SEAFOOD APPETISERS HIT THE SPOT IN BRUSSELS

A selection of redfish and cod tartares, gravad fish, langoustine soup, marinaded fish dishes and smoked cod roe were all on the menu for visitors to HB Grandi’s stand at the Brussels seafood exhibition. As in previous years, sea cook Gunnar Hafsteinn Ólafsson, who normally mans the galley on board the company’s trawler Sturlaugur H Bödvarsson AK, was on hand to weave his usual magic.

‘This is the fifth time I’ve overseen the kitchen for HB Grandi’s stand at Brussels and although there’s plenty going on to keep us busy, it makes a pleasant change,’ he said. He said that the first two days had been busy with a steady stream of clients and guests to the stand, but the final day had been more relaxed.

‘I brought around 30kg of fresh fish with me, plus 20 litres of langoustine stock from Nordanfiskur ehf. On top of that is the huge variety of products from Vignir G Jónsson hf such as smoked cod roes and other preserved goods, and canned liver from Akraborg, which buys all of its raw material from HB Grandi’s fresher trawlers. We presented dishes produced from block and marinades that are formed at the Akranes factory. All this has been used to produce a variety of appetisers and I can’t see any better than that everyone who came to taste went away satisfied,’ Gunnar Hafsteinn Ólafsson said.