Interview with Josh Bollen
Today’s episode is with Josh Bollen from Sydney! He has submitted several recipes to 99 Spearo Recipes and is passionate about cooking and eating food he’s foraged or caught and foraged. He has a love for making food look good and when you see his recipes you will understand why! We chat about smoking fish, dry aging meat and the magic of vacuum packing and how to get the best and most out of your catch. Have a listen to this interview and stay tuned for 99 Spearo Recipes for his recipes and a ton more! We also chat about anxiety in diving, how to deal with it and ways to improve your experience of life. Enjoy listening and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
You can support us and secure yourself a copy by supporting our 99 Spearo Recipes Kickstarter campaign!
What is the most unusual food you have foraged or caught yourself?
Important times:
- 00:13 Intro
- 02:04 Noober Stories
- 05:00 Welcome Josh! Always learning – what does that mean to you?
- 06:18 You have an interest in jewelry?
- 07:53 A passion for plating food
- 09:09 Connecting the catch with the food
- 11:16 Where are you in the world?
- 13:25 You have been vacuum packing food?
- 16:55 Fish wings
- 17:54 How long should fish be cooked for?
- 19:50 Food was your gateway drug into spearfishing
- 22:36 Started spearfishing in 2019
- 23:15 What appeals to you in spearfishing? What struggles have you had?
- 26:05 Observing nature and the underwater world
- 28:22 Bush food and a very underused plant: Pig Face
- 34:50 What was your first memorable fish?
- 35:50 Leather Jackets are great eating and some fish Josh avoids
- 37:17 Smoking fish: How do you do it? Controlling temperature, airflow, etc
- 43:09 Scary moments in your spearfishing and seeing sharks
- 45:59 What are your favourite species to hunt and how to hunt Blackspot Goatfish
- 49:57 Dry aging your fish – do you need a dedicated fridge? Moisture? How to hang them up, etc
- 56:03 Being thoughtful and intentional with your food and storage
- 58:02 99 Spearo Recipes: you submitted several recipes!
- 59:26 Octopus: tenderize it!
- 01:01:39 My Octopus Teacher and Seaspiracy
- 01:05:27 Deep dive chat about anxiety and diving
- 01:06:54 Risk vs reward
- 01:08:18 How do you stay calm and cope?
- 01:11:23 Do you have a mantra or ways of calming down?
- 01:12:34 Learn to distance yourself from your thoughts and make rational decisions
- 01:16:30 Risk/stress/discomfort has a place and a value in daily life
- 01:17:41 A life worth living
- 01:18:25 Keeping the connection to nature that our ancestors had
- 01:20:20 Funny stuff, dehydration and sea sickness
- 01:22:30 I use Aqualyte to cope
- 01:23:28 What’s in your dive bag? Cressi wetsuit, Rob Allen speargun and roller guns, fin upgrades
- 01:31:12 DIY flashers
- 01:35:12 Spearo Q&A
- Where is your dream spearing destination?
- Favourite dive buddy?
- Single best piece of advice: SLOW DOWN!
- Describe the spearfishing experience: FREEDOM!
- 01:38:36 Outro
Listen in and subscribe on iOS or Android https://link.chtbl.com/Download_This_Episode
Important Links
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- Spearing Magazine Subscribe to the best spearfishing magazine in the world. International subscription available!
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