My Favourite Dish: Johnny Godden

Described by Elystan Street chef Phil Howard as "quite simply the best fishmonger in the land", Johnny Godden’s journey to managing director of Flying Fish Seafoods started when he left school in Gloucester and joined a seafood supplier, working his way up from filleter to buyer and then sales manager. The experience inspired him to move to Cornwall to be closer to the source of the fish and set up his own business, with an ethos of responsible sourcing at its heart.

"I didn’t do well at school – I left a year early without any GCSEs – but my brother got me a job washing boxes at the fish factory where he was working. Seeing all the fish was amazing. When I first saw salmon, when I first saw a John Dory or a big turbot, I found it quite amazing. And the energy of everyone working together, getting things done. I loved it.

"I was filleting and became better and quicker. I still enjoy filleting to this day – it’s quite therapeutic.

"By my mid-twenties I had worked up the ranks to become sales manager, and I had my own ideas on how a business should be run. The first step was to move closer to the source of the beautiful produce, so I packed my car and moved to Cornwall and Flying Fish was born. Over the years, Flying Fish has grown from a one-man band into the company we are today. We are so fortunate to have built up an incredible list of relationships with many Michelin-starred chefs and restaurants.

"The pivotal moment was when I was 19. I spent a day at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons in Oxfordshire and saw not only the high-quality seafood but the amazing fruit and vegetables produced from their garden. Seeing this exceptional produce only drove home the importance of producing the highest level food.

"I’m from a big family. My mum was a vegetarian and we were brought up vegetarian. She was a single mother, so she had to cook a lot – and on a budget. She’d cook big pies or big bowls of pasta and stuff like that.

"It was like feeding time at the zoo! Mealtimes were a big thing – being together – but it’s funny because even though I was brought up as a vegetarian, I love meat and I love fish and I love offal.

"Hands down, the thing I would choose over most things is fish and chips. I don’t remember the first time I had it, but I do remember it always being around.

"I remember from an early age someone coming in with a bag with boxes inside. You opened it up, steam would come up and the fish and chips would sometimes be a bit soggy, but there was something quite magical about it. I liked it when you’d get really cheap white bread – one slice with thick bits of margarine.

"We’ve got a really good fish and chip shop in our town, but the bread and butter is really posh, which isn’t good for fish and chips. It has to be cheap white bread. I get my fish in a separate box to my chips, then I rush home as quickly as I can so when I open the box the fish is still quite crunchy, I add loads of salt and vinegar, then I wrap it into a sort of chip butty: one slice, not two, rolled over and squashed. And the other thing that I really got into lately is mushy peas. I put loads of vinegar and pepper in my mushy peas, and then dip my butty in it."