Small, long, thin fish of usually around 10-15cm long. Found in temperate waters all around Europe. Mainly sold filleted and preserved in oil, as they are small and fragile and…
Read MoreOften known in the UK as River Cobbler, and in mainland Europe as Panga, Basa is a type of catfish which is native to Vietnam and Thailand. Available both fresh…
Read MoreBrill is similar to turbot and cheaper. It has an almost oval body, a grey-brown dark side with light and dark freckles (but no tubercles) and ranges from 400g to…
Read MoreCommonly known as Atlantic wolffish or Atlantic catfish – along with other descriptive names such as sea wolf and devil fish – this is a fearsome looking species found throughout…
Read MoreThere are a number of varieties of clam; all are round and stone-like except the razor clam, so called because it resembles a cut-throat razor. Amande, hardshell, venus and razor…
Read MoreThe main fisheries for our native common cockle include the Thames Estuary, Morecombe Bay and Burry Inlet. These shellfish are very similar to clams and can be cooked in the…
Read MoreA superb whitefish to which chefs are returning with renewed enthusiasm now that sustainable (eg MSC certified) stocks are widely avail-able. The cod has a long, tapered body with a…
Read MoreCold water prawns and shrimps are made up of more than eight species found in the waters of the North and South Atlantic, and North Pacific, the principal species being…
Read MoreAlso known as saithe, coley has a long tapered body, with a slight blue tint. Specimens range from 500g to 6kg but are usually only available as fillets. This fish…
Read MoreUnlike the European Eel, the Conger is never found in freshwater, preferring temperate waters around the Mediterranean and North Atlantic. While not as highly regarded, Conger can be prepared and cooked in the…
Read MoreThe brown edible crab is native to the UK. Cock crabs (males) contain more white meat than the female hens and are generally preferred by chefs. Cocks can be identified…
Read MoreA seawater species in the jasus family, sometimes called spiny or rock lobster and regularly confused with crayfish. Crawfish can grow larger than lobsters and have a lobster shape but no large…
Read MoreThis freshwater crustacean looks like a small lobster averaging 10cm/55g. The tail meat is succulent with a prawn-like texture and a lovely sweet taste. European wild crayfish are almost extinct…
Read MoreVery similar to squid, but can be tougher, and not readily available since most landed in the UK are exported to France and Spain. Usually available in sizes from 225-500g.
… Read MoreSimilar to flounder, dabs tend to be smaller, and are rarely caught bigger than 680g.
At their best, dabs are similar in flavour and texture to plaice, and can be…
Read MoreThe ‘king’ of the soles, this superb fish has inspired many classic dishes such as Poached sole Bonne Femme, sole Veronique and sole a la Meunière. With a dark brown…
Read MoreLike sea breams, there are many different emperors. They look a lot like snappers, and are closely related, the difference being that emperors are species from the family lethrinidae and…
Read MoreAlso known as ‘fluke,’ flounder has brownish-green skin with faint red spots on the dark side and is bright white on the blind side. Similar in shape to halibut (though…
Read MoreThe most common variations are red, grey and yellow / tub gurnards, but all types are very similar in shape and taste, it’s just the skin colours that change.
Gurnard…
Read MoreAnother member of the cod family, whole haddock is not usually available above 3.5kg, so it is not as good for steaks or suprêmes. Also the flesh is not quite…
Read MoreSurprisingly not more popular in the UK where much hake is caught but generally exported to Spain, Portugal and Italy where it is highly favoured. Ranging in size from …
Read MoreSurprisingly not more popular in the UK where much hake is caught but generally exported to Spain, Portugal and Italy where it is highly favoured. Ranging in size from …
Read MoreThe largest of the flatfish, halibut have been known to grow as large as 300kg and 4m long in deeper waters. This is a highly esteemed and very tasty fish…
Read MoreThe herring has a sleek, slender body and silvery skin with hints of green and blue. Specimens range from 100-450g and are best grilled or baked whole, but there is…
Read MoreOften called St Peter’s fish since St Peter is alleged to be the origin of the distinctive dark ‘thumbprint’ (or spot) on its side. The English name John Dory derives…
Read MoreAlso known as Dublin Bay prawns, nephrops and Norwegian lobster, langoustine look like large king prawns but are actually part of the lobster family and can grow up to 250g…
Read More‘Lemons’ have an oval body; more rounded than a Dover, with a lighter, yellowy-brown dark side. Ranging in size from 230g to 1kg, these sole have a sweet delicate flesh…
Read MoreThis fish has a long slender body with a bronze tint, greenish-brown marks, and a white belly. It can grow up to 1.5 metres long, but is usually only available…
Read MoreYou can’t beat the wow factor when serving a whole cooked lobster to the customer’s table. There are several species – native lobsters from the UK are often considered the…
Read MoreA superb fish, great value, readily available and yet amazingly underrated. Ranging in size from 200-800g, the mackerel has a bullet shaped body with silvery-blue skin and attractive, dark wavy…
Read MoreAlso known as whiff, is more appreciated by the Spanish than in the UK. It has an oval body similar to lemon sole with a sandy-brown dark side but is…
Read MoreAlso known as anglerfish, this ugly fish has a huge head accounting for half its weight. Neverthless, the monkfish has inner beauty – once skinned, trimmed and the membrane removed…
Read MoreThe UK’s native mussel is now cultivated on ropes suspended in the water and don’t touch the seabed, ensuring they don’t pick up grit and barnacles. Their bluish-black shells are…
Read MoreOctopus can be difficult to cook, as it easily becomes tough and rubbery. Much octopus in the marketplace is available ready prepared and frozen, which can be a good thing…
Read MoreThere are three main oyster varieties available in the UK: native, Pacific (or rock oysters) and Portuguese. The native oyster (Ostrea edulis) is available from September to April and considered…
Read MoreUnlike Dover sole, plaice is best eaten as fresh as possible, as the flavour quickly fades. Ranging from 230g to 2kg, whole fish is easily identified by its distinctive orange…
Read MorePollack (Atlantic or Cornish)
Pollack (with an ‘a’) is closely related to coley and the two are often confused. Whole fish range from 500g to 3kg. pollack is a great…
Read MoreThis member of the cod family, also known as Bib, is found around European coastlines and usually grows to about a foot (30cm) long.
A good alternative to traditional white…
Read MoreLarger than their coldwater counterparts, warmwater prawns are farmed in the Far East and Latin America including the giant, meaty U10 (under 10 prawns per kg/each 100g+) raw whole black tiger…
Read MoreA great looking fish, with a mix of orange, red and pink coloured skin. Not large in size – available from 200g to 1kg – but big on flavour, from this…
Read MoreThis fish was once a luxury available only to a few, thanks to the recent development of aquaculture it is now widely available, affordable and also the UK’s biggest selling…
Read MoreThere are six species of Pacific salmon, each of which has slightly different characteristics. Wild Pacific salmon is caught between May and September and its flesh has a darker colour…
Read MoreAs the Latin name reveals, these fish are the same species, though smaller specimens are commonly known as sardines and larger, older ones pilchard.
Read MoreThese attractive fan-shaped shells contain a firm, translucent off-white meat wrapped with a bright orange roe or coral, also edible but with a different taste and texture. The membrane, grey-brown…
Read MoreFound wild from the Mediterranean to Norway in spring and summer, sea bass can grow up to 7kg, and are a prize catch, especially when line-caught. Now, thanks to farming…
Read MoreThis large group of fish from the Sparidae or Bramidae families are generally caught in the Mediterranean and off the west coast of Africa.
Read MoreTechnically the same species as brown trout, this much sought-after wild fish is also sometimes known as ocean or salmon trout, having a very similar appearance to salmon and a…
Read MoreThere are a great many varieties of snapper, including five line, yellowtail, silk, crimson, flag, moses, mangrove jack, emperor and goldband, but the undisputed heavyweight Champion is the red snapper…
Read MoreAlso known as calamari, the species of squid available commercially is Loligo squid which can range in size from 100g to 1kg (although there have been reports of squid weighing up…
Read MoreA native of the Nile but now farmed worldwide, tilapia (various species of the Oreochromis family) is very popular in America and widely used in Asian cuisine.
The most common varieties in…
Read MoreAlso known as river or lake trout, freshwater brown trout has brownish-yellow skin with numerous black and rusty red spots on its upper sides. Not to be confused with wild…
Read MoreA species which originates from the lakes and streams draining the Pacific slope – from Alaska to northern Baja Mexico, as well as the Pacific coastal stream of Asia. Rainbow trout…
Read MoreEvery menu should have fresh tuna! With its firm, rich red meat, you could almost describe this as the ‘cow of the sea’ and like steak, is best seared on…
Read MoreLike halibut, turbot is a highly prized species – often regarded as the best of the flatfish with great flavour and firm, white flesh. It has an almost circular outline, studded…
Read MoreA smaller fish from the Cod family, with a silvery-grey body and rounded belly, and rarely found over 2kg. This is often an overlooked fish but, like Coley, Whiting fillets are a…
Read MoreWitch, also known as Torbay Sole, has a similar appearance to Dover Sole, and is from the same family as Lemon Sole and Plaice.
Read More