Seasoned Cookery School – Fish and Seafood Course

I’m not one for dieting or cutting out food groups, but I have been trying to incorporate more fish and vegetables into my cooking. So when I heard about Seasoned Cookery School‘s Fish and Seafood course, I jumped at the chance to expand my limited repertoire (with a 50% blogger discount).

The school in Staffordshire is set on a lovely (former beef) farm in the Midlands. As the only non-local I had travelled the furthest, but it was an easy 2 hour train ride from London and Clare kindly offered me a lift to and from the school.

After welcome drinks and delicious brownies, we set off into the kitchen with Jeff the chef. He tested our knife skills by having us cut carrots and onions, flattering us with his surprise at our skill level. We then launched into the cooking – and as seafood is so quick to cook, we had a lot of chances to eat too. We learnt in a professional kitchen, but there was one main stove (we shared pop-up stoves in pairs), so the day was a combination of watching Jeff demo and cooking ourselves.

He showed us how simple and quick it was to cook scallops and calamari, then we tackled the big task for the day – filleting fish. There were no disasters and we were rewarded with a fantastic lunch of mackerel with a beetroot and blueberry grain mustard dressing. When cooking mackerel at home, it tends to overpower the vegetables I pair it with, so I’m definitely going to try complimenting it with a vinaigrette in future.

Pan fried Mackerel fillet with a Beetroot and Blueberry grain mustard dressing

After lunch we filleted a flat fish, had a Q&A session while reducing fish stock for a veloute and tasting samphire, poached our sole, then finished the day with moules mariniere.

Poached fillet of Sole with Samphire and cockle veloute

Seasoned has been open since May, and while professional, it doesn’t have the well-oiled slickness that Ashburton did. However, I loved the friendly, personal atmosphere and they were very open to ideas and course suggestions. For me, one of the most exciting paths Seasoned is exploring is the courses for schoolchildren, teaching them how to cook and eat more healthily. An enormous undertaking, but for the health of future generations, I really hope they succeed!

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