LUCKY competition winners from across Hampshire got to enjoy a special cookery course in the kitchen garden of a 17th century luxury hotel.
Ten attendees from areas including Basingstoke, Emsworth, Verwood and Wareham learnt how to buy, cook and eat sustainable seafood at the Lainston Hotel in Sparsholt, near Winchester.
The competition was part of the Great Solent Seafood project - a partnership between Hampshire Fare and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust.
This special session was run by Season, the cookery school at Lainston House, with top chefs Phil Yeomans, executive head chef at Lainston House, and Andy Mackenzie, executive chef at Chef’s Academy, Exclusive Hotels, showing the winners the ropes.
Dishes prepared included Baked Crab, Cedar Plank Cooked Lemon Sole, and Palourde Clams, cooked in a wok with scorched red pepper, shallots, cider and lemon balm picked from the Kitchen Garden. All the food was cooked outside on a BBQ.
A talk was given by Tim Ferrero, senior specialist marine conservation at the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust, about the Solent’s sustainable seafood.
He said: "This event was a fantastic opportunity to visit a wonderful location and see professional chefs working close up. Just as important was meeting our competition winners to pass on information about local seafood and our local fisheries to help them to make the most sustainable seafood choices.”
Tracy Nash, commercial manager at Hampshire Fare, said: “The course was truly amazing and a brilliant way of introducing people to sustainable seafood and how to prepare and cook it. I think Tim Ferrero’s talk about sustainable seafood may well have changed a few minds about where to buy seafood, with more consideration about traceability, as well as freshness and flavour!”
Mother and daughter duo Sarah and Hannah Taylor, from Emsworth, added: “It was such a happy day and a wonderful connection between nature, learning more about the sources of sustainable seafood, and learning to cook it. The chefs put us at ease and the course has given us a lot more confidence about cooking seafood. We felt really connected to the local roots of where our food comes from.”
Chris and Richard Auburn, from Wareham, said: “‘What a superb and fun experience! We’ve learnt loads about sustainably caught fish from Tim Ferrero and how to cook it from the chefs. We cannot thank you enough for the fantastic day you guys put on for us!
"The recipes you taught us to cook were amazing and not only convinced us about sustainable seafood, but also opened our eyes to what can be cooked on a BBQ. All of the recipes have now found a place within our home cookbook, and we can’t wait to try them again with friends and family.”
Phil Yeomans, executive head chef at the Lainston House Hotel, said: “Our philosophy here at Lainston House is very much about sustainability. Lainston House is part of The Exclusive Collection, the first hotel group in the UK to achieve B-Corp certification.
"As part of this we have a focus on growing our own produce and using local suppliers. Therefore, we were delighted to host this event and explain to people about local sustainable seafood and how to prepare and cook it.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here