Wharfers encouraged to find their fish at Billingsgate

Not often enough, according to CJ Jackson, director of the Billingsgate Seafood Training School.

"They call me Action Jackson because I'm a woman on a mission," she said.

"I want to get people back in touch with their food heritage and fish in particular. It's about time we got rid of the impression of fish being smelly and bony. I'd love more people from Canary Wharf to come over here to see how great fish is.

"People are terrified of it because they don't know what to buy or how to cook it, but they shouldn't be.

"It's one of the healthiest foods you can eat and in these days of health consciousness it's absolutely perfect."

CJ, who has been director of the school for four years, is evangelical about all things piscatorial, particularly the market.

She said: "I love Billingsgate, its people and personalities. I'm often asked if it smells, but it doesn't, because the fish is so fresh it smells of the sea.

"But it's also about the knowledge of the people who work here. A skilled merchant knows his fish and his customers. Sustainability is such a huge issue now that's very important.

"The merchant will be able to say where every fish comes from and who caught it. You don't get that when you buy a cod fillet packed in plastic in the supermarket.

"People think Billingsgate is a wholesale market but 18 per cent of our business is from the public and I hope that will grow.

"If you can't come during the week come down on Saturday mornings."

Changing attitudes is high on CJ's agenda. When she took over the cookery school she commissioned a survey on people's fish eating habits, which revealed people could only name 18 types of fish.

"It was staggering," said CJ. "There are 150 species of fish on the market but people hadn't heard of a lot of them and won't eat them. We should focus on fish like coley, pollock and gurnard rather than cod and haddock forced on us by the supermarkets.

"Billingsgate is so important because it diversifies the approach to fish and what you can eat.

"We're also involved in a campaign to get people to eat more shellfish. This is a big market for clams and you can get a kilo of palourde clams for £7, which is a lot cheaper than the supermarket.

"I'd urge people to buy it and try it."

The Seafood Training School is a charity, relying on donations from organisations like the IDCF, doing a lot of work with young people in the community.

CJ hopes Wharfers will sign up for courses, as well as introductory tours round the market, to help keep it operating.

She has also distilled her knowledge into a new book, The Billingsgate Market Cookbook, a simple and elegant introduction to fish.

She said: "I'm pleased with the book. I didn't want people to be put off by having too many ingredients so the recipes are designed to be really simple.

"I've had a very positive response, even from the market workers.

"They seem pretty pleased to see themselves in it and some have even said they've been cooking the recipes themselves."

For more information about the seafood cookery school visit seafoodtraining.org.

The Billingsgate Market Cookbook by CJ Jackson, published by New Holland, is out now.