Fishmonger Adrian Rudolf knows his haddock from his hake and just won’t clam-up when it comes to fish, writes Rachel Ong

FISHMONGER Adrian Rudolf knows all about fresh fish. He has been running the Fish and Fowl in Highgate Road for 14 years and the neighbourhood’s tastes have changed in that time. He believes that the rise of healthy eating has led to the public’s awareness of quality ingredients.
He says: “What people don’t know is that you can buy good cheap fish, but they’re usually the ones that aren’t that popular. That being said, tuna is actually make a big come-back.
“Fish is expensive and people are sometimes taken aback by the price. It’s important for them to remember that there’s a long process involved from catching the fish on a boat or farming it to selling it in the shop.
“We buy a lot of farmed fish from the Shetlands because there’s very clean waters up there and a lot of space for the fish to swim. When you farm fish, sometimes the fish don’t have enough room to swim about and that results in them being slightly deformed. When they’ve got more space in the water, they’ll develop more like a wild fish and they’ll be healthier and fit.”
Originally a chef trained in the art of French cuisine, Rudolf has been cultivating his relationship with food since he was 10 years old.
“When I was a kid, I used to cook a lot for my family,” he says. “If I was around at a friends, I used to cook for their parents too – I’d cook them dinner and breakfast. I just enjoyed cooking for people then and I still do. I like having people around and making them happy. I don’t know if I’d call my cooking art, like a tableau – when I’m done, it’s more like a Jackson Pollack!” he laughs.
At 20 years old, the north London native landed a spot in a restaurant in South Kensington where he trained under chef Simon Hopkinson.
Two years later he gave it up due to a serious bout of eczema. Rudolf then went on to work for a game wholesaler in south London before setting up The Fish and Fowl in 1990.
For most of the week, he services restaurants such as The Camden Brasserie, Mango Rooms, The Dartmouth Arms, Camden Kitchen and The Jazz Café.
On Friday and Saturday, he retails his wares to the public. His shop also stocks a variety of chutneys and pickles from Staffordshire and a range of fish sauces from Bologne, France.
With Christmas coming up, Rudolf is preparing for the seasonal rush of turkey and geese orders. While the quality of his stock is unquestionable, he doesn’t necessarily advocate organically-fed birds.
He says: “I’m not devoted to the concept and theme of ‘organic’.
“The turkeys we stock are from Herefordshire and are either organically-fed or not organically-fed. In my opinion, the quality of the bird is the same.”
Rudolf believes in honest retailing and isn’t afraid to call a spade. “With food these days, people get very confused because there’s so much reporting,” he says.
“I think there’s a lot of hysteria about what we’re eating, sometimes it’s quite right but sometimes just using the word ‘organic’ will suggest that something is better when it’s not.”
• The Fish and Fowl, 145 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, NW5 1LJ, Tel: 020 7284 4184. Open on Friday and Saturday, 9am-5pm.