Some call him The Codfather, but to thousands of food-lovers across north and west Devon, he is Dan the Fishman. A few even know him by his real name, Dan Garnett - but whatever you call him, this avuncular purveyor of seafood is very good fun to be around. 

Which is why, year after year, on behalf of the Western Morning News and as editorial director of RAW Food & Drink PR I have taken up Dan’s invitation to attend a beach picnic in a bid to celebrate the fruits of the sea in general and the fruits of the North Devon area fishery in particular. 

It was, after all, one of the first sea-areas in the world where a no-take zone was put in place - a concept which eventually led to the Marine Conservation Zones which now surround British coasts. And it was the local fishermen themselves who originally instigated the seasonal no-go area known as The Lundy Box after they realised it acted as a kind of nursery for the fish which provide them with a living.

But it is Dan’s passion for the harvest of the ocean which so many of his Devon customers (and WMN readers) find attractive. And the reason we like to go on his seaside seafood picnics every year is to help him spread some of the enthusiasm. Having said that, we’ve not been able to gather for such a celebration for two long years, which is why we were so pleased to head to the shoreline this week for a socially-distanced cook-up at a secret location on the Clovelly coast. 

Dan, who lives in the area, had been given permission by the owners of the Clovelly Estate for us to drive down private forestry rides so we could reach an isolated cove with all our cooking equipment and therefore be far from the madding crowd. Because that’s one of the things about these annual seaside get-togethers… We always attract a large crowd of interested folk who just happen to be at whatever the location is - and Dan is very generous when it comes to handing out mackerel butties, cartons of seafood soup and other tasty morsels. Perhaps not the wisest idea at present, even if the pandemic threat is receding. 

Anyway, down down down we went to a remarkable beach somewhere between Clovelly and Hartland Point and, once there, our regular “Fish Crew” helped set up a mobile kitchen so we could begin preparing the enormous five-course seafood lunch Dan had planned. 

“This is a stretch of shore known as the Iron Coast - it was a graveyard of ships in the old days,” Dan told me. “It’s a bit of a secret really - you can’t drive here, you can only walk to this beach along the coast path. It’s a little bit of heaven. Coal barges used to come across from Wales to this bay and donkeys would take their cargo up to the lime kilns. There even used to be cannibals living here long ago. Look it up! When they found the King of Bucks Mills, they found bones in a cave - and they weren’t animal bones. They were human! 

“Anyway, this place is a lovely welcome back after Covid. We are going to cook some rather nice fish landed at Appledore Quay. Real fish for real people. We’ve got five courses, starting with oysters served with some fruity green Tabasco, moving on to local lobster and a little bit of crab with mayo. 

“There are some amuse-bouche, like really good smoked salmon and barbecued prawns in a chilli sauce.  The main course is turbot and we are going to stuff it with beautiful herbs and a few scallops…”

Asked about the big controversy presently surrounding the fish-eating world since a highly critical documentary called Seaspiracy was launched on Netflix, Dan commented: “I am sure there are some awful practices going on elsewhere in the world, but the way we fish here is highly sustainable. It’s day-boat fishing and it is highly environmentally sensitive.

“The fishing community started the first marine reserve around Lundy Island, long before we were asked to anything like that. And we are part of the North Devon Biosphere here,” said Dan, who always talks very passionately about sustainability. “What we need to do is rebuild the trust between the scientists, the politicians, the fishermen and others. If we don’t work in harmony, there is no future for us. 

“We operate a responsible fishing scheme - what we have here off the North Devon coast is good clean water and fish which are caught locally. All I do is provide a small sustainable living for myself and the fishermen. 

“There is a great future for us,” Dan added with his usual optimism. “And, most of all, it tastes jolly good. This is not industrial food - this is wild food which was landed yesterday afternoon. All I’ve done is loaded it into the van, and here we are.  People come to me on my market stall because they trust me - people want to eat real food. We are an island nation - we’ve got a fantastic resource and if we manage it properly we can be eating it forever.”

With that, we all got peeling, shucking, cleaning and cooking on the banks of a small stream which was flushing clear fresh water down onto a wild and dramatic-looking boulder beach. 

And it was, indeed, very good to be back. During the long dark months of lockdown I, like so many people, dreamed of spending a day with friends at the seaside. And here we were at last… Laughing, joking, getting stuck in with the preparations and eating some of the best freshest fish I’ve seen in more than 18 months. 

“I’ve lived here for 42 years and it’s living the dream,” said Dan, whose stall can be found at markets in Tavistock, Crediton, Bideford and South Molton. “Coastal living is wonderful and we produce some of the best food in the country in this area.”

RECIPES

Today’s recipes are specially suited to beach cooking on a small barbecue and they’ve been borrowed from a brilliant new cookbook by Cornish chef Emily Scott. Many readers will know that Emily recently took over the dramatic seaside restaurant which used to house Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall, having cooked at her much-celebrated St Tudy Inn just a few miles inland for many years. 

The new book Sea & Shore, is a joy for anyone who lives in the West Country and who has access to the region’s superb larder. SEA & SHORE by Emily Scott is published by Hardie Grant at £26 - photography: Kim Lightbody. 

LOBSTER OVER FIRE WITH FINES HERBES

“There is nothing better than lobsters cooked to order over coals,” writes Emily - and indeed we did just that at Dan’s seafood picnic.

Serves 2

1 live lobster, about 650 g (1 lb 7 oz)

125 g (4 oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon olive oil zest and juice of 1 lemon

100 g (31/2 oz) tarragon, roughly chopped

100 g (31/2 oz) flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

100 g (31/2 oz) chives, roughly chopped

Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste kitchen herbs and garden salad leaves, to serve

Preheat a barbecue or the grill. Place the lobster on a chopping board. Insert a large, sharp, heavy knife into the cross on the back of the head and cut down towards the tail, cutting it in half. Remove the stomach and the black intestinal tract that may run through the middle of the tail and discard. 

(If you prefer, buy your lobsters already cooked from a trust local purveyor like Dan the Fishman). 

In a small pan, melt the butter with the crushed garlic and add the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and chopped herbs. Brush the lobster flesh with the butter mixture, season with salt and pepper, then place on the barbecue, place flesh-side down and cook for 4–5 minutes. 

Baste the lobster with the butter mixture and keep basting from time to time until it is cooked through,

about 5–6 minutes further. Serve on a plate with kitchen herbs and garden leaves.

Emily Scott’s MONKFISH, CORNISH CHORIZO AND SUN BLUSH TOMATOES ON ROSEMARY SKEWERS

“Here, the combination of monkfish, chorizo and sun blush tomatoes is delicious,” writes Emily. “Threading

them on to rosemary skewers is pretty and adds a depth of flavour to the fish.”

Serves 8

1 x 200 g (7 oz) jar sun blush tomatoes, drained, reserving the oil

1 medium chorizo, about 225 g (8 oz), cut into 1 cm (1/2 in) rounds

650 g (1 lb 7 oz) monkfish fillet, cut into chunks

12 long rosemary sprigs, plus extra leaves for sprinkling

100 ml (31/2 fl oz/scant 1/2 cup) olive oil

Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve

handful of rocket (arugula) leaves

hot buttered Cornish new potatoes

mixed leaf salad with edible flowers

Preheat a barbecue. Place the sun blush tomatoes in a large bowl and add the sliced chorizo. Using a skewer, pierce a hole through each piece of monkish, then toss in the bowl with the tomatoes and chorizo.

Thread alternately onto rosemary skewers, allowing 3 pieces of each ingredient on each skewer.

Barbecue the monkfish skewers on all sides, keeping them moving, for a total of 6 minutes, or until browned at the edges. Drizzle with with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper

and rosemary leaves.

Lay the grilled monkfish skewers on rocket leaves and serve with hot buttered Cornish new potatoes and a kitchen leaf salad with summer flowers.