Seafood extravaganza with Chef Dale Sniffen

Just when we are starting to settle back into the routine of life after Christmas and the New Year, seriously think about 2025 NY resolutions (eat less, exercise more, get healthy, lose the Christmas package) Joe Venter, our Angling Section Captain, well and truly threw out the anchor by organising a seafood cooking demonstration with Chef Dale Sniffen Wednesday 15th Jan. But what an evening it was; to kick off club events for 2025.

The sold out evening commenced with FSC club participants and guests watching Chef Dale preparing various condiments and marinades from scratch. Not only is he an internationally experienced Chef who has worked around the world; Chef Dale also hand manufactures some of his knives at a local men’s shed. One he proudly showed us was previously a Toyota land cruiser leaf spring.


The first order was a simple marinade of Miso and Mirin in which the fish of the day; Ruby Snapper; would marinade for “No more than an hour.” Sufficient mirin was added to Miso to achieve the “consistency of sauce.” “Dip the fillet and refrigerate for an hour.” “Keep it simple”, he quipped. “Let the fish do the talking. Most try and overcomplicate it, you know try and re-invent the wheel. Fish is subtle,”…”you don’t need bread crumbs – potato starch will give a lovely crisp coating” ...”But make sure it’s dry – use good quality kitchen paper – not the stuff from Aldi which is like toilet paper… Plah”, as he mimicked scraping the stuck paper out of his mouth.

Next was a salsa, with caramelised red onion with chopped red peppers (capsicum) which has the “S#!7 cooked out of them” on the grill. Cut the top off, remove the seeds but pour in the juice from inside the pepper. Add the chopped roasted peppers, roughly chopped fresh tomato (or tinned skinless whole tomato), chopped sundried tomatoes in olive oil, fresh Dill, Italian parsley and Basil.
All mixed together with a dash of extra virgin Olive Oil and a bit of sea salt combining to create a beautiful fresh and flavoursome Salsa.

Finally the squid prep. “Leave it for a couple of days before cooking. Straight out of the ocean the flesh is stiff and it will just curl up, let it rest and relax. Open the tubes, score the inside”.

A spice rub prepared (with smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and thyme) was put in a dish to toss the prepared dried squid. “Cook inside down, it stops it curling”, was the instruction.

“How hot should you cook it?” A question from the crowd.

“Space Shuttle Launch heat” was the response with a twinkle. “Let the flesh start to render and it will naturally separate from the BBQ plate”, and “don’t add any oil or grease. It will burn and taint the flavours as the water molecules will separate from the oil and boil. Ever seen those small bubbles in your hot oil?” he asked. “Watch for the opaque colour to change about half way through, turn it once and don’t overcook it”. Unfortunately Chef Dale started to realise this BBQ want not quite up to NASA specs, but he worked with the available tools and produced miracles.

The squid was then removed, sliced into strips and positioned on a slice of fresh wholemeal bread, topped with the fresh salsa.

“Try this”. A piece of “Space Shuttle launch temperature” squid was offered to Joe – straight off the grill.

A small grimace as the hot squid touched his lips created a moment of satisfaction for those whose NY resolutions appeared to be sinking with Joe’s event. The short lived sense of justice was soon dashed on the rocks, when Joe’s face lit up and he exclaimed “that’s melt in your mouth”.

An additional drizzle of olive oil (“it’s like adding butter to your bread”) was applied and then served to the participants. Wow, and this was just the entrée!
“Keep it dry”, he reminded us. “Smell this,” A section of non-Aldi brand paper towel was offered to a club member. “See it smells like ‘bad’ fish”.

A fresh dry fillet was offered next. “Eyes closed…. What do you smell? That’s right – nothing. The moisture is where the aroma is, so dry all your seafood before cooking and get the beautiful subtle flavour of the fish” “Don’t over pack the BBQ, leave space between the food being cooked or you’ll boil it in steam and moisture - and reheat the plate between each lot being cooked”.

Bit by bit the lessons, explanations and instructions continued, and with more questions from the floor being answered.

Help from the participants was expected. “You don’t work, you don’t eat”, was the justification quickly followed by, “it’s a great motivator to get your teenagers helping in the kitchen”. Plates were laid out , bread distributed for Chef Dale to do the final plate up, and the FSC members took turns in serving one-another. For the hungry, there was sufficient for “seconds” and ‘NY Resolution’ is officially sunk!! (There’s always 2026).

From that point on there was a flow of food from the sunset deck BBQ, to the salivating mouths of the waiting participants. Conversations, questions and comments continued; the sun dipped below the horizon as flavours dripped. Maybe even some new friendships were formed. Isn’t that what clubs are about?

What a wonderful evening. Thanks Joe for the organising; Thanks to the FSC kitchen who supported with some side dishes; Thanks to all the participants who attended this sold out event, but thanks most of all to Chef Dale; for his lessons, great humour and wonderful culinary sharing.

Foot note: Special mention and thanks to our FSC Club kitchen staff. When Chef Dale saw the cleanliness and organisation in the kitchen he commented “That kitchen is immaculate”. A big compliment from an acclaimed Chef!

Don’t forget to keep an eye on the club calendar for similar events because if you want to participate – get in early. The tickets were fully sold out a week before the event was scheduled.

By Stuart Brown – FSC Angling Section