insideSUSSEX Magazine Issue 17 - July 2016 | Page 42

FOOD+DRINK

DRESS TO IMPRESS:

Learning to prep properly at Fish
What to do on a balmy Tuesday night in Hove…stroll along the prom? Grab a drink at a
seafront bar? No; neither. We opted to head for Fish, the fantastic local fish shop right by
Hove Lagoon where previously I had only popped in to buy exceptionally fresh fish and
shellfish, but where you can now spend a couple of hours learning how to dress, shuck and
fillet like a pro. Armed with nothing but knives, picks and some sort of basher to crack crab
legs, they let us loose on lobsters and this is what happened. B Y P O L L Y H U M P H R I S

Having lived in Hove for over seven years, I had never known that Fish
did fish preparation courses. The opposite of when you see a flyer for a
‘too good to be true’ summer fete, seemingly packed with activities and
entertainment, but that turns out to be little more than an unstable trestle
table and a tombola, the only specifics I had seen on Fish’s website about
their fish prep course is that the cost includes a free oyster knife. But,
actually, they need to be less modest – I came home having learned so
many really handy techniques and armed with a glorious piscine picnic
that included an entire dressed lobster, a packed pot of spider crab meat,
fresh oysters and two huge fillets of monkfish. And the knife, obviously.

Being a huge fan of oysters, it was much to my delight that Jason then
produced an enormous tub of them and suggested we take as many
as we like. I definitely had eight, maybe nine, which I shucked as per
instructions and guzzled where I stood. There is something immensely
satisfying in learning to find the ‘sweet spot’ in an apparently clampedshut oyster shell, which, when you prize it gently, pops the rest open
revealing the meaty goodness inside. Satisfying further still is that I’m now
unafraid to prepare oysters myself; I recently went out to a restaurant
and ate a dozen for £2.50 each. They sell them at Fish for 60p a piece:
enough said.

The whole set-up is really relaxed and inviting. Taking place on the shop
floor – after all of the day’s fishy fodder has been sold (and it will have
been sold; anyone who’s ever come over all James Martin having watched
Saturday Kitchen and been inspired to recreate an overcomplicated fish
dish requiring clams will know – Fish is renowned for the quality and variety
of its stock and people flock to buy it, especially at weekends), the layout
is simple. Gathered around one long table, divided by wipe-clean chopping
boards and with two large containers in the centre in which to chuck your
shells, bones and other bits, there were nine of us, all beginners, along
with Jason, who stood at the head prepping as he taught.

Learning to fillet the oh-so-ugly monkfish is a useful life lesson I’m glad
we learned too, and I soon forgave it its unfortunate face as my family
tucked in with a chorus of ‘mmm’s at dinner later that night. Me? I had
the lobster. All of it. With a cold, crisp glass or two of Sauvignon Blanc.
Whether you’re a budding chef, a prolific dinner party host, or, like
me, someone who just wanted to gain kitchen confidence where the
creatures of the sea are concerned, please go to one of these courses. It
was fun, informative and worth every penny.
Fish (Brighton & Newhaven Fish Sales)
South Quay
Basin Road South
Portslade
Brighton
BN41 1WF

Calm and collected, Jason is a natural teacher with a warm and friendly
nature; his instructions were clear and the skill with which he ably dressed
his lobster was contagious. Before we knew it, we’d each packed up our
whole dressed lobster and had moved onto spider crab prep. For me, this
was the most fun and informative part of the evening as before the course
I’d have had zero idea where to even begin. I didn’t know crabs’ legs
were best removed at the high, knuckle-type joint that connects their legs
to their body; I didn’t know that they had removable gills; and I certainly
didn’t know that behind their eyeballs at the top of their shells sits lots of
plump, delicious meat. Crabs cheeks maybe? A new one for me.

01273 430646
www.brighton-fish-sales.co.uk
@BNfishsales

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