"I come from a farming community about 40 miles from Dublin so, as a boy, going to the coast was a big day out. The main sea connection for me when I was younger was when the fisherman from Clogherhead, Co Louth would come into town and my father would buy a big bag of herrings from them. We'd gut them, quickly fry them and eat them with brown bread – exactly the same way I like to eat mackerel today. To me, mackerel is the most gorgeous food in the world. Every year I have a secret getaway and rent a cottage in Hook Head and do nothing but go fishing on my little boat. I put out my rod, get bucketloads of mackerel and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I even stay up curing and pickling them through the night for the neighbours sometimes."

Sea-cured mackerel

SERVES 4
For the sea-cured mackerel:
mackerel 4, filleted
sugar 50g
white wine vinegar 100ml
samphire 200g
mustard a little to dress

For Corrigan's soda bread:
white flour 500g
wholemeal flour 250g
oatmeal 250g
soda 25g
salt 25g
honey 1 tbsp
treacle ½ tbsp
buttermilk 500ml

The night before make the soda bread. Mix all the ingredients together to form a round loaf. Sprinkle with flour and bake at 180C/gas mark 4 until golden brown and hollow, approximately 45 minutes.

To make the sea-cured mackerel, in a sand bucket of sea water cure the fillets for 10 minutes. Pat dry in a newspaper. Mix the sugar and vinegar and pour over the fillets for a further 10 minutes.

At the beach, scour the rock pools for samphire or similar sea vegetable. Dress with a little mustard.

Richard Corrigan is chef patron of bentleys.org, Mayfair