It’s quite a few years since Richard Hughes of the Lavender House Restaurant had his first date with a consignment of fresh fish – but he has never forgotten it. Photograph: Simon Lunt.

I can vividly recall my first task as a nervous, gangly, fully-employed youth two weeks short of my 16th birthday.

Dressed in pristine oversized whites, my tall toque balanced precariously on my sticky-out ears, I was led, almost by the nose, into the depths of the Imperial Hotel’s bustling kitchens.

Past the pot wash, still stacked high from the aftermath of the breakfast service, through to the glistening deep sinks, where box after box of the morning’s fish delivery sat, delivered within the hour by Mr Cubitt from Lowestoft’s bustling quayside, waiting patiently for a hapless trainee’s attention.

Big fat Dover soles to be skinned, plaice fillets to be trimmed, salmon to be filleted and pin-boned ready for poaching, prawns to be peeled, cod roes to be soaked, all demonstrated with speed as I gazed on with disinterest. Would I be allowed a go?

As the final lid was lifted revealing a couple of dozen fresh trout, still slimy and bent with rigor mortis, the knife was dutifully handed over and finally I had my big chance. My first meaningful job was to gut and clean these slippery fish, read to pop in the smoker.

As I grappled with the bright-eyed, open-mouthed trout, with gills still bright, I tried to remove the eyes, as inky black liquid hit me full in the face and trickled down my starched pressed jacket.

As a result of these experiences I can fully understand why many people shy away from the idea of gutting, scaling, filleting and cleaning the harvest from our seas. However, help is at hand in the shape of your customer-friendly fishmonger.

Gary Howard, Snellings, Woodbines of Wymondham, all will do the difficult work for you, providing you buy the fish over their counter of course. Fish cookery has never been more in vogue, with the likes of Rick Stein desperately promoting some of the more obscure, yet indigenous varieties.

Sustainable stocks is the new buzz word, and with a little forethought and planning, hopefully some of the less popular varieties will rival our cod, monk tails and haddock.

One of my customers recently returned from Padstow, and gleefully told me that Stein was to Padstow what Roy was to Wroxham, indicating the size and quality of his empire, built from the fishing boats of the South Coast.

Today’s recipe may look daunting yet it is actually very easy to make, so you’ll not have to work too hard to produce a stunning soup that’s packed with flavours of North Norfolk and Southern France.

Shellfish Bisque
Serves 6

900g mixture of prawn shells, lobster shells, whole crabs, fish bones
1kg onion, celery, leek, carrot
4 fresh tomatoes
1dsp olive oil
1dsp tomato puree
1dsp plain flour
Bayleaf, thyme
3tsp Pernod
1ltr well flavoured fish stock
100ml dry white wine
24 large tiger prawns
3 sticks peeled and sliced celery
150g grapes peeled and seeded

Fry the vegetables
In a large thick bottomed pan heat the oil, add the chopped vegetables and fry for around five minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the fish bones
Add the chopped fish bones and shells, cook for a further five minutes.

... and the tomatoes
Add the chopped tomatoes, the tomato puree, the flour, cook for three minutes.

Simmer the stock
Add the fish stock and the herbs. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and then place the mixture, a ladle at a time, into a food processor, pulse to break up the bones.

Strain – and serve
Strain the liquor, add the wine and the Pernod. Season with salt and milled white pepper. Serve with grated Gruyere, and toasted sippets, or finish with large prawn tails, celery and grapes.