Fin-to-tail
Fergus Henderson of St. John pioneered the concept of nose-to-tail dining many moons ago, and 2020 looks set to be the year when fin-to-tail eating goes mainstream. Dovetailing with the zero waste trend, chefs are increasingly looking to get the most out of their produce, and are working with all parts of the fish, including the gills.
At the moment most people only eat around 40% of a fish, but less desirable parts, from the head and bones to (gasp) the eyes, are more frequently being used by chefs, which can only be a good thing, given that the World Wildlife Fund has reported a 40% decline in recorded marine species in the past 40 years.
Proving popular on James Lowe’s menu at Flor in Borough Market are his scarlet prawns, a dish of two halves where diners are encouraged to eat the heads. Newcomer Lyon’s in London’s Crouch End, bills itself as a fin-to-tail restaurant that makes use of every part of the fish they cook, from cod neck to fish skin crisps.
Kiln in Soho is similarly sustainable, using lobster heads in its stocks and monkfish livers in its curries, while Ivan Tisdall-Down at Native serves fish fins on toast. With an increasing number of people lessening their meat intake or ditching it altogether, expect to see the rise of flexitarians (those who eat meat on occasion) and seagans – (vegans that stick to a plant-based diet but also eat fish) this year.
