Mitchell Tonks winces when I mention the words "celebrity chef". Despite three bestselling cookbooks, regular television appearances and a successful chain of restaurants-cum-fishmongers, he's uncomfortable with the tag. "I'd sooner be the people's favourite fishmonger," he says. "I'm really not sure about the whole telly chef thing: you've got Jamie and Gordon, and they're great, but then you have a whole raft of other TV chefs: if you look at what they're cooking, it's not food, it's entertainment. It's a nonsense. Anthony Bourdain said chefs belong in their kitchens, and I agree."
Tonks no longer cooks at FishWorks, but then his award-winning empire now employs 154 people, a third of them kitchen staff. Originally a West Country operation with restaurants in Bath, Christchurch and Bristol, there are now five FishWorks in London and plans for 12 more around the country in the next three years. "I do miss the cooking, but I'm enjoying motivating and inspiring others," says this accountant-turned-chef who taught himself how to cook through the books of Jane Grigson and Elizabeth David, and from "hanging around fish markets".
Tonks' Mediterranean cooking style is simple, relaxed and ingredient-driven. His passion for letting the produce take a starring role has won him many plaudits, plus an annual turnover at his restaurants of £5.5m. "We do 8,000 covers a week now - that's 8,000 people coming to us each week to eat fish and seafood, because that's all we do. That's pretty phenomenal."
Add that to his work with Aga and Young's (which launches a Tonks range of chilled fresh fish dishes next year), and Mitchell Tonks is hot property, but it has been hard-earned. "When I started in 1996, I was going through a divorce and living above the Bath fish shop and cafe. I was getting up at 5am for the deliveries, setting up the fish counter before 7.30am, doing the prep for the lunchtime service, cleaning the shop, cooking again in the evening and then sleeping on a futon in the room above. I lived like that for two years, and it was tough, but it taught me a lot, not least about believing in yourself and sticking to your guns."
His mission was always to get fishmongers back on the high street, and the success of the restaurants has been due in no small part to the fact that each is fronted by a wet fish counter where people can buy fresh fish and seafood to cook at home. "When I was a boy, every town had a MacFisheries. I remember going down to the one in Weston-super-Mare to buy brown shrimps, taking them home and my grandmother peeling them and putting them in sandwiches for our tea.
"Before FishWorks came along, fishmongers were usually fronted by grumpy men in white suits, moaning that fishmongers were closing because supermarkets were taking all their business. But that was just because they'd allowed their business to slip, and they were often selling poor produce. When I opened the first fish shop, I wanted it to be like a working fish market, with whole tunas in the window being cut up on the slab and lots of theatre going on. People loved it.
"We could have started serving steaks to appeal to more people, we could have bought frozen fish, we could have imported cheaper fish, but we didn't. If anything, I think the success of FishWorks is due to the fact that we've stuck to our guns and never compromised."
Fried skate fingers
Serves two.
4-5 tbsp good olive oil
1 tsp tarragon mustard
1 skate wing, weighing about 500g, taken off the bone and cut into inch-long fingers
1 egg, beaten
1 handful fine, fresh breadcrumbs
For the salad
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
2 tbsp salted capers, rinsed
1 big handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
The zest of 1 lemon
1 shallot, finely chopped
Preheat the oven to its hottest setting. Mix a little of the oil with half the mustard and brush over the skate. Season lightly, and dip first in beaten egg, then in breadcrumbs. Heat some oil in a heavy-bottomed roasting dish, then fry the skate fingers on one side until crisp and golden. Turn, then transfer to the hot oven for four to five minutes, until crisp and cooked through.
To make the dressing, mix the rest of the tarragon mustard with the vinegar, then whisk in the remaining oil to make a smooth emulsion. Mix the capers, parsley, lemon zest and shallot, toss with the dressing, and serve alongside the skate. (A spoonful of fresh mayo also makes a nice accompaniment.)
Shellfish cooked in olive oil with garlic
Serves two.
10 mussels
10 cockles
10 clams
300ml good quality olive oil
Salt
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
1 dried chilli
6 raw langoustines
6 raw prawns
1 small handful flat-leaf parsley, very finely chopped
Put a big pot on the heat and, when it's good and hot, chuck in the mussels, cockles and clams, clap on the lid and steam open. Remove the pot from the heat to cool, then remove the meat from the shells, discarding any that haven't opened. (Throw away the shells and the juices, though you can freeze the juice for use as fish stock.)
Pour the oil into the same pot, add a pinch of salt, the garlic and the chilli. The secret is to not allow the oil to get too hot too quickly, but rather to allow the garlic to fry gently until golden, so it will be quite crisp, sweet and sticky to the bite. When the garlic is just turning golden, add the langoustines and prawns, and fry gently for a minute or two, stirring them in the oil. Return the mussels, clams and cockles to the pot, cook for a further minute, add the parsley and a sprinkling of more salt, and serve at once. Make sure there is plenty of bread to hand - part of the pleasure of this dish is dunking the bread in the highly flavoured oil.
Razor clams braised with onions and sherry
Serves four.
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
50ml Manzanilla sherry
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsely, finely chopped
20 razor clams
Freshly ground white pepper
Heat the oil in a pan, and very gently fry the onion and garlic until soft and lightly golden - about 15 minutes. Add the sherry and two-thirds of the parsley, place the clams on top, grind over some pepper, cover and cook for five minutes until the clams are open. Toss in the rest of the parsley and serve hot.
Arbroath smokie and potato soup
Use smoked haddock if you can't get Arbroath smokies. Serves four.
1kg potatoes, thinly sliced
3 onions, thinly sliced
Black pepper
1-2 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
2-3 Arbroath smokies, depending on size
300ml double cream
Chives, finely chopped
Salt
Layer the potatoes and onions in a casserole dish, sprinkling pepper and thyme on each layer, then pour in water just to cover. Lay the fish on top, cover and cook on the hob for 10-12 minutes, until the potatoes are soft.
Remove the smokies, allow to cool a little, then flake the fish over the top of the spuds. Warm the cream and pour over, stir gently with a wooden spoon to break up the potatoes, so they amalgamate with the fish flakes. Season with a handful of chives, black pepper and salt to taste.
· FishWorks Bath, 6 Green Street, Bath, 01225 448707 (fishworks.co.uk); branches in Bristol, Christchurch and London.
