Bounty of the seas

NATHAN OUTLAW IS ON A ‘ONE-MAN CHEF MISSION' TO GET US ALL TO EAT MORE SEAFOOD, AS LAUREN TAYLOR DISCOVERS

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“WHAT people sometimes don’t realise is [that] it is a convenience food,” says chef Nathan Outlaw, whoruns Michelin-star restaurant Outlaw’s Fish Kitchen in Port Isaac, Cornwall.

“If you've got a good supply of it, it cooks so quickly - three or four minutes - and you can have your meal ready”

The 48-year-old has seen big changes in the popularity of fish since opening his first restaurant in 2003 - The Black Pig in Rock, which held a Michelin star - before opening his flagship eatery, Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac, which held two Michelin stars for 10 years.

“When I first started cooking as a chef, it had been salmon, cod, maybe some tuna steak, there wasn’t really much being eaten,” he says. “Now we're lucky, people will try anything.”

Nathan has released his seventh cookbook, Nathan Outlaw on Fish, which he says is a “personal handbook’, including all his thoughts about seafood. His top tip for expert fish cookery is leaving it to the last minute.

Says Nathan: “The biggest thing Ican say at home to be successful with cooking fish is to make sure, before you cook your fish, you have everything else ready.

“If you've got some potatoes, or a sauce, or salad, get everything ready - even get everybody sat down at the table - before you start cooking your fish. Because once it’s there, it’s ready to be served.”