Gelf Alderson
Hands on Fish & Shellfish
- Regular price
- £150.00
- Sale price
- £150.00
- Regular price
Tax included.
Compare Expert and Peer
Chef Gelf Alderson teaches you how to be confident sourcing, preparing and cooking with fish and shellfish.
You look at fish seasonally available, learn about sourcing your fish and shellfish sustainably and how to shop for the freshest fish locally.
Gelf will teach you the basics of fish preparation including gutting, scaling and filleting three types of fish – flat, round and oily – with a particular focus on knife skills.
And you will learn a variety of techniques including pan-frying, baking and stewing plus creating stocks and broths and delicious fish dishes.
Once you’ve learned the techniques and practised it yourself you will finish the course feeling confident in your ability to cook fish and shellfish at home.
You'll learn:
- how to check fish and shellfish for freshness, quality and sustainability
- how to gut, scale and fillet a fish
- preparing and cleaning shellfish
- recipes include pan-fried fish, fish stock, hot smoked mackerel, paprika cockles, clams with cider and mussels with chermoula
The course includes:
- 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Gelf Alderson and River Cottage
- lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
- flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
- downloadable lesson notes
- practical fish and shellfish assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
- access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
- small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas
Independent Cookery Schools Association approved
This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.
Time to complete the fish cooking course:
Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 14 hours 30 minutes to complete including:
- Video lessons: 2 hours 30 minutes in total
- Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
- Your fish cooking recipe assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
- Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
- Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson
You'll need:
Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be making fish and shellfish dishes, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment.
Ready to get started?
Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Gelf on fish and shellfish cooking assignments.
If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.
Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.
Lessons
What You’ll Learn
Explore the lessons and topics covered across the course.
This lesson will provide you with an introduction in how to purchase fish, check for quality and freshness, as well as the importance of sustainability. Gelf will teach you how to gut, scale, fillet and debone a round white fish in simple steps. At the end of the lesson you will put your new skills in to practise, creating the perfect pan-fried fish basted with butter and adorned with a simple garnish.
Lesson length: 39 minutes
Assignment: Using sustainably sourced white fish, practise filleting and pin boning. Show evidence of your first and second attempt so to demonstrate how your technique has progressed.
During this lesson you will learn how to both crosscut, and whole fillet a flat fish. At River Cottage we aim to minimise waste and Gelf will teach you to use every part of the fish from the skeleton to the skin .You will learn how to create a simple fish stock from the bones, which will make up the base for a spicy fish broth. By the end of the lesson you will have prepared a flat fish, roasted with fresh veg and olive oil and fillets of plaice poached in spicy fish stock.
Lesson length: 33 minutes
Assignment: Find yourself some flat fish and try filleting them. Then try both roasting a fish and poaching a fish – which one do you prefer?
Try tweaking the vegetables, broth or herbs. Get creative and use food that is local and seasonal for you.
Succulent, flavourful mackerel fillets with a beautifully crisp skin make a tasty, quick meal. As one of the healthiest oily fish you can eat, it’s an absolute must to learn how to prepare it properly.
In this lesson Gelf will demonstrate how to fillet a mackerel, and how to debone it using the v cut method. By the end of this lesson you will have learned how to cure and hot smoke mackerel fillets, and created a herby smoked mackerel paté.
Lesson length: 20 minutes
This lesson is all about bivalves - mussels, cockles and clams. Gelf will teach you how to safely source and clean these varieties of shellfish and three great recipes to enhance their wonderful flavours.
Lesson length: 55 minutes
Learning options
Choose How You Want to Learn
Recommended
Expert
£150.00
A guided learning experience with expert support, feedback and recognised outcomes.
Peer
£95.00
Learn alongside others with a collaborative, flexible learning experience.
COURSE TUTOR
Gelf Alderson
SUCCESS
What Our Learners Achieve
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Common Questions
Answers to the most common questions about learning with us.
Our online classroom is designed to help you learn from experts in a collaborative, social environment alongside a small group of learners.
Each lesson combines expert-led videos with optional assignments, giving you the opportunity to apply what you’ve learned and share your work with others. You can take part in ongoing discussions, ask questions, exchange feedback, and learn from a community of like-minded people from around the world.
By learning together in a small, supportive group, you benefit not only from expert guidance but also from shared ideas, perspectives, and experiences—helping you stay engaged and retain what you learn.
You can start your course at any time within 12 months of purchase. Once you begin, you’ll have lifetime access, so you can revisit lesson videos and notes whenever you like.
Courses are designed to fit around your schedule, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Each lesson video is typically 30–40 minutes, and we recommend around an hour for each assignment.
Both Peer and Expert options give you full access to the course content, including lesson videos, downloadable notes, assignments, and a collaborative online classroom with up to 20 learners. You’ll also have lifetime access to revisit the material at any time.
The Expert option includes everything in Peer, plus personalised assignment feedback, direct messaging with your expert tutor, and a certificate of completion.
With the Expert option, you can interact directly with your tutor throughout the course. You’ll typically have one week per lesson to ask questions and receive feedback on your assignments, with as much interaction as you need during that time.
Your tutor access begins when you enter the classroom and follows the course schedule (for example, a four-lesson course usually runs over four weeks). If you need more time or support, our team is here to help.
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