Food journeys Wild Sea Bass

From Rungis in Paris to MacNean's Bistro in Blacklion, Co Cavan

The Dish: Wild sea bass served with wild asparagus, also sourced from France, local sea scallops wrapped in Parma ham, spinach and served with a red wine as a main course costing €24.50. "I'll never forget the first time I saw it. I was just so happy and excited. It [the wild sea bass] is just so beautiful and special, and is a fish you really have to respect and treat with love. I know it might sound strange but I'm really not joking," says celebrity chef Neven Maguire.

The Market: Two years ago, Maguire began the process of realising a long-term ambition of serving wild sea bass in his family restaurant in Blacklion, Co Cavan. Local supplier, Curry Sea Foods in Enniskillen, has returned to the Rungis in Paris on a weekly basis to bulk buy the wild sea bass.

Rungis is the largest fresh food wholesale market in the world, covering 573 acres and serving 18 million people each year. Described as a city in itself, there is a school for fish cutting and 12 pavilions devoted to fruits and vegetables alone. During one recent week, Maguire ordered three boxes, containing some 35 fish, at a cost of €600.

The Preparation: The wild sea bass is shipped from Paris on a Tuesday and arrives in the Cavan bistro on the following morning, where it is scaled, gutted and cut into fillet sizes, with the bones used later for stock or in soups.

The fillets are subsequently "pin boned", meaning that all bones are removed by hand, after which the sea bass is cooked after its skin is slashed a dozen times with a sharp knife. This provides for a crispy skin and prevents the fish from curling up.