The Big Fish Fight

11 January 2011

 

Heston Blumenthal, Gordon Ramsay,  Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are reunited once again for a Channel 4 food fest - and this year will be joined by new eco-chef on the block Arthur Potts Dawson - to focus their various passions in a smorgasbord of culinary programming. 

This year, they turn their attention to all things piscine as they issue a timely call to arms for viewers and shoppers to be more aware about the world's diminishing fish stocks and the potential impact on all of our lives. Each chef, in his own inimitable way, tackles the high seas to investigate the mounting crisis.  

In five separate programmes each chef gets beneath the waves to learn more about the realities of over-fishing, fish farming and endangered species. Each show will be full of suggestions on how to cook and enjoy the right kinds of fish, and shoppers can find out more about the best fish to buy to help limit the decline of the oceans' fish stocks. 

Three years ago Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall launched his campaign for better quality, healthier chickens. Now he's on a new mission, as he sets out to uncover the realities of overfishing and what should be done to staunch the fish stock floodgates as the oceans become more and more depleted.

Never one to turn down a challenge, king of gastronomic illusions Heston Blumenthal creates a special fish-based Feast as he uses an array of sea creatures to create alternative and delicious delights from the ocean deep.

Jamie rustles up some Suppers to Save our Seas;  irresistible fish dishes based on some species less familiar, in a bid to show the nation about just how wide to cast the net when it comes to shopping and cooking a whole variety of fish.

And in his biggest challenge to date, Gordon Ramsay goes swimming with sharks to uncover the brutal reality of farming the key ingredient for a highly-coveted delicacy, the eponymous shark fin soup.

New eco chef on the block Arthur Potts Dawson completes the line-up, embarking on his own voyage of discovery to experience the perilous life of a trawlerman, and the season will also include a Dispatches investigation. 

Hugh's Fish Fight

Three years ago, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall galvanised public opinion when he launched his initiative to create greater awareness about chickens: how they're reared, how they're sold, and the benefits of humane husbandry to both animals and consumers.

Now Hugh's leaving the comfort of River Cottage to embark on a new crusade, this time to focus attention on the plight of the world's diminishing fish stocks. So great is the impending crisis, scientists believe, that this food source may become non-existent for future generations.

Hugh sets out to understand what is happening to Britain's fishing industry. He asks how much fish is left in the sea and discovers which fish should be eaten and which should be left alone to replenish. Hugh focuses on the three species most widely consumed in the UK - cod, salmon and tuna. Armed with the relevant information he takes his fish fight to the politicians, the general public and the supermarkets.

Hugh asks why over 50% of fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back dead, and why so little of the UK catch is used in local supermarkets. He also explores supermarket claims that their fish is responsibly sourced or sustainable.

Gordon Ramsay: Shark Bait 

Gordon Ramsay loves sharks - and this passion leads him on his most personal mission yet:  to investigate the controversial dish, shark fin soup. It's estimated that each year 100 million sharks are killed worldwide and Gordon wants to find out if the slaughter is really necessary. Gordon confronts the horrific fate of these beautiful and majestic creatures. He is told their decline is irrevocably damaging the delicate balance of our oceans' food chain.

To understand more about the kings of the ocean, Gordon plunges in to swim with the deadly bull shark in his scariest challenge to date. 

Sharks are both terrifying and beautiful, but experts believe overfishing is threatening to drive a third of the world's open ocean shark species to extinction. Incredibly, some of the most threatened species remain untouched by international fishing regulations.  Gordon's journey leads him to campaign against the brutal and destructive shark fishing industry. 

Arthur's Hell on High Water

Chef and eco-friendly restaurateur Arthur Potts Dawson is C4's new chef recruit.  He's passionate about the environment and sustainable food, so is not exactly a fan of trawler fishing, where boats fish with huge nets and catch vast numbers of fish, the majority of which end up dead back in the ocean because they cannot be sold.  

Trawlermen risk their lives on a daily basis battling the forces of the ocean to catch those fish that will earn them a living. With fish stocks in crisis, many environmentalists want to put an end to commercial trawler fishing but for the men who do this incredibly dangerous and physical job, fishing this way is about economic survival.

In a bid to understand the realities faced by trawlermen just trying to make ends meet, Arthur takes to the seas for a week to live and work alongside life-long fishermen on a commercial trawler and tests his ethics as he sees first-hand the struggles they face.  He will have to find his sea legs fast and work round the clock to help deliver the right catch.

Learning what it means to do one of the most dangerous jobs in the world, will the experience challenge Arthur's preconceptions, or will he still believe that a fisherman's methods and way of life need to change for the good of our seas?

Heston's Fishy Feast

Fancy this for lunch: sea cucumber sandwiches, jellyfish and chips, a chocolate starfish? 

Heston Blumenthal turns sea captain in this special episode of Feast as he is on a mission to unlock our oceans' alternative larder and create the ultimate sustainable fishy feast that will completely change the way we think about seafood.

Across the world's seas, fish stocks are dwindling. If current trends continue, many will collapse completely in the next 50 years. But to super chef Heston Blumenthal this isn't the time for doom and gloom - this is the culinary opportunity of a lifetime.

Heston will dive straight in at the deep end as he creates an amazing eco seafood menu that will not only be a mind-boggling gastronomic spectacle but also aims to open our eyes to alternative seafood delicacies.

 With a little thought and imagination Heston thinks we really can eat sustainably from our seas. From reinventing old classics like scampi to hunting down bizarre new fish in the fjords of Iceland; diving for untapped bottom-feeders and turning jellyfish into delicious desserts, Britain's most creative chef is going to create a marine cuisine banquet like nothing seen before.  

Jamie's Fish Supper

In a series of 10 bite-sized programmes, Jamie Oliver has come up with delicious and easy new recipes to inspire fish-lovers to try different, more plentiful types of fish and seafood - mackerel, coley, mussels, trout and many more - so that we won't just be reaching for the old favourites during the weekly shop.    

As part of each 4-minute programme, marine biologist Tooni Mahto gets up close and personal with fish in their natural environments to discover why some species are becoming depleted. 

Packed with information and recipes, the programmes aim to give consumers and cooks everything they need to make the right choices so that fish can stay on the menu for generations to come.