*Richard Cook* of Severn and Wye Smokery is dedicated to boosting the profile of the West Country eel
*I* didn't plan on doing this. After A-levels, I decided against going to uni, because Dad needed help on the family farm and with the glass eel fishery – you could call it a crisis of conscience. Anyway, after about three weeks I realised that, although Dad and I were great mates, we just couldn't work together. In other words, it was a typical father-son working relationship. So I had to find something else to do with my life.
That's where the fish come in. Some of my best childhood memories are of going out with Dad to catch salmon and glass eels on the Severn. Most of the local catch back then was sent by train to London and Birmingham, and I'd always thought our fishery ought to have more of an identity.
So, with the help of a loan from Dad, I set up a small smokehouse. At first I used only the local catch, but the business has grown and we now import from all over. Wild fish is expensive stuff, and for good reason: it really is the best money can buy. Plus we have such strict seasons: we can fish salmon for only 10-12 weeks a year down here, for instance.
My other real passion is eels, which, let's face it, aren't exactly sexy. The only way around that is education. Britain's adult generations are probably a lost cause, so the easiest way to promote eels is to target the group with the least preconceptions: children. And by teaching them about eels, you also teach them about the environment. It's working, too: four years ago, we had one school involved in our conservation and restocking project; now there are 54.
Few people realise that modern waterways, with all their weirs, sluice gates and the like, are deathtraps for our glass eels. They get stuck trying to navigate upstream, where they develop into adults, and end up dying of hunger or exhaustion. They need a hand, so we take them out of the river and release them in the wetlands, where they're headed anyway (when they go back out to sea, they just glide down the man-made watercourses).
For every 100kg of glass eels we catch, 70kg are released back into the wild upstream; the rest go off to be farmed to maturity. It's those fish that come back to us for smoking. The eel farms are also involved in restocking the wild population, so the whole process is a kind of conservation conveyor belt.
Elver (young eel) fishing has a long tradition here in the south-west. When I was a lad, we went out for them on spring nights, wearing headtorches – we were like river rats, scurrying around the banks in the dark. But those glass eels from the Severn were sold across Europe, rarely here.
All I've ever wanted to do is make a contribution to our river environment in my own small way.
**Smoked eel in cider and mustard sauce**
It may seem a little odd, but smoked eel and mustard is a match made in heaven.
Serves 2
*Rapeseed or groundnut oil*
*2 slices of parma ham (or similar)*
*100g smoked eel fillets*
*100ml dry cider*
*1 tbsp wholegrain mustard*
*200ml double cream*
*A handful of watercress*
*Mashed potato, to serve*
*1 *Heat the oven to* *200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lay the ham on an oiled baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Set it aside.
*2 *Heat a large frying pan on a high flame. Add a tiny splash of oil and then the eel fillets – they should brown and caramelise almost immediately. After a minute, flip over, add the cider and mustard, and leave to bubble and reduce by half – which should take about a minute.
*3 *Spoon the mash on to warmed plates and lay the eel fillets on top. Add the cream to the pan, reduce to a thick sauce and pour over the eel and mash. Garnish with the crisp ham and watercress, then serve.
*Exclusive reader offer *The Wye Smokery is offering the first 50 readers 20% off on 100g packs of sustainable smoked eel fillets. To order, call 01452 760190 or email info@severnandwye.co.uk. Each pack sold will trigger a release of three eels into the Eels In Schools project; severnandwye.co.uk Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.
*I* didn't plan on doing this. After A-levels, I decided against going to uni, because Dad needed help on the family farm and with the glass eel fishery – you could call it a crisis of conscience. Anyway, after about three weeks I realised that, although Dad and I were great mates, we just couldn't work together. In other words, it was a typical father-son working relationship. So I had to find something else to do with my life.
That's where the fish come in. Some of my best childhood memories are of going out with Dad to catch salmon and glass eels on the Severn. Most of the local catch back then was sent by train to London and Birmingham, and I'd always thought our fishery ought to have more of an identity.
So, with the help of a loan from Dad, I set up a small smokehouse. At first I used only the local catch, but the business has grown and we now import from all over. Wild fish is expensive stuff, and for good reason: it really is the best money can buy. Plus we have such strict seasons: we can fish salmon for only 10-12 weeks a year down here, for instance.
My other real passion is eels, which, let's face it, aren't exactly sexy. The only way around that is education. Britain's adult generations are probably a lost cause, so the easiest way to promote eels is to target the group with the least preconceptions: children. And by teaching them about eels, you also teach them about the environment. It's working, too: four years ago, we had one school involved in our conservation and restocking project; now there are 54.
Few people realise that modern waterways, with all their weirs, sluice gates and the like, are deathtraps for our glass eels. They get stuck trying to navigate upstream, where they develop into adults, and end up dying of hunger or exhaustion. They need a hand, so we take them out of the river and release them in the wetlands, where they're headed anyway (when they go back out to sea, they just glide down the man-made watercourses).
For every 100kg of glass eels we catch, 70kg are released back into the wild upstream; the rest go off to be farmed to maturity. It's those fish that come back to us for smoking. The eel farms are also involved in restocking the wild population, so the whole process is a kind of conservation conveyor belt.
Elver (young eel) fishing has a long tradition here in the south-west. When I was a lad, we went out for them on spring nights, wearing headtorches – we were like river rats, scurrying around the banks in the dark. But those glass eels from the Severn were sold across Europe, rarely here.
All I've ever wanted to do is make a contribution to our river environment in my own small way.
**Smoked eel in cider and mustard sauce**
It may seem a little odd, but smoked eel and mustard is a match made in heaven.
Serves 2
*Rapeseed or groundnut oil*
*2 slices of parma ham (or similar)*
*100g smoked eel fillets*
*100ml dry cider*
*1 tbsp wholegrain mustard*
*200ml double cream*
*A handful of watercress*
*Mashed potato, to serve*
*1 *Heat the oven to* *200C/400F/gas mark 6. Lay the ham on an oiled baking tray and bake for 8-10 minutes until crisp. Set it aside.
*2 *Heat a large frying pan on a high flame. Add a tiny splash of oil and then the eel fillets – they should brown and caramelise almost immediately. After a minute, flip over, add the cider and mustard, and leave to bubble and reduce by half – which should take about a minute.
*3 *Spoon the mash on to warmed plates and lay the eel fillets on top. Add the cream to the pan, reduce to a thick sauce and pour over the eel and mash. Garnish with the crisp ham and watercress, then serve.
*Exclusive reader offer *The Wye Smokery is offering the first 50 readers 20% off on 100g packs of sustainable smoked eel fillets. To order, call 01452 760190 or email info@severnandwye.co.uk. Each pack sold will trigger a release of three eels into the Eels In Schools project; severnandwye.co.uk Reported by guardian.co.uk 8 hours ago.