.
We also received our new delivery of elvers (baby eels) ... Dai from The Severn Wye Smokery came by to set up our elvers tank and bought a wriggling mass of around 500g ... once fully grown they would harvest around half a ton!. We will elver sit: feed, clean and nuture them for a few months and like the last batch that we had for most of last year - they will then end up being released into the wild - in the hopes of helping increase the British eel population. Our tank is kept in the lecture room where it is warm, dark and quiet - ideal conditions for our 'babies' (Dai and I disagree as to whose babies they actually are... definitely mine whilst they lodge with us!).
The life cycle of an eel is THE most extraordinary adventure - involving lots of travel and challenges -- they provide a great talking point for all our visitors - particularly about environmental and sustainability issues.
Billingsgate was a hive of activity this morning. Saturday is the big public day with many coming in to stock up on fish for the week ahead. It was hard work moving around today as it was packed!
Saturday is a busy day for the Seafood School too - Mastering the Art is our course today. I popped my head round the door earlier and the group were preparing some lovely black bream that Mike from James Nash got hold for me. They have made some wonderfully rich seafood stock and this is now being reduced down to form the basis of the Seafood Bisque Sauce. The group will take this home to serve with their grilled bream fillets along with a selection of other fish for the weekend.
For lunch they have Salted Alaskan Pollock Fish Cakes with Tomato and Chilli Salsa that Frances (the chef trainer who is teaching the group today) is demonstrating and then they are all going to cook pollock goujons for lunch - with home-made tartare sauce!
Any merchants who are still at the market at lunch time often wander past our doors inhaling the aromas of stock, sauces and soups that waft down the corridors - hoping for a quick lunch. Today, I sit in hope too!
Saturday is also the one day that I manage to catch up with all (too many!) those unanswered emails from the week and then bombard the administration team with more requests ... they will like that on Monday morning, I am sure (it's my day off!)
This morning I was on the market early, placing orders for the courses that we are delivering next week - our Sushi Class with Silla from Feng Sushi on Tuesday needs pristine fish. I placed orders with Paul (Mr Salmon) from J. Bennetts, the boys from Fawsitt Fish, James Nash and Sons and R&G Shellfish - that should keep Silla happy.
We run lots of shellfish courses at the school, and slowly we are seeing an increase in interest in learning how to prepare it - we are so lucky to have some fantastic wild and farmed shellfish harvested around our coast. I am preparing a display for the Shellfish Association of Great Britain's annual conference on Tuesday next week (SAGB) - R&G, Bards and Ovenells (picking up a tub of oysters for the weekend in the process!) are sourcing this for me.
On the subject of oysters - I can't get enough of them at the moment. My current favourites are West Mersea Oysters (Terry at Ovenells sells them). We did a tasting of rock (Pacific) oysters for the SAGB last year to help them with their published tasting guide - the flavour from one to the next can be extraordinarily different. Most people think of sea-water when it comes to oysters ... but taste them like wine and look for flavours and you would be amazed to find lettuce, nuts, samphire, cucumber, grass, metallic (it's a long list) and then decide on the level of umami (essence of deliciousness). Oysters filter nutrients through their system and it is amazing how diverse the taste can be from one area to another. They are also a good source of omega 3 - so make a great change to oil-rich fish.
There is no peace for the wicked...! I am not hugely popular at home as I won't get a family Sunday again this week as I am off to Selfridges tomorrow to do a cooking demo in the food hall with Paula - as part of Project Ocean that they are promoting again this year. We are cooking some dishes that we prepare for our schools programme ... all designed to encourage children to enjoy more seafood.
We are the only ones left on the market now - all the merchants and market staff have left for the weekend and the market hall looks like the Mary Celeste... The merchants work unsociable and long hours here - and many looked exhausted this morning - but they will be back in full swing on Tuesday am (2am for most!). I am locking up now and will try my luck in the kitchen for those pollock goujons!
Tuesday 15 May 2012
What's next for the Billingsgate Seafood School... and Taramasalata....
I have managed to escape the coal-face (Billingsgate Fish Market) for a couple of days to think about what our plans for the Seafood School will be - short and longer term. We have been very busy this month delivery a range of courses to support the industry and sustainability, Food Lovers courses and our charitable schools programme and it has been extraordinarily busy.... so I bolted up to Edinburgh for a couple of days to talk to some industry folk and some of our North of the Border trustees, compare notes and share stories with a fellow food school owner and after 2 decent nights sleep - I am heading back home...
It's all challenging stuff.... everyone I speak too in London is negotiating around this difficult financial climate and the unknown impact of the London 12 Olympics, but there WILL be life after the Olympics - so I am planning our course schedule for the Autumn and into 2013 with renewed vigor and focus and I am looking forward to being back in the fold at Billingsgate Market tomorrow...
One very long term independant fishmonger who bought from Billingsgate daily for over 40 years once told me that 'the place gets under your skin making it impossible to leave'. He sold his business 16 years ago, but is still seen in Billingsgate Cafe with his old friends talking fish prices and catching up 1 - 2 a week and he is over 80... I understand now - as I miss the cheeky banter and the 'fish feast for the eyes'.
I hear the groans from our administration team already..... CJ in a brain storming mode usually means everyone is bombarded with requests, information and answers too please - yesterday, but it keeps everyone on their toes!
In my absence the Seafood School is cracking on with our charity programme. Paula, our schools coordinator has a school in today. They have watched our short DVD - From Sea to Plate and the story of how fish is caught using sustainable methods of fishing all filmed with a fishermen at Hastings. \
The children then see how the fish is prepared and cooked... and if we have pitched it just right (I know that Paula - and her fishmonger - Charlie - will have) - lots of children will head home having eaten some great fish dishes (had a days worth of Omega 3 - great for concentration) and will be a little wiser about just how good seafood can be... and what the words environmental and sustainable actually mean...
I am back in the office tomorrow and we have a full class taking our Food Lovers - Catch of the Day 1 programme.... our guests will all appear bleary eyed at 6am for the market visit - never sure what to expect....and then by 8am - we make sure that their view on seafood will be changed forever... A visit to Billingsgate during operational hours is a wonderful assault on the senses - and the atmosphere when the merchants are in full swing - is a 'once experienced - never forgotten' moment and most will return for a second helping soon.
I now will have my work cut out over the next few weeks.... I have new projects to work on - but importantly we have our guests to entertain and inspire, children to educate and lots of visits and marketing to focus on and a trip to Selfridges to deliver a seafood demonstration on Friday in their food hall...
For me personally - I am particularly excited about planning and delivering our Pop-Up Seafood School in Kent project.... The Olympics will curb our activity in London for a short period - so we have decided to move for 4 weeks and are running a handful of informal courses in my own new kitchen at The Coach House....
It gives us an opportunity to really practice what we preach - buy local and seasonal... So if Hastings are landing we will promote some of their catch and some local ingredients (possibly from my own garden if the weather is right).
Nearly back at Kings Cross.... and thinking about the next meal for my own family... mostly seafood for us and my mouth is watering at the prospect of Pinneys of Orford Smoked Cods roe.... one of the best ever... quick Taramasalata (slice of bread rung out under cold water and then whizzed with a garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon and a combination of Extra virgin Olive oil and sunflower oil - if all EVO is too much - or if I feel too guilty to add all oil - tone it down with some Greek yoghurt to lighten at the end).. crudite of carrots, celery, cucumber and my favourite - red chicory for dipping and with a baked jacket - suppers on the table.
It's all challenging stuff.... everyone I speak too in London is negotiating around this difficult financial climate and the unknown impact of the London 12 Olympics, but there WILL be life after the Olympics - so I am planning our course schedule for the Autumn and into 2013 with renewed vigor and focus and I am looking forward to being back in the fold at Billingsgate Market tomorrow...
One very long term independant fishmonger who bought from Billingsgate daily for over 40 years once told me that 'the place gets under your skin making it impossible to leave'. He sold his business 16 years ago, but is still seen in Billingsgate Cafe with his old friends talking fish prices and catching up 1 - 2 a week and he is over 80... I understand now - as I miss the cheeky banter and the 'fish feast for the eyes'.
I hear the groans from our administration team already..... CJ in a brain storming mode usually means everyone is bombarded with requests, information and answers too please - yesterday, but it keeps everyone on their toes!
In my absence the Seafood School is cracking on with our charity programme. Paula, our schools coordinator has a school in today. They have watched our short DVD - From Sea to Plate and the story of how fish is caught using sustainable methods of fishing all filmed with a fishermen at Hastings. \
The children then see how the fish is prepared and cooked... and if we have pitched it just right (I know that Paula - and her fishmonger - Charlie - will have) - lots of children will head home having eaten some great fish dishes (had a days worth of Omega 3 - great for concentration) and will be a little wiser about just how good seafood can be... and what the words environmental and sustainable actually mean...
I am back in the office tomorrow and we have a full class taking our Food Lovers - Catch of the Day 1 programme.... our guests will all appear bleary eyed at 6am for the market visit - never sure what to expect....and then by 8am - we make sure that their view on seafood will be changed forever... A visit to Billingsgate during operational hours is a wonderful assault on the senses - and the atmosphere when the merchants are in full swing - is a 'once experienced - never forgotten' moment and most will return for a second helping soon.
I now will have my work cut out over the next few weeks.... I have new projects to work on - but importantly we have our guests to entertain and inspire, children to educate and lots of visits and marketing to focus on and a trip to Selfridges to deliver a seafood demonstration on Friday in their food hall...
For me personally - I am particularly excited about planning and delivering our Pop-Up Seafood School in Kent project.... The Olympics will curb our activity in London for a short period - so we have decided to move for 4 weeks and are running a handful of informal courses in my own new kitchen at The Coach House....
It gives us an opportunity to really practice what we preach - buy local and seasonal... So if Hastings are landing we will promote some of their catch and some local ingredients (possibly from my own garden if the weather is right).
Nearly back at Kings Cross.... and thinking about the next meal for my own family... mostly seafood for us and my mouth is watering at the prospect of Pinneys of Orford Smoked Cods roe.... one of the best ever... quick Taramasalata (slice of bread rung out under cold water and then whizzed with a garlic clove, juice of 1 lemon and a combination of Extra virgin Olive oil and sunflower oil - if all EVO is too much - or if I feel too guilty to add all oil - tone it down with some Greek yoghurt to lighten at the end).. crudite of carrots, celery, cucumber and my favourite - red chicory for dipping and with a baked jacket - suppers on the table.
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