CJ JACKSON ‘THE GREAT BRITISH SEAFOOD REVIVAL’

CJ Jackson ‘The Great British Seafood Revival’. On Wednesday, Fish Focus were invited to Billingsgate Seafood School to an interactive cookery event with CJ Jackson, seafood chef and creative consultant at the seafood school, to promote the launch of her new book, ‘The Great British Seafood Revival’, due to be launched on the 16^th October.

The event showcasing the recipes in CJ’s new book, was a great opportunity to learn about seafood preparation and to watch CJ cook dishes from her book (including langoustine, megrim and dog fish).

We were shown how to fillet the megrim –  also known as Cornish sole and how to prepare and cook it. There were definitely varying levels of skill on show, when everyone had a chance to fillet and prepare their own fish.

CJ entertained us with stories of teaching kids from local schools, trying to instil a love of fish to the students and letting them try fish other than the ‘big 5’, with a hope that they would become seafood enthusiasts of the future.

She talked about her hopes of encouraging people in the UK to be more adventurous with their choice of fish as the issue of low fish stocks of notably cod and haddock, is very much in the news. That choosing different fish types will not only help sustain stocks, but alternatives such as hake, coley, pollack and megrim are not only delicious but also cheaper. How to make delicious meals using inexpensive tinned fish, such as mackerel and herring.

We also had the opportunity to meet UK based freelance seafood writer, fisheries consultant, broadcaster and authority on all things to do with sustainable British seafood, Mike Warner, who talked about the revival of British overlooked species and fishing industry trends.

He told us about his mission in connecting producer (fisherman) to the consumer, ‘net to plate’ via storytelling and to promote and spotlight, sustainably caught and seasonal British fish and shellfish, enthusing, educating and arming consumers with the right information in order to make better-informed decisions when purchasing seafood.

CJ’s book ‘The great British Seafood Revival’, is available to order here Great British Seafood Revival – merlinunwin It is full of facts about the UK fishing industry, the varied species that swim in our waters, great cooking tips and fabulous recipes (and would make a wonderful Christmas present).