Rockfish seafood at home delivery box review: The freshest fish with impressive sustainability credentials
Coming straight from Brixham’s quayside, is this new sustainably caught fish box, which launched in January 2022.
Chef Mitch Tonks founded the Rockfish restaurants in 2010 to bridge the gap of being able to find good seafood. He’s also the owner of The Seahorse restaurant in Dartmouth too, and is, basically, seafood obsessed.
There’s currently eight Rockfish restaurants along the south coast, from Plymouth to Poole, with Brixham being the main base, and where it’s own boat – suitably named “The Rockfisher” – brings in its catch.
Seafood from other boats is bought at Brixham’s market, which sits below the Rockfish restaurant, and it’s all sent to the other restaurants in the chain as well – and now it will be in these boxes too. The fish couldn’t be fresher than that.
The seafood at home delivery box idea was brought to life during the pandemic, as a way of getting the freshest possible seafood to people all over the country, no matter where they lived. Mitch is a firm believer in this, and cutting out the days wait, and multiple transport steps, that seafood goes through to end up in a supermarket fish counter. And who are we to argue with that.
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How we tested
We followed the tips and recipes in the booklet that came with our box, and served up dish after dish. We were looking for quality fish, that didn’t arrive smelling, as well as sustainable credentials, and reusable packaging that wasn’t just going to add to landfill after one use. Here’s what we made of it.
Rockfish seafood at home turbot and scallops box: £60, Therockfish.co.uk
Rating: 9/10
Our box contained four scallops, two brill T-bones, two filets of hake, one smoked haddock, and one wild caught dover sole, a tin of sardines in chili and a tin of mackerel in olive oil. These boxes don’t just contain the basic ingredients of fish though, as there’s also five sauces and butters (made by Rockfish’s chefs), which include lime pickle butter, anchoiade, bearnaise butter, kedgeree butter and romesco sauce.
If you thought that was useful enough, there’s also a little booklet included, which has a wealth of easy to read and follow info, too. Mitch includes tips like "how to cook the perfect piece of fish", so even if you’re not so familiar with the cuts or types of fish, it’s not scary to get started.
The fish itself is of course impressive too. The scallops were beautifully creamy. We decided to pair it with the lime pickle butter, which seemed a little punchy, but it was delicious and gave the scallops a nice kick.
The smoked haddock we poached to help keep it even juicer and served it up with a delicious dal and a little dollop of the kedgeree butter, which really topped it off.
But the highlight of our box was the meaty hake filets. We cooked them with puy lentils and spinach and found them to be supremely creamy, succulent and softly flaked apart.
Read more: The sustainable swaps to make, from shampoo bars to reusable coffee cups, to save our oceans
It’s all packaged in recycled and recyclable packaging. And one thing that Mitch is so keen to have got right is that the packaging doesn’t smell. It might sound odd, but by packaging the fish in a seperate area to any other fish prepearing area, you eliminate the packaging arriving of smelling of fish. As no one wants to put their prime T-bones in the fridge, only for it to make the rest of the fridge smell.
On the back of the booklet, there’s a QR code so you can send the packaging back to the company for free too, which can be reused around three times, and hopefully more as the packaigng improves. There’s also no wool used inside the box, instead its wadding made from recycled plastic extracted from the ocean, which is exactly what the box is made from too.
This whole concept is extremely well thought out and delivered, in terms of packaging, variation and info on how to best cook it, which is relevant to both experienced cooks and fish novices. Plus, buying a box also helps support the Devon Environmental Foundation, which supports projects to protect and restore the county’s natural beauty.
The verdict: Rockfish seafood at home box
The quality of the fish is in the Rockfish seafood at home boxes are impressive, as is the whole idea. We love that it has a booklet with helpful tips, that suit beginners and seasoned cooks. While the sauces are excellent and a very welcomed addition so you don’t need to buy them as extras. While the sustainability credentials are paving the way for others to follow.
Rockfish seafood at home box
Buy now £60.00, Therockfish.co.uk
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Pair your fish-dinners with one of the best dry white wines which are perfect for chilled sipping on a sunny day
