Film and TV

Kevin Little of Frost’s Fishmongers is hoping his beef dish will be voted Britain’s best home recipe
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Fishmonger beefs up bid for TV glory

By David Millward
February 27, 2013

A well-known fishmonger is set to appear on a TV cookery programme creating a beef dish.

Kevin Little, of Frost’s Fishmongers, is one of the contestants featured in a new ITV1 series Food Glorious Food which starts tonight.

The show, starring Carol Vorderman and Loyd Grossman, searches for Britain’s best home cooked recipe, but Mr Little chose Ginger Beef rather than produce a dish from his Smelly Alley shop.

He said: “They called me after they looked at my website and saw I do public speaking and that I’ve been a fishmonger for years.

“They asked if I had a fish dish I could do but I hadn’t so they asked if I’d ever cooked something which was totally created by accident and I remembered we had.”

Mr Little and his wife Liz Jones were trying to recreate a Chinese dish they had eaten at a restaurant.

But Mr Little accidentally handed over a pack of icing sugar instead of cornflour to coat strips of beef before frying.

They liked the result but have since changed the icing sugar for brown sugar to make it less sweet.

Filming took place at the Kingsbridge Show, in South Hams, Devon, last September.

Mr Little, 66, said: “We turned up at about 8am and there were about 150 people there and we were cooking live for Loyd Grossman to taste it.

“I’m really, really not a good chef, but I have cooked this dish 11 times to make sure I got it right. Even then with the TV camera in your face it’s really very hard.”

He continued: “It’s a strange thing for me to be on a cooking programme. I kept telling them I hadn’t got a clue what I was doing and they thought I was joking but I was telling the truth.”

The Food Glorious Food team visited six different locations for the regional heats and six contestants were chosen to go through to the semi-finals.

The winning dish will earn a place on the shelves of Marks & Spencer and the cook will pocket £20,000.

Mr Little cannot give away how successful he was but he did let slip that Ms Vorderman took the dish and ate it after Mr Grossman tasted it and it is one of 100 recipes selected for the book of the series which is now on sale.

Food Glorious Food starts today at 8pm on ITV1 and Mr Little is due to appear in episode two next Wednesday.

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Most recent user comments 11 of 11

I think Kevin Little should swap his hat with Derek Walsh for good luck & because I dare you too.

Kevin Lyttle - Turn Me On (classic)

Dog Leg
27/02/2013 at 22:02

I agree, B&B! I thought that one of the benefits of going to a fishmonger rather than a supermarket is that you have a chance to get some advice from a local expert.

Doesn't say much that when questioned Mr Little couldn't come up with a fish recipe!

El Badger
27/02/2013 at 16:39

Seriously - "They asked if I had a fish dish I could do but I hadn’t...." how can this man not have a home cooked fish recipe after years of being a fishmonger??

B&B
27/02/2013 at 16:19

So he is a fishmonger most confident in offering a meat dish he originally prepared in error because he got the ingredients wrong when he first cooked it, and he has carried on doing so?

Best of luck sir.

Nowtas, West Berkshire
27/02/2013 at 14:30

I will be watching with my fish fingers crossed!!

deejaykay, Tilehurst
27/02/2013 at 13:28

Mr. Little is a wonderful and knowledgeable fishmonger, and although the results must already be over and done with, I will be watching with fingers crossed!