A DURHAM fishmonger has come to the rescue of all those buyers who have difficulty distinguishing their scallops from their skate.

After years of fielding queries from shoppers on how to cook seafood, Ian Kennedy has put together a book, called the Easy Cook Fish Book, which contains all the advice he has offered customers at his stall in the city's indoor market.

It was devised with the help of freelance writer Malcolm Pearce, who is one of Mr Kennedy's regular customers, and contains more than 50 recipes, some of which were contributed by his customers.

Mr Kennedy said: "Malcolm Pearce is a customer of mine and we both decided people are always asking for recipes from us and a lot of people love to try fish, but are a little bit wary of cooking it.

"We put together some tried and tested recipes. We've got one or two from customers, but they're all original recipes."

The book includes a recipe provided by Durham University caterers for a lobster dish served to the Queen during her golden jubilee trip to Durham. It also contains such dishes as bass in a parmesan crust and deep fried baby octopus.

Mr Kennedy has now sent a copy of his book to celebrity seafood chef Rick Stein, for his opinion.

* The Easy Cook Fish Book costs £3.99 and is available from Mr Kennedy's stall