The Whole Fish Cookbook is the bestselling cookbook that has changed the way we think about fish. Jamie Oliver called Josh Niland one of the most impressive chefs of a generation and Yotam Ottolenghi voted the book one of his favourites – ever. Add to that a swag of awards, including: The Australian Book Industry Association’s Illustrated Book of the Year in 2020; André Simon Food Book Award 2019; and two James Beard awards in 2020 – Restaurant and Professional and the prestigious Book of the Year. The Whole Fish Cookbook was also shortlisted as debut cookbook of the year in the Fortnum & Mason food & drink awards in 2020 and longlisted as Booksellers’ choice in the adult non-fiction category by the Australian Booksellers’ Association. As well, photographer Rob Palmer won the National Photographic Portrait Prize in 2020 with a stunning photo of Josh from the book.
'My cookbook of the year.' – Yotam Ottolenghi, The Guardian
'A mind-blowing masterpiece from one of the most impressive chefs of a generation.' – Jamie Oliver
'Josh Niland is a genius.' – Nigella Lawson
We all want to eat more fish, but who wants to bother spending the time, effort and money cooking that same old salmon fillet on repeat when you could be trying something new and utterly delicious?
In The Whole Fish Cookbook, Sydney’s groundbreaking seafood chef Josh Niland reveals a completely new way to think about all aspects of fish cookery. From sourcing and butchering to dry ageing and curing, it challenges everything we thought we knew about the subject and invites readers to see fish for what it really is – an amazing, complex source of protein that can, and should, be treated with exactly the same nose-to-tail reverence as meat.
Featuring more than 60 recipes for dozens of fish species ranging from Cod Liver Pate on Toast, Fish Cassoulet and Roast Fish Bone Marrow to – essentially – the Perfect Fish and Chips, The Whole Fish Cookbook will soon have readers seeing that there is so much more to a fish than just the fillet, and that there are more than just a handful of fish in the sea.
About the Author:
Chef Josh Niland has transformed the way we cook, transport, age and store fish. His ethical, sustainable and revolutionary approach has received global recognition. Fellow chefs, marine experts, seafood companies and fishmongers have applauded and embraced his new philosophy. He is a multi-award-winning chef, restaurateur and author.
Josh’s first foray into cooking was as early as eight years old. He spent a lot of time at home due to a childhood illness, where his young mind was inspired by daytime TV cooking shows and cookbooks. This interest continued through school, and at age sixteen, he enjoyed his first dining experience at an award-winning Sydney restaurant. With this, the young cooking enthusiast was hooked.
Once qualified, Josh’s professional career began in the kitchens of some of Sydney’s greatest restaurants. While working in the fish section, his respect for the magnificent Australian seafood was matched by his frustration at the volume of waste. He began to create alternative ways to use all of the fish and was encouraged by his mentors to explore his curiosity. The result was an individual and all-consuming approach to cooking fish that didn’t quite fit with any menu at that time.
In 2016, at twenty-seven years old, Josh and wife Julie opened Saint Peter, a small fish restaurant in a Sydney suburb, Paddington. Introducing whole fish cookery, Saint Peter, an Australian Fish Eatery was a highly risky venture. But together on a small budget, the couple managed to create a bustling neighbourhood favourite. Within its first year, the restaurant achieved significant global interest.
Two years later in 2018, the couple opened Fish Butchery, a retail offering located only a few doors away from the restaurant. The one-of-a-kind retail outlet is a temperature-controlled ice-free zone where line-caught, sustainable species of fish are dry handled and cut to order. Josh has pioneered the dry ageing of fish, and his ground-breaking approach to utilising the whole fish has gathered international recognition. Fish Butchery at Home was introduced in 2020 and mrniland.com followed as an online portal for retail and additional opportunities.
