We love fish.

La Roche restaurant at the Haven Hotel offers diners a two AA-Rosette award winning fine dining experience encompassed by a relaxed ambience at the water’s edge, with seasonal and local produce, great wines, attentive service and the most spectacular sea views in the area.

Head chef Jason Hornbuckle has ‘helmed’ La Roche for the past two years. He brings a wealth of more than 25 years' experience, trained with world leading chefs and even gained second place in Egon Ronay’s UK Chef of the Year competition in 1998.

His passion and reputation for delivering fine food is only topped by his commitment to use locally sourced, seasonal produce “We are very cautious about how many nautical miles our fish have travelled - trying to shorten the distance from where they are caught to your plate, ‘source-to table’,” he said.

“Where possible, we scour the local fisheries for the finest catches in local waters ensuring that every dish is as mouth-watering as it can possibly be.”

The chefs at La Roche, are excited by fresh sustainable ingredients believing that the finest hand-sourced produce can be found in the local area.

Signature dish – Seabass, Scallops and a Dash of Basil Oil

 

4 x 6oz Sea bass fillets
8 Scallops
1 Red pepper
1 Yellow pepper
1 Courgette
1 Auberine
1 1/2 Bunches of fresh basil (chopped)
1 Sprig of thyme
2 Garlic cloves
120ml Olive oil
Pinch of salt & pepper

1. Cut vegetables into large chunks and place into a hot pan with olive oil and salt and pepper.
2. When cooked through, add garlic and 1 bunch of chopped basil.
3. Flash panfry the sea bass skin side down with a little olive oil, then butter the skin side and place in the oven for 5-6 minutes.
4. Sauté the scallops in a little olive oil for 1 minute on each side.
5. Using a pestle and mortar, mix 1/2 brunch finely chopped basil and 20ml of olive oil to create a green paste.
6. Place roasted vegetables in the middle of each dish, then add the sea bass fillet on top and two scallops either side.
7. Drizzle your green basil sauce over the top in a zigzag motion and serve as pictured – or add your own interpretation.

Jason’s top tip:
To get the skin of the sea bass really crispy and delicious, simply dry it with a little kitchen roll before
cooking it skin side down

La Roche at the Haven Hotel 01202 707333, www.fjbhotels.co.uk