Swimming

More and more diners choose trout and salmon, but what they really want and what the menu offers are often quite different things. Bob Gledhill reports

FISH sales continue to grow steadily in restaurants, a rise doubtless caused by diners who heed warnings about the health risks associated with eating too much red meat.

While the truth may differ from the publicity, perception drives menu choices, with the result that as red meat sales tend to decline, fish sales enjoy a corresponding increase.

Not that the fishing industry is without its own problems. Strict EC fishing policies are often flouted by a number of fishing nations, and the result is that stocks of traditional whitefish species in Western Europe have reached an all-time low, pushing British prices of fish such as cod, plaice and sole uncomfortably high.

solution

Enter farmed salmon, providing a solution to the demand for quality fish coupled with continuity of supply and reasonable prices.

Restaurants sold more than 4,000 tonnes of farmed salmon last year and sales are projected to keep climbing.

The constant attention farmed salmon gets tends to overshadow the fact that it is just one part of the British aquaculture scene. Swimming behind farmed salmon is farmed rainbow trout, which offers as many menu options as salmon, but so often sits in its shadow.

There cannot be many European-styled restaurants which never offer salmon, but how many put trout on the menu? In a recent survey of 100 restaurants, 94 offered fish every day. This in itself is not surprising, but the relative popularity of salmon and trout is cause for remark. While salmon was offered regularly by 90 of the restaurants, just 20 offered trout regularly.

This could be because customers don't order it when it is available, don't order it because it's not on the menu, or don't order it because too many chefs are unadventurous in their preparation of it.

Yet, if another piece of research comes into the reckoning, those 20 restaurants which are serving trout appear to be selling a lot of it.

Research company Marketpower has catering statistics for 1992 which show salmon sales at 4,145 tonnes, yet trout is at a surprisingly high 2,490 tonnes, exploding the myth that trout is far less popular than salmon.

Is trout ignored unfairly by restaurateurs and diners? Speciality London fish restaurant Café Fish has it on the menu as a permanent item and restaurant manager Philippe Billat says it sells well. "We usually have two trout dishes on the menu. We've been doing it shallow pan-fried with prawns and lemon, or cooked in paper with shredded vegetables and rosemary. We are changing the menu soon and will be doing trout fillet with walnuts and raisins."

Café Fish almost always uses trout fillets rather than whole fish, and here lies one of the keys to the successful selling of trout.

Too many kitchens still offer the whole fish to a market that increasingly does not want to be bothered with the head, skin and bones, either because they find it distressing to have fried eyes staring sorrowfully up at them, or simply that filleting the fish on the plate is too messy.

Sales and research evidence supports the move towards trout fillets and not whole fish, yet the catering industry is failing to grasp that market trend.

The only other two fish still served head, skin and bone are whitebait and sardines.

SURVEY

The British Trout Association (BTA) commissioned a survey of public attitudes to eating trout. It found that 80% of consumers preferred trout as a fillet, while 20% were happy to be presented with the whole fish.

When the BTA examined how trout was presented in catering, the result was, paradoxically, roughly the reverse, with restaurants offering whole fish 80% of the time. The BTA is convinced that the insistence by restaurants on presenting trout as a whole fish on the plate is a reason why sales of trout are not higher.

fillets

This persistence with offering the whole fish rather than a trimmed fillet stems almost certainly from the culinary rut in which trout has become stuck. Brushing with butter, pan-frying or grilling and sprinkling almonds on top is hardly an imaginative way of presenting the fish.

The BTA research also sought information on the type of people who like to eat trout in restaurants, given the option. It produced the following results:

lThere is no marked difference by sex as to who orders trout, but it is not a fish chosen often by young people. It is most popular among 35- to 64-year-olds, peaking with the 45- to 64-year-old age group.

lTrout eaters tend to belong to higher socio-economic groupings. Of those polled who said they ate trout, 32% were AB or C1, with the ABs taking a 22% share.

That seems to suggest that if you have a good clientele of middle-aged and middle-class diners, trout should be a prudent item to add to the menu, but don't bother if you have a fun pub or rock ‘n' roll diner.

GROWTH

One area where trout has seen spectacular growth is in sales of smoked fillets, usually served as part of a cold starter. Airline catering alone accounted for more than 10 million portions of trout last year. Smoked trout presently takes 7% of the market and is growing.

Pricewise, trout is not much different from salmon. It costs around £1.80 per lb whole, while fillets are dearer, averaging £3.20 per lb. Prices may be a little cheaper if the fish is sourced direct from one of the scores of trout farms in the UK.

One aspect of trout that needs careful attention is correct holding temperatures and shelf life. It is not a product that keeps well for longer than a week after slaughter.

A good fishmonger should be offering fish that were slaughtered the previous day, to give the kitchen maximum time to sell the fish. For peak quality, aim to have the fish eaten within three days of arrival in your kitchen.

Refrigeration is important from the moment of slaughter, particularly in summer.

If there is any strong smell to the fish or if it is spongy to the touch on arrival, reject it, have words with your supplier or switch your order to a trout farm, most of which are happy to deal directly with restaurants. o