Page 29 - foodservice Magazine August 2018

PRODUCE
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they were to be prepared by his wife, the cook at the adjoining bistro for dinner.
We return for our 8 pm dinner booking and over the next 90 minutes are treated to one of the finest seafood meals I have ever experienced.
The red prawns and scampi are served merely cleaned and deveined on plate, drizzled with fresh, local olive oil and accompanied by two wedges of lemon. The sea urchin have been cleaned, their fat lobes of deliciousness merely sitting on some bread fried in olive oil. The baby octopus are fried, also in the fruity, fresh local olive oil and we are instructed to eat them whole.
The orata is cooked in the local, Ligurian- style, baked whole with slices of waxy potatoes, olives, pine nuts and more olive oil. Presented whole, the efficient waitress perfectly debones and replates the fish and accompaniments with the dexterity of a Cirque Du Soleil juggler.
Orata.
Washed down with a bottle of the local, Pigato white wine, this meal is an absolute cracker. At meal’s end I lift my eyes from the table and see that the fish shop has closed but the bistro is packed with happy, hungry diners. Rich or poor, highbrow or humble, they are all here to worship at the altar of local, wild caught seafood.
The enthusiasm and respect for the wild seafood on sale at both the retail store and in the bistro was only matched by the appreciation for its cost. Our simple meal for two pitched in at well over $AUD 200 – including the $AUD 22 bottle of wine. And respect is what these locals do have, for this not about random consumption but more about revering what is special.
Every mouthful is savoured, every morsel of flesh from every crevice of the animal is sucked, slurped and licked until there is no more.
Those of us lucky enough to live in a first world country should respect the luxury of eating wild caught fish. Not merely respecting the wild nature of the fish but the extraordinary flavours and textures that come only from an animal taken from the wild.
The inspiring thing about eating seafood when travelling is the diversity of the species found in different regions. Often out of necessity, but more often out of availability, quality and price, the local seafood can be the defining characteristic of any coastal cuisine.
The use of the ugly, the bony and the plain weird in other parts of the world never fails to inspire. I know it’s much easier to use a species which is well known and an easy sell off menu but perhaps it’s about taking the time out to explore how to inspire consumers to become more appreciative of the incredible uniqueness that wild, local seafood can offer.
Those of us lucky enough to live in a first world country should respect the luxury of eating wild caught fish. Not merely respecting the wild nature of the fish but the extraordinary flavours and textures that come only from an animal taken from the wild.