Bouillbaisse is a classic french fish stew from Marseille usually served in a deep bowl, on the Rosa we serve all the components laid out on a plate so they can be seen clearly, then at the table we pour the thick rich sauce onto the plate which brings the dish alive in front of the guests.

We start by making the Bouillbaisse sauce rich with fresh fish from the market at Castelsarasin, we usually serve this dish on market day so the guests can shop for the ingredients with the chef, saffron & tomato.

We start with a mirepoix of fennel, garlic, onions, celery, leek, a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste & seasoning which we sweat down a little before adding all the small fish from the market, they all the really small fish caught in the nets as ‘soupe de poisson’ rather than throw them back dead in the sea, we add about 3 kilos of these to pan & let them cook down a little before adding diced fresh tomato. When this is cooked a little we cover with fresh fish stock, a litre of mineral water, a generous amount of saffron & a pinch or two of pimento.

We leave this over a moderate heat to simmer skimming occasionally for about an hour before blending in the thermomix & passing through a fine sieve.

We cook all fish individually so they are cooked exactly the right amount, along with potatoes, sous vide fennel & shell fish which is then presented on a plate.

In this case it was Sea Bass, Monkfish, Barbet Rouget, Scallop, Clams & Mussels. We then pour the sauce onto the dish a the table to bring it alive in front of the diner.

‘et voila’