Welcome to my fish masterclass. This is where I teach you all about how to buy, prepare and cook delicious fish.

Fish is one food which people really lack confidence about. Whether it’s trying something new, buying whole fish rather than pre-packaged fillets, or getting to know your local fishmonger, when it comes to fish, a little experimentation pays big rewards.

Delicious, healthy, and quick – nothing beats fish as far as I’m concerned. And we should all be eating more fish for our health, especially oily fish like mackerel and sardines because of the omega 3 oils they contain.

My top fishmongers

If you’re lucky enough to have one, get to know your local fishmonger. Traditional fishmongers are dying out, so if you’ve got one, use them. There’s no better place to get really fresh fish, or advice about what to buy. Here are some of my favourite fishmongers.

My guide to buying fish

My little guide to buying some of my favourite fish – what to look for to make sure they’re as fresh as possible.

• Go to a market. Fish markets offer top-quality fish at good prices – but you might have to get up early! In some cases you'll only find locally landed fish, but markets such as London's Billingsgate offer hundreds of species of fish.
• Traditional fish vans are making a come back, often selling the freshest catch of the day from the nearest coastal market door-to-door.
• Get to know your local fishmonger, if you’re lucky enough to have one. You won’t regret it.

How to spot fresh fish

The real secret to cooking delicious fish is making sure that it’s really fresh. It’s absolutely crucial – old fish will never taste good. And just because a fish is within its best-before date, doesn’t mean it will taste as fresh as it can – it just means it’s safe to eat. It’s a lot easier to tell whether a whole fish is fresh than pre-packaged fillets, so buy these if you can.

How to prepare and fillet a fish

Buying whole fish is better than buying pre-packaged fillets for loads of reasons. It’s easier to tell if it’s fresh, there are a lot more cooking options, and it’s often cheaper. But a lot of people are put off because they don’t know how to prepare whole fish. So let me show you how.

How to cook fish

This is one way I like to cook my fish. Simple but delicious.

Wrapping your fish

If you buy a whole fish, one of the best ways of cooking it is to wrap it in tin foil with some herbs and spices. The fish steams in its own juices, so it’s easier to keep the flesh moist, and really easy to get a really delicious flavour.

Choosing the right fish for the right dish

Different types of fish suits different cooking methods. So whether you’ve got oily fish or white fish, whole fish or fillets, find out how to bring the very best out of your fish.

Sustainable fish

There are problems with some species being over-fished. While the top sellers in the UK are still the old standbys, cod, haddock, farmed salmon, prawns and tuna, there’s plenty more out there that's just as good to eat (and more sustainably fished) if you know what to look out for.

If you’re concerned about how sustainable your fish is, take a look at the Marine Conservation Society supermarket survey.

Both the Marine Conservation Society and the Marine Stewardship Council run labelling schemes for sustainable seafood.

Marine Stewardship Council - fish to eat

Marine Conservation Society