Captain’s Galley Restaurant

Captain’s Galley Restaurant is tucked in snug and cozy right at the foot of the hill at Scrabster Harbour. It is not only spectacular views what is special about this place, but also prioritizing fresh seasonal local produce and supporting local growers, farmers and fishers.

And great food, obviously! We are so grateful that the owner and the chef of Captain’s Galley, Jody Sinclair, allowed us to get a glimpse of how how works this magic of creating his amazing dishes. And we are very excited to share these secrets with our community!

We at Thurso Community Development Trust hate waste, and therefore we were delighted to find out that one of the most popular dishes at Captain’s Galley is made of potential food waste. We are speaking about this delicious looking dish called Buffalo Monkfish "Wing".

Buffalo Monkfish "Wing" served at Captain’s Galley

“Our monkfish "wing" is taken from the jaw of the monkfish” - Jody reveals his secret. “A cut I identified from a Basque technique, although they don't use the jaw the way we do - in fact I can't find anywhere doing this! The cheeks are often used, especially from larger fish, but this cut is almost always disposed of. 

We really hope to see this gain recognition and become a popular cut. It is certainly popular with our customers and received great feedback!

We serve it as a Buffalo Monkfish "Wing" with chilli butter dressing”.

And just look at the “company car" used by Captain’s Galley team! Minimal carbon footprint and a guarantee that only local produce will get to the kitchen!

Captain’s Galley work closely with Socially Growing Greenhouses and the Project Officer Sharon Dismore to develop and cost micro herbs and other seasonal produce for the hospitality sector.

The restaurant will happily take excess stock when available, too. This means they are getting great, fresh and local seasonal produce from the heart of our community and also helping a great project avoid waste. This is a great example of circularity that is so helpful for local economy and is just so soothing to see!

Jody was very kind to share one of the most popular recipes made from our local seasonal produce - their famous stuffed Courgette flowers!

We use a tempura batter to deep fry them. 

For the filling we grated courgette, added crumbled feta, a little garlic puree, mint and basil with an egg yolk added to make the mixture taste good, and to help bind.

It also helps to squeeze the extra moisture out of the grated courgette to reduce water content for frying.

We simply open the flower gently from the top, cut the stamen out of the centre with scissors, and then add a tablespoon of filling. 

We place the stuffed flower in the tempura batter and fry at 180°C until crisp and golden.

We keep the young courgette attached, but if the flower falls off when you try out this recipe at home - just fry it separately.

We also added a little roast tomato sauce to complete the dish.

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