Heston chef becomes fish farmer for a day

Top London chef Ashley Palmer-Watts has spent his Saturday up to his knees in a fish pond with local fish farmers.

The chef actually got in the pond with the fish farmers to experience first hand what it’s like to harvest the fish pond and to net the fully grown tilapia!

Meeting the fish farmers was a hugely enjoyable experience for the chef who was able to see how effectively these fish farmers are linking up with the Aqua Shops set up by Farm Africa.

In his Africa Diary Ashley commented how meeting Saul Odenyo – one of the Aqua Shop owners – and listening to his future plans for the business had made a “big impression” on him. He also mentioned how grateful the fish farmers are for all the support and training they are getting from the Aqua Shops.

Having met some of Lake Victoria’s traditional fishermen and having heard how supplies in the lake are dwindling, Ashley has been hugely impressed to se how many fishermen are coming on to the land to farm tilapia instead:

“it shows a massive thought process to plan ahead for the years to come.”

You can watch some wonderful video footage of Ashley explaining how the fish ponds work on his Africa Diary.

And you can learn much more about how Farm Africa is supporting fish farming through its Aqua Shops Project.