School children hooked at seafood demonstration

The new year started with a splash for Roughlee school children, as they enjoyed a fishy demonstration, presented by an industry expert.

Antony Shirley, the executive chef from the award-winning Seafood Pub Company, gave a seafood talk to the whole school during morning assembly.

The demo explained the importance of seafood in the diet, where fish comes from and Antony even brought along some real-life fish produce to show the children.

Antony said: “We recently launched our Little Oysters Cookery Club, which is designed to educate youngsters about seafood.”

“We travel up and down the country visiting primary schools to deliver the demonstrations, so we were thrilled when Roughlee Primary School were keen to get involved.”

“I showcased a number of different fish produce including monkfish, salmon, cod, sardines, mackerel, skate, haddock, oysters and mussels. The children were amazed and some had never seen fish on this scale!”

The demonstration lasted around 20 minutes; there was a Q&A session at the end, where children were able to ask Antony anything they liked regarding seafood.

Mark Elliott, headteacher at Roughlee Primary School: “It was a pleasure to have Antony involved in our morning assembly.”

“The talk was really informative and the children enjoyed the visit. It was great to open their eyes to new types of food, helping them to understand where it comes from and why it’s a great addition to their diet.”

Antony will be following up on the demonstration by visiting the school again to make fishcakes with the children, as part of the Cookery Club. This will be an interactive session, where the children will learn first-hand how to make their own fishcakes, using various different ingredients.

The Seafood Pub Company has ten venues in total, with the Barley Mow, Assheton Arms, Forest and Roosters Bistro all located close by to Roughlee Primary School. Practising what they preach, each venue in the group serves pub classics, plus a selection of great seafood dishes and sensational seafood specials at the weekend.