Handling of Seafood

Fish are cold-blooded creatures. This means that the enzymes and bacteria that are present in them start breaking down the flesh at much lower temperatures than is the case in warm-blooded animals. For this reason, cold chain management is the most important consideration when it comes to handling seafood. At Rockpool, we use fishermen who follow a traditional Japanese ‘stress minimizing catch methodology’. Briefly, the fish are line caught, immediately brain spiked (ikijimi killed) and ice slurried. This reduces the body temperature rapidly and brings on rigor mortis. As a result the fish is less damaged by stress, and the best flavour and texture are preserved. All our fish come in whole under ice and are dry filleted each day. The fillets are then kept in a cool room until needed. Thus we maintain total control of the cold chain process.