William Elliot from Eddies Seafood Market in Edinburgh, Ian Gatt, President of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, and chef Kevin MacGillivray, delighted audiences with their informative performance, compered by SFS’s Nicki Holmyard.
While fishmonger William Elliot demonstrated fish filleting to much applause, Ian Gatt explained how and where each species was caught, and spoke about sustainability issues. Lively banter between Kevin MacGillivray and his co-hosts encouraged the audience to experiment with different ways of preparing and cooking mackerel, haddock, megrim, monkfish, langoustine, scallops and oysters.
Volunteers took a turn at filleting fish and shucking scallops and oysters, and everyone was invited to take part in a tutored langoustine tasting. To reinforce the sustainability message, specially prepared information sheets were handed out, along with recipe ideas.
“I think it is really important to interact with the public to inform them about the variety of species in Scotland’s seafood larder, and to help them understand how the fleet works to sustainably harvest the resource,” explained Ian Gatt, who sits on the SFS board. “I was really pleased with the positive response from the audience during the Masterclass, and by the number of people who sought me out afterwards to say they had found the sessions informative and enjoyable,” he added.
As well as masterminding the seafood classes, SFS also took a stand at the event, where Scottish seafood canapés suitable for the festive season were demonstrated and sampled throughout the two days. “Our stand was constantly busy, and the public had so many questions for our chef and for Ian Gatt, who informed people about the work being undertaken in Scotland towards a more sustainable future for the stocks,” said Sarah Holmyard, SFS’s Marketing Executive.
The ‘Eat More Fish’ campaign encourages Scottish consumers to increase their consumption of seafood. Scotland relies heavily on export markets in France and Spain for high value species such as scallops and langoustine, and most of the low value megrim catch also goes to Spain, making it important to develop new markets at home. “Events like the Foodies Festival are ideal for introducing new customers to our wealth of sustainably caught seafood,” stated Ian Gatt.
