"I really like Stein because he was one of the first TV chefs to do the whole 'we shouldn't be eating shit thing'. His French book was like the Book of Exodus it was so hard, full of intricate tripe recipes and the like, but this fish book is easier to understand.

Largely I'm on my own when I make Stein's devilled mackerel with mint and tomato salad, sometimes I cook it with my girlfriend but she prefers her mackerel barbecued. This dish contains a lot of spice – mustard, cayenne pepper, coriander, but I'm obsessed with paprika, it's my go-to ingredient because it gives you that lovely burn. It lends itself well to mackerel, and the caster sugar in this recipe caramelises with it. I always overdo fish – you read you're supposed to cook it 2 minutes each side but you think, 'Shut up, I can't do that.'

I caught these mackerel when I went out on the boat this morning. We fished with rods. They're coming into season, so they're on the small side at the moment but they really fatten up towards the end of summer. I go out fishing whenever I can, first thing in the morning, April through to November about once a month. We ate a bit of mackerel raw on the boat today, but let me assure you it tastes better with a bit of soy sauce and a little bit of mustard on it – we should have taken condiments. Sometimes I've been fishing with Japanese and they hoover it up the minute they catch it – you catch one, turn around and it's gone.

I learned to cook when my mother went back to work when I was 13. Me and my sister would cook typical children-type dinners, spaghetti bolognese and all the rest, but I really enjoyed doing it. When I thought about what career I'd like, cooking was my first choice because it was a more tangible choice than working in TV. In some ways it ticks some of the same boxes as live television – you can't get it wrong, you have a finite amount of time and you're helping people enjoy themselves.

When I set up our restaurant Fishy Fishy in Brighton, I had ideas about working in the kitchen, but when I went downstairs you just realise cooking for eight people round your house is nothing like cooking for 60 covers. It's like a war zone. I have no right to be there at all."