Seafood Delights

Deliciously Fishy

There’s always something very tempting about fresh fish on the menu especially when it is sourced locally and cooked to perfection. Of course you can just indulge or why not attend a cooking school to cook your fish and eat it, too?

Check out any fishermen’s co-op, fish market or fresh fish shop and you’ll find fish you might not even know existed. Looking for a platter-sized fish recently at the Sydney Fish Markets I had the opportunity to look many in the eye and finally decided on a Red Emperor to be stuffed with olives and lemon thyme and baked in the oven.

As I went around I also reflected on how tempting it is to go for fillets, all neat and tidy and a sure sign that, for many of us, hunter-gatherer skills are truly a thing of the past. Luckily there is usually someone to rekindle lost arts and famous UK chef Rick Stein has certainly done a huge job in putting fish back in the world of cooking .

Rick’s passion for fresh fish is legendary through his books, TV series, restaurants and cooking school in his hometown of Padstow in Cornwall and he is a great fan of Australia, too. Rick’s famous quote is that, “nothing is more exhilarating than fresh fish simply cooked”.

Sounds easy, but sometimes in cooking it’s the simple things that are easy to stuff up and it is very tempting to overwhelm fish with sauces when a delicious dressing would be more appropriate.

Want to learn more? If you have the chance this summer why not attend a weekend cooking class or school to see what the chefs have to say about cooking fish? Many properties in Weekends For Two offer classes or access to local schools and say that there is a high level of interest in hands on cooking.

Bishop’s Court at Bathurst in NSW is the home of the Delzioso Cooking School which has become a favourite attraction for weekenders and, as well as being a fun way of learning to cook new dishes, also introduces guests to local produce as in the recipe for baked trout which they have generously shared with us to try at home.

Alison Plumme