Simplicity the key to seafood

WA food ambassador Don Hancey can’t beat freshly caught herring on toast for breakfast.

“It’s beautiful with a cup of English Breakfast tea,” he said. “You could just as easily use tailor or sardines and the best thing is that these fish are great value for money and full of healthy omega-3s.”

Born and bred in Bunbury, he founded the charity YesCambodia in 2006 to improve health and education facilities in Siem Reap and Battambang but made his name at some of the finest regional kitchens before setting up Osborne Park-based Panorama Catering, which creates bespoke menus for special occasions using its showcase 75kg German cooking pans.

It’s all about simple food done well, with Mr Hancey’s tastes coming full circle when it comes to fish as he goes back to the staples of his youth.

“Dad was a keen fisherman and would go out three or four times a week, so I grew up on herring, whiting and tailor,” he said.

“I am primarily a seafood chef and my tastes are quite simple. Fish speaks for itself and there’s so much you can do with it if you want to extend its value, like pasta marinara, a soup or crab cakes.”

Better still, buy it whole and use the bones and bits to make stock.

Favourites include Shark Bay mullet, tailor, whiting and wild-caught Australian salmon, which is often overlooked by consumers but comes up a treat on the barbecue.

“Be guided by what’s sustainable and value for money,” he said. “Fish is a great all-rounder, with herring and sardines in plentiful supply most of the year.”