Billingsgate Fish Course with CJ Jackson

The course will be led by C.J. Jackson who is the Director of the Billingsgate Seafood Training School in London. C.J. is a hugely experienced teacher who has worked at the Cordon Bleu School, Leiths School of Food and Wine, where she was Vice Principal and now at the Training School. She has written two authoritative books on fish preparation and cooking, Leiths Fish Bible and The Billingsgate Market Cookbook, and also works as a consultant. Each month C.J. writes about sustainable fish in the BBC Good Food Magazine and has recorded videos demonstrating fish preparation and cookery for BBC Good Food’s website.

Billingsgate Seafood Training School was established in 2000. They are based just above Billingsgate market, the largest inland fish market in the UK. As a charity the original aim of the school was to teach children about fish; how it is caught, prepared, cooked and can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. They have also partnered with the Sea Fish Industry Authority (Seafish) to design and deliver knife skills and other courses for industry training.

In 2006 they extended their facilities and now offer a wide range of courses to the general public covering many aspects of buying, preparation and cooking all types of seafood.

The course involves both demonstrations and hands-on cooking and will cover:

Day one – “Catch of the Day” – preparation and cooking of round and flat fish

You will be taken through the basics of fish preparation, including gutting, filleting, skinning and scaling. During the session you will learn techniques including making fish stock, grilling, roasting and poaching seafood.

There will be a break for lunch when you can sit down and enjoy one of your cooked dishes with a glass of wine. The day will draw to a close at approximately 4pm when you can take your prepared dishes home to enjoy in the evening.

Day two – “Shellfish” – Preparation and cooking of different types of shellfish

This is a day of practical cookery with some short demonstrations throughout the day. We will be looking at the preparation and cooking of various types of shellfish, which may include clams, scallops, squid, prawns, lobster, crab and Langoustine (Dublin Bay Prawn. At lunchtime you can enjoy one of your dishes with a glass of wine and then when you finish at approximately 4pm, take the rest home to eat in the evening.

Remember to bring containers to take your cooked dishes home in.