The Royal Chef At Home: Easy Seasonal Entertaining

G rowing up, while other kids got excited at the “pop man” turning into the street delivering bottles of dandelion and burdock, Irn Bru and cream soda, I always looked forward to Fridays when the fish man would deliver. You could smell the briny sea as soon as he opened his van back doors and I would peek in to see his supply of fresh fish. Living in the midlands most of our local fish was cod and haddock caught off Grimsby, a few miles north. My mum would go out to the van to buy fish for our usual Friday night fresh fish and chips. My dad would yell after her to “get me the tail end of cod with its head still on.” It took me a few years to realize he was asking for a really large piece of fish for dinner! Fried in a delicious homemade batter with a plate full of homemade chips (fries) it was always a tea to look forward to. These days, when I have my foodie friends over for a cozy dinner, I enjoy serving Supreme of halibut Victoria. It’s a dish that we made in the Royal kitchens at Buckingham and is finished with a beautiful rich white wine cream sauce spooned over poached halibut, turbot or sea bass and garnished with lobster and delicate puff pastry fleurons. So old fashioned and so lovely. Halibut is available year round, but it is plentiful beginning in February and March. While they were once found in both the Atlantic and Pacific, these days the most sustainable halibut comes from Alaskan and Canadian Pacific waters. The sautéed beet greens and the accompanying salad round out the meal nicely. IN GOOD COMPANY: A COZY DINNER FOR SIX

187 WINTER · IN GOOD COMPANY: A COZY DINNER FOR SIX