Shaping the Future of the UK Restaurant Industry

Britain's Finest Restaurant is a unique national programme that sets out to celebrate stunning, emerging culinary talent throughout the UK in a regional cook-off format that will identify and celebrate star culinary talent in regions across the UK. 

High profile dinners will take place around the UK on a bi-monthly basis with 65 tickets available to the public to purchase. The dining experience will include 8 stunning courses along with a tasting of world class wines to create a memorable night to remember. In addition to the lucky diner who will get the chance to experience the skills of the chefs first hand, each event will also be filmed as an ongoing series for YouTube. 

Each region will be set the same menu theme and it will be their skilful interpretation of the menu that will wow diners and judges on each event.

Sprats and lemons for supper

One pounds worth of fish, enough to feed four for starters...

super silver sprats...

dredged in flour...

across to the fry pan...

out on the paper towel...

served simply...

withe lemon and a homemade dip...

class polenta...

cooks in seconds almost...

turned out on to a serving dish...

ready to go to the table...

one cracking lemon sole...

simply run the knife down the backbone...

and peel off the frame.

Fishy Friday BBQ at Rinsey Beach - minus the sand

Laden with beach, BBQ kit and enough sardines, mackerel squid and home made burgers to feed eight including the grand kids it came as a bit of a shock to find the beach at Rinsey was minus a viat ingredient - namely the sand - strong southerly winds a few weeks ago had removed the beach! - this is what it normally looks like...

time to prepare the fish, simply gutted...

and washed, plenty of fresh water to hand...

rinsed...

with a little help from the sous-chef...

the fish and squid are soon on the go...

time to eat with some of Vicki's delicious bread...

time for the burgers and bananas for the kid's dessert...

when the rapidly advancing tide...

came ever higher despite the efforts of some to emulate King Canute...

time to head back up the cliff path...

leaving the bass anglers to it...

the slopes proved a heady mix for some...

the end to a perfect Cornish summer's eve...

homeward bound towards an azure sky.

Mitch Tonks - fish easy!

With the ink barely dry from the publishers, a copy of Mitch Tonk's new book, 'fish easy' fell through the TtG letterbox..........

as the cover suggests, well over 100 recipes are aimed at keeping things simple......

as luck would have it, the skipper from one Newlyn boat dropped off a cracking pair of ray wings so this dish looked too tempting to miss for a trial Tonks  tasting........

with the book conveniently placed its time to get some prep underway.......

a few minutes sees a simple bread based sauce already to go.......

ready to accompany the fish, a handful of light vegetables........

and a pan of the very first Cornish earlies to hit the greengrocer's shelves.......

after surviving the winter, a few sprigs of fresh thyme from the garden are all that is needed to go with the ray while it's cooking........

but not before a hot, heavy pan has given the wing a few minutes on the thicker side......

then the herbs are added and the pan popped in the oven........

ready for the table........

as the name suggests, Mitch's book is full of recipes that are quick to prepare and every bit as tasty and appealing as more complex and time consuming dishes....... 

and is conveniently organised by cooking methods which include........

the oven......... 

and the grill......

throughout the sections there are some really useful cheffy tips and info - like how to salt fish for those culinary classics.......

and a section at the back for all those basic fish dish techniques and methods........

the book is very much a hands-on experience with the Dartmouth based chef making it a personal guide through the clearly written and easy to follow recipes - fish easy gets a TtG top shelf cook book recommendation for those times when you buy some fish and then think about what to do with it once you get home! If you are anywhere near Dartmouth or want to be in touch with  one of England's fishiest chefs, @mitchtonks or @rockfishdevon should keep you in the picture.

Skinning skate made easy - nice one Duncan!

Skinning skate and ray is one of those jobs that many fishermen never attempt, now there's no excuse to not to have a go - watch fishmonger Duncan Lewis from Passionate about Fish make it look easy - should inspire anyone to take up the J-cloth and skin!

Cooking fun, Crab in Black Bean Sauce.

Coating the crab just before serving.

Some would consider doing anything other than simply boiling crab and picking the shells for the meat they contain as sacrilege - but this recipe is truly delicious - the flavour from the crab meat and the black bean sauce combine into something special - and a breeze to prepare.

Palm sugar on the left and two kinds of yellow lump sugar that are the preferred means of sweetening in many Chinese dishes.

Use raw crab if possible. Remove the legs and body section from inside the main shell. After taking off the dead man's fingers use a big knife to cut the remainder in half first laterally and then two leg portions. Set aside. The crab will be cooked in the shells so the next step is to crack the claws - a rolling pin is good!


Sauce quantities for two: (Chan's in Penzance, like all good Oriental Shops keep all the ingredients)


1 tsp ketjap manis, a sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp fermented black beans (these need soaking for 30 mins and then rinsing before use)
1 tsp palm sugar
oil for cooking
4 spring onions finely sliced on the diagonal
1 oz peeled finely chopped ginger 
1/2 oz peeled finely chopped garlic
20 fresh curry leaves (not so easy to get hold of - try the local garden centre and grow your own)
1 tbsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
1/2 oz butter
1 red chilli - your choice for heat


Mix the ketjap, black beans, palm sugar, and three tablespoons of water.


Heat 3 fl oz of oil till smoking and add the crab in shell and cook for 2-3 minutes. Set aside on kitchen paper.


Remove all but enough oil and add the spring onions, ginger, garlic and curry leaves and stir fry gently - don't brown!


Add the black pepper, stir in and then add the black bean mixture and then add the partially cooked crab, cover with a lid and cook through for 4-5 minutes if using raw crab, half the time for cooked. Once cooked, stir in the butter and red chilli turning the whole lot until all the pieces are coated.


Garnish with some of the sliced spring onion. This is a hugely messy and fun dish to eat and requires a finger bowl or two and the kitchen roll a hand - literally finger licking good!

Fishy Friday, and it's Escabeche for tomorrow's big Porthleven wedding.

 De-scale, fillet and skin the fish.......

 in this case haddock......

 skinning starts from the tail end.......

 with the knife held flat against the work top.......

 prepare the lime juice - not forgetting to get the halved limes in the juicer the right way round......

 at two limes per pound of fish......

 brushed into the fillets.......and left for 15 minutes to 'cook'.......

 back at the stove fry in olly oil the garlic, ground cumin and and a dozen black pepper corns......

 adding a bay leaf per half pound of fillets........

 the fillets are now lime juice 'cooked'........

 add sliced onion, one per two pounds of fillet.......

 and heat through for 4 minutes before adding white wine vinegar.......

 quickly brown one side of the fillets, both if bigger fillets.......

 add the olly oil to the sauce and pour over the fillets while still hot......

 once, cooled, keep the trays of marinade covered fillets in the fridge till needed, in this case the wedding reception in Porthleven tomorrow afternoon. There are dozens of variations on Escabeche recipes.