Q & A with Mitch Tonks
Mitch Tonks is an award-winning chef and restaurateur who runs The Seahorse and Rockfish in Dartmouth and a further eight restaurants across Devon & Dorset. He has written six cookbooks and is ambassador for the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in the UK. We caught up with him to find out a bit more about his love of the South West and passion for sustainable seafood.
Have you been interested in food from an early age? Tell us about your early food memories.
I recall my grandmother’s cooking particularly. We spent time in the kitchen together preparing things so I’ve always understood and felt the value of that. She used to cook so many traditional things like eels and brawn, and I remember going to the local fishmongers and pinning my nose up against the window seeing all the amazing things on the counter, like a toy shop for foodies!
When did you realise that a culinary vocation was your calling in life?
I had always loved cooking, but because I had no training I never believed I could do it and then when I was about 27 and working in accountancy, I had a bit of an epiphany. I thought I want be able to buy and eat great seafood, and it was so hard to do in Bath where I lived so I just did it. I opened a fishmonger then added tables behind, then added more restaurants and now have nine in Devon and Dorset and have also made our great seafood available online. We were always getting asked ‘Where can I get this quality of seafood this quickly off the boats where I live?’ So we solved that problem!
Your career has spanned the globe but were you always destined to settle in the South West?
I grew up in Weston Super Mare and lived in Bath, and I’ve been very fortunate to be able to travel a lot and have seen seafood markets and great restaurants all across the world. Italy is probably still top of my list, and the wonderful Al Gatto Nero in Burrano, Venice is twinned spiritually with the Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth. But my heart is absolutely here in the South West, I just love living right by the water, love being able to walk along the coast early in the morning and see the sunrise or take a dip in the sea. I do love the sunshine but I love seeing all the weather here and it makes you realise how hard the fishing life is when you see the rough stuff – they need to be tough and resilient out there and I’m glad to be able to support their efforts on land.
Could you describe your relationship with the South Devon maritime towns of Brixham and Dartmouth?
I’ve been visiting Dartmouth since I was a child and have always loved it here. Then for years I had a direct relationship with Brixham and the fish market as this was where I sourced my seafood when I first opened a restaurant in Bath back in 1997. I’ve lived in Brixham now for over 10 years and absolutely love it. I can walk down to the morning market and see what has been landed on the boats, and on our boat Rockfisher. We then process it right there at our facility and take it to our restaurants and fishmongers and sell at our online seafood market – you can’t get fresher I don’t think.
There’s always something happening at fishing ports and by the water and we’re always celebrating what we do and the produce we have. In October Dartmouth hosts what I think is the finest food festival in the country! We have excellent chefs and a market of over 100 local producers, and you can taste wine, watch demos, enjoy the many fine restaurants here and generally soak up all that’s good about food and wine. I try to go to as many as I can when I’m not sailing, cooking, walking or paddle boarding!
Tell us more about your restaurants’ sustainable ethos?
If you’re in the business of selling fish, the sustainability stuff is part of your behaviour. It’s not a choice or fancy marketing angle, you just have to source seafood properly with all that in mind. Views and awareness and the background data can change but the fundamentals of understanding what is sustainable and the seas from where your catch comes are the same. I’ve always cared about it, I don’t think you can be involved in this industry and not.
What’s likely to grab your attention at the local fish markets?
Brixham lands the most diverse catch in the UK, over 40 species, so it’s a great market for us to be buying from. Personally I’m a big fan of red mullet which I will spot when in season. It’s not for everyone, it’s got a stronger flavour than many fish, but grill it or barbecue it and drizzle with lemon and olive oil and sea salt and serve with a Greek salad and it is hard to beat.
Are there any other local ingredients you just can’t do without in your cooking?
I’m a big fan of farm shops and enjoy seeing seasonal ingredients and knowing more about how they were grown or produced from the people who work there, so what I can’t live without changes with that. My store cupboard is always stocked with good local sea salt, with olive oils and I grow herbs in my small garden, the essentials to most good meals.
Where do you go to relax and unwind in South Devon?
I love sailing so my ideal way to unwind is to take the boat out, sail on the local waters and go to some of the smaller bays only accessible by boat. I’ll also turn up to the wonderful places I can moor up close to, the Anchorstone at Dittisham has to be an enduring favourite for me, the setting is wonderful, the simplicity and quality fantastic.
For any of our guests looking to cook a quick and easy seafood dish, what would you recommend?
I’d say get a beautiful piece of fresh monkfish, cook in a hot oven for 10-12 minutes then add a couple of spoonfuls of Rockfish lime pickle butter, put back in the oven for 5 minutes and serve with new potatoes and some greens. This is one from my latest book, the Rockfish Cookbook.
The Seahorse, 5 South Embankment, Dartmouth TQ6 9BH (T: 01803 835147)
Rockfish, 8 South Embankment, Dartmouth TQ6 9BH (T01803 832800)