Hot off the press - Fish

The ideal Christmas present for the chef-cook in your life!

Served up at a breakfast launch today in the restaurant Tom's Kitchen, Fish - a new cookbook written by the chef Tom Aikens. A must for any seafood fan, especially as many of the dishes for this book were inspired by Tom Aikens' work with fishermen down here in Cornwall. This is more than just a collection of fish recipes, it includes sections in detail on the preparation and handling of fresh fish and shellfish through to catching, handling and observations on many apsects of the industry in its current setting.

With many fishermen keen to supply chefs and other outlets with tagged and traceable fish the book explores the developing relationship between the catcher and the customer. For anyone in the industry, there are plenty of familiar faces and scenes to be seen in the specially commissioned photography used in this lavishly illustrated book!

We can thank Keith Floyd back in the mid 1980s with his series 'Floyd on Fish' for being the first chef of any repute for starting the ball rolling - we saw him escape from the kitchen to celebrate cooking with the people whom actually catch fish for a living - especially in Cornwall. Floyd the gastronaut's sense of adventure, enthusiasm and willingness to broaden people's culinary experience made a lasting impact - if you can get hold of a copy of the paperback 'Floyd on Fish' (a BBC publcation) you'll see how things have developed.

Not a breath

A late-night-ice for the Geordie boys on the Valhalla....
in a clear berth, the tug Vulcan from Falmouth waits for sailing orders....
not to be missed, a celebration of the Arts in Newlyn from the 5th of November to the 9th this weekend....
Tom looks out over a Bay with not a breath of wind.....
as Robin Turner holds court again with a visiting group on their tour of the port....
modern versions of what are known, for obvious reasons, as 'inkwell' pots.....
boxes of bait to go and a few bongos of crab come ashore....

on go the backing ropes, a maiden trip draws ever nearer!

The spirit encouters the tall ship Gorch Foch heading for Maderia

Enjoy some photos and a video clip from the Spirit of Mystery on their website now that the guys have sussed how to transmit using the satcom kit aboard the boat! With rather more than a gale of wind forecast, information courtesy of the passing tall ship Gorch Foch , Pete Goss decided to be prudent and hole up under the lee of a large rock, off the north east of Madeira. Unusually, when this satellite image was taken of the island it inluded a visible contrail from an aeroplane overhead!

At a distance

In Mounts Bay, one takes a break and shelters, another enjoys the strong Nor' Westerly breeze.....
way out on the horizon a big square rigger (Roald Amundsen), possibly dodging, waiting for a more favourable forecast (curently giving NW5-7 occasionally 8), before heading round Lands End...
final stage of the mussels and monkfish cheeks dish with a hot tarragon sauce, courtesy of BBC's Saturday's Kitchen.....
first thing Monday morning and the lights are shining on the Cornishman....
the trees now well established in what was Keel Alley have a distinctly autumnal look about them....

another driver gets some shuteye before heading off to France, not much trade on a very quiet market this morning....

Saturday's, sun, steam, sleep, smoke and some Inspiration

Steamy conditions in the land of crab cooking at Harveys as the temperature outside drops...
and someone manages to sneak a ciggy break on the doorstep......
its an early start for Hop Oils as the driver waits for the crew on the Ben My Chree to show.....

must have been a hard night!.........
the shadows are shorter in the mornings at this time of year......
almost there on the Emma Louise.....
aboard Quentin's Sea Spirit what looks like a still has taken up residence in the side deck....
on the quay, something more akin to a radioactive flask....
detail of the new fitted deck boards on the Inspiration....
complete with new engine box and newish mast, she must be nearly ready for action.....
still providing stirling service for all things nautical now that South West nets have closed their shop.....
alongside one of several fresh fish outlets to be found in Newlyn.

CEFAS and their work

Scientific research often gets a bad press with the fishing industry - not least because the research is often subject to criticism that it is carried out using outdated or outmoded methods - using the same old gear on the same old bank towing for fish that any fishermen will tell you are never seen anywhere near the bank - or just plain ignoring the collective received wisdom of those who catch fish for a living. As with the judiciary, none of this will stand up in court as it were - you need real 'evidence'. To that end it is hoped that the work CEFAS carry out working closely with the fishing industry can help provide valuable data that has credit with all sectors of the industry. One of the most recent research projects was with the local netter CarolH, fishing for hake. Read the report here.
hake-selectivity.pdf

Sardines landed despite the weather

With no smoking on the premises, some of W Harvey's girls take a break on the roadside......
Watched by Gary on the deck of the Pride of Cornwall, Tim swings the braille over the waiting insulated tubs, already well filled with flake ice to form a slush.... handling the fish like this keeps it in tip-top condition for the market...... skipper Stefan Glinski is kept busy on the forklift while 'Magic' tops up with ice - the first boat Magic sailed on in the late-70s, along with David "Dumps' Hichens and Anthony Hobin was the Mes Fille owned and skippered by Bill Tate (later had the Silver fern).....in the background the.... Resolute is on her way in with what looks like a slack shot (her bow is way out of the water) - the boats 'had a look' last evening but the weather was too poor so instead they sailed at 5 this morning for a shot just off the back of Mousehole Island..... there's plenty of gear still to be sorted aboard the Billy Rowney since the port side derrick was put back together... despite the rather dull and dismal weather, the paint job is making progress on the new crabber..... another possible entry for next year's Turner prize..... back in town after many months, the Pindar (one of the sponsors of Pete Goss' Spirit of Mystery) boat Hatherleigh takes water..... also making progress under heavy skies, the Dragon an Moar.