t’s a dish of the day that could feed an army – a fish that can serve 400 and needed six men to carry it
taff at a quiet country pub were expecting their usual fishmonger delivery to go swimmingly this week – but they hit something of a snag.
The head chef at the Lion Inn was forced to call in reinforcements to reel in this giant halibut weighing an amazing 17 STONE.
It took six men to carry the slippery 25-year-old fish from a van into the kitchen of the Lion Inn, North st, Winchcombe, Gloucestershire.
The huge 109 kilo fish, weighing more than a rugby forward, will be enough for about four hundred plates of the halibut dish on the restaurant menu.
Pub owner Annie Fox-Hamilton, said the delivery was the talk of the town.
“It seemed very odd to have a fish so big in our car park – all the neighbours popped round to have a look,” she said.
“Everyone was really excited.
“We had been sent a picture of it on the boat on a hook so we knew it was going to be pretty big. But I must confess I was still taken by surprise when I saw it in the flesh.
“I had no idea halibut grew so long.”
A crowd of about 20 people gathered to ogle as the fish was transported into the kitchen.
“It was quite a mission,” chef Alex Dumitrache said.
“It was so slimy and so fresh we couldn’t hold onto it and we didn’t want to use the hooks because it would destroy the flesh.”
The chefs covered the halibut’s tail in salt to make it easier to hold and slid it onto a special blue board.
Once in it was filleted almost immediately.
Chef Alex planned to pan-fry it in plenty of butter with capers and tarragon.
The fish was caught in the south of France by fish merchant Tim Alsop of Jolly Foods in Looe, Cornwall.
The Lion Inn has fish delivered from Tim twice a week but the huge halibut was a special delivery.
“We buy a lot from him. It’s fabulous,” said Annie.
“We had asked for a really fresh halibut and that’s what we got.”
