TELEVISION chef James Martin was so impressed with the Isle of Man’s queenies when he visited the Island last week that he decided to feature them in his “Saturday Kitchen Live” programme at the weekend.
The celebrity chef told isleofman.com last weekend at the Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival that he was a regular customer of the Paddy’s Hooked on Fish range of products.
So, on his next show, James told his regular two million viewers that he had been to the Island and wanted to cook a dish “with these little beauties - queen scallops, known in the Isle of Man as queenies.”
The show also featured one of the world’s best known chefs - Ken Hom - and Michelin-starred Jersey cook Shaun Rankin. The celebrity guest was ex England cricketer Freddie Flintoff who has been a visitor to the Isle of Man in the past as the guest of Graham Ferguson Lacey for a charity fund raising event.
All three tried James Martin’s queenie dish, aptly named “Scallops Flintoff”, prepared with a sauce of fennel, pernod and cream and topped with a breadcrumb mixture of parsley, watercress and cheese.
"The seafood is what appeals to me [about the Isle of Man],” he said. “Obviously you've got all the way up the Irish Sea from here to the coast of Scotland and that area is particularly very good for shellfish."
James also said that he was impressed with the Manx kippers and beef.
He said, "If you buy really good stuff, particularly like the stuff that's made here, it isn't full of all the rubbish you get elsewhere."
It’s not the first time that the Isle of Man’s queen scallops have been featured in national television cookery programmes. “Hairy Biker” Dave Myers has cooked them on screen more than once, including a spicy recipe for Queen Scallop Pad Thai.
The ‘Bikers’, self-confessed big fans of the Isle of Man and previously star chefs at the first Isle of Man Food & Drink Festival in 2009, have also cooked Manx queenies on the BBC previously in a recipe entitled ‘Lime Queen Scallops flambeed in Tequila’.
Michelin star chef Nigel Haworth, head chef at the luxurious Northcote Manor, near Preston, also cooked a sophisticated dish on ‘Saturday Kitchen’ earlier this year using Manx queen scallops, prepared with sea purslane, mash and tarragon dressing.
Queenies were also a star feature on one of the menus for the hilarious off-the-wall restaurant review series ‘The Trip’ starring Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden last autumn.
See also . . .
Scallops, Mash, Sea Purslane and Tarragon Dressing
Limed Queen Scallops flambéed in Tequila
Isle of Man Queen Scallop Pad Thai
Queenies in Batter with Tartare Sauce
