„Kinder, esst mehr Fisch“: Koch, Unternehmer und Aktivist Bart van Olphen plus Verlosung

Esst mehr Fisch! In Zeiten von Massentierhaltung scheint das viel Sinn zu machen. Fisch ist gesund, bekömmlich und ja, schmeckt auch Kindern. Wenn da nicht die Überfischung der Meere wäre. Auch im Bereich von Fisch und Meeresfrüchten wollen wir immer mehr und immer billiger. Wenn ich mir die Discounter-Preise von Lachs und Meeresfrüchten ansehe, kann das eigentlich nicht mit rechten Dingen zugehen.

Kürzlich traf ich auf einer Veranstaltung Bart van Olphen, ein bekannter niederländischer Koch und Aktivist für nachhaltige Fischerei. Wir durften bei ihm köstlichsten Wildlachs aus dem Yukon River in Alaska probieren. Seine Firma Fishtales setzt sich für bewussten Konsum von Fisch ein und untersützt vor allen Dingen auch den Beruf des Fischers durch faire Löhne. Er hat mir erzählt, dass es im Jahr 2045 keinen wilden Lachs mehr geben wird, wenn wir so weitermachen wie jetzt.

Bart ist außerdem erfolgreicher Kochbuch-Autor und der „Fisch-Experte“ bei Jamie Olivers FoodTube auf YouTube. Ich habe ihm ein paar Fragen rund um das Thema Fisch gestellt. Ich bin mit ihm einer Meinung, dass auch schon Kleinkinder Fisch essen sollten, so dass sie später alles aus dem Meer genießen können. Er hat viele Tipps für Euch, wie man Kindern Fisch näher bringen kann.

Kinder, esst mehr Fisch: Warum eigentlich?

Bart, why should our children eat (more) fish?

Experts recommend to start feeding your baby fish from 8 months to 1 year old. Just like adults, babies easily can eat fish twice a week. It’s highly nutritious, full of protein and of course delicious! My three kids love seafood. Even made a video with my daughter when she was 1 year old on a nice recipe for baby’s:

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What do you think of those notorious fish fingers? Is this a good way to introduce fish to children?

I’m not a fan of processed food in general, but fish fingers is actually quite a good thing to learn kids how to eat seafood. They love the crispiness around and soon they get used to the taste of white fish. If you want to introduce fish to your children, I believe you should make your own delicious fish fingers instead of buying them in the store. Go to your local fishmonger, let you children pick a piece of fish and dive into the kitchen together. So much fun and at the same time you learn them at the same time that fish doesn’t come from a package but from a real fish. But also teach your kids you can have a nice crispy skin without batter but just pan fried in some oil!

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Is there a sort of fish which all children like?

If you want to start teaching your kids to eat more nutritious seafood, there are some easy entries such as salmon, cod, haddock and swordfish (texture of chicken). As soon as they are used to it, go step-by-step to different species. Especially oily fish as mackerel, sardines and herring will do great in terms of health. And if you are on holiday, the romance of the little restaurant next to the port will do very well. It’s all about experience and adventure.

You are a father yourself and a chef. What kind of fish dishes are popular in your household?

My sons Bo and Ties are 16 and 1 year old and my daughter Juul is 3. They all are huge fish fans. They love smoked salmon and mackerel as a small starter while I am cooking their favourites such as prawn pasta, fish cakes, pan fried mackerel or poached cod. The thing I am always doing, is showing them the whole fish before. In this way, we teach them where it’s coming from and they will lose the feeling of being scared of it.

What is your secret weapon for little picky eaters?

It’s all about trying and experience, so I think every child should at least try all these different (fishy) flavours at least a couple of times. If they don’t like it, you might change the way you cook it. Because only then they can tell if they like the dish or not. And very important: if you, yourself, don’t like fish or seafood, it does not mean you child will not like it too. All the time I try to stimulate my non-fishy friends to serve their kids seafood.

Does fish need to be always fresh or is canned fish also a healthy option?

Canned fish is not secondary at all and counts more or less the same nutritional values as fresh fish. And besides it’s mega delicious! The process of canning fish is nowadays so modern and fast that all be beneficial nutrients are retained. Also, I love tinned seafood because it’s so easy and quick to use.

A tuna pasta is made in only a few minutes and a tuna and couscous salad in a few seconds. My tip if buying tinned tuna: use in brine for dishes you will add oil to (like mayonnaise) and use in oil if you will reheat the tuna (all your warm dishes).

And to add on to that, canned sustainable fish is easy to recognize and plenty available in the stores today and because of the shelf life of over 4 year an easy to store and no-waste product. Look for the MSC logo and with tuna for pole & line caught.

With your company Fish Tales your are also an activist and pioneer in the field of sustainable fishing. What is your main concern in that field? Why do we need to change the way we eat fish today?

Our product line within our brand Fish Tales is all about we all love seafood but we need to take care at the same time. Overfishing is depleting oceans across the globe, with 80 percent of the world’s fisheries fully exploited or facing collapse. If we keep fishing and consuming the way we do now, our oceans will be empty by around 2045.

But there is a solution. If we want to keep enjoying seafood now and in the future, we should make a change by only buying, cooking and consuming sustainable certified seafood. Therefore, we have established a product line together with these responsible fishermen all over the world to give access to the right fish. Fish Tales is the only brand in the world only selling MSC and ASC certified seafood (www.msc.org / www.asc.org) .

How can we make fish eating safe for our little kids?

We always need to take care with bones and feeding your lovely little ones. A few tips, even if you buy filleted fish:

• Check the raw fish fillet with your finger if you can find bones. Take them out with a tweezers or little knife
• Check the fillet when cooked by softly rolling the meat in your hands.
• If you place the raw fillet on (cool) lightning you easily can check if there are still bones in

Verlosung: Ein tolles Kochbuch für Euch!

Ist Euch jetzt auch das Wasser im Munde zusammen gelaufen? Ich verlose einmal Barts Buch „Frisch aus der Dose: 50 Rezepte und Geschichten vom Fisch“. Die Verlosung läuft bis zum 9.6.2017. Einfach kommentieren und gerne den Beitrag teilen!

Merken