It's a monster - the giant halibut in Bridport (From Dorset Echo)

It's a monster - the giant halibut in Bridport

12:30pm Friday 17th July 2009

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BRIDPORT fishmongers scaled new heights when they took delivery of a monster from the deep.

The giant halibut, trawled from the bottom of the North Sea, weighed in at 140kg and cost £1,326.

It was bought by the Bull Hotel at Bridport and delivered to wholesale fishmongers Davey’s Locker on the Dreadnought Trading Estate for preparation.

Boss Shaun Buller said it was by far the biggest fish they had ever had to deal with.

“It’s a monster,” he said. “It was driven here from Grimsby and it took five of us to lift it on to the slab.”

Chefs at the Bull spent much of the day carving the fish into 600 portions.

Bar and restaurant manager Andy Briggs said they had been offered the fish and decided to buy it.

“It is quite a novelty,” he said. “Actually this one is a bit of a baby – we were offered one of around 600lb (272 kilos)!”

Bull Hotel owner Richard Cooper said: “It is a very lovely fish. It’s great wrapped in panchetta and then grilled or pan fried.”

The Bull has had a busy week with a limited edition menu both to celebrate the Coopers’ three years at the helm and the hotel’s 400-year history.

To pay tribute to the Bull’s stoic reliability, they have devised the limited edition, ‘1593’ menu.

Mr Cooper added: “The earliest record of the Bull at Bridport Museum is 1593, which we thought was a fair price to offer this special menu at.

“Since then, it’s seen its fair share of ups and downs, with royal visits and as part of the Trafalgar Way during the Battle of Waterloo, there was even a murder here during the Monmouth Rebellion.

“But the hotel, as its name suggests, is made of strong stuff, and will always be here to offer a welcome break from whatever is going on in the outside world.”

The special edition menu is to be repeated on July 21. Dishes are historically-inspired, such as devilled whitebait and steak and oyster pie.

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