Father, 40, while fishing with his young daughter, discovers a huge 2-metre octopus washed up dead on a beach and cooks it into a STIR-FRY
- Come Dine With Me winner Ziggy Austin found the octopus near Torquay, Devon
If kids usually ask what’s for tea, they probably wouldn’t think they’d eat an octopus that was found dead on a beach just hours before.
But when former Come Dine With Me winner Ziggy Austin found the ‘huge’ octopus washed up on the beach at Hopes Nose near Torquay, Devon, he didn’t think twice before dragging it home for supper and making one. stir-fry dish.
The 40-year-old father had spotted the creature while fishing with his young daughter Lauren on Monday.
The huge cephalopod was almost 2 meters long and it was so big when he first saw it that he thought it was a fishing net.
Ziggy believes the head of the dead octopus was bitten off by a seal, leaving the rest of the body intact.
Come Dine With Me winner Ziggy Austin found the huge 2m octopus washed up on the beach in Hopes Nose near Torquay, Devon
Determined to get the most out of the creature, he placed it on ice and slowly ate it little by little. He’s already enjoyed it by marinating it in teriyaki sauce and serving it with stir-fried veggies (pictured)
Determined to get the most out of the creature, he placed it on ice and slowly ate it little by little.
He’s already enjoyed it by marinating it in teriyaki sauce and serving it with stir-fried vegetables.
The father explained, “I was fighting with my daughter and I saw what looked like an abandoned fishing net.
“Then it started to move a little bit, so I climbed to the water’s edge to have a look. Then a wave came and rolled over – and then I saw the suckers.
‘It is absolutely not normal to see such a large octopus. I’ve been a man of the sea all my life, and I’ve never seen anything like it. It was taller than my daughter.
The huge cephalopod was almost 2 meters long and it was so big when he first saw it that he thought it was a fishing net
“I knew right away I had to try and get it, so I used the end of my fishing rod to sort of reach into the water and wrap it around the octopus to pull it out.
‘When we got the colossus on the rock we stretched it out and we could see that a seal had bitten its head off.
“I’m not sure how big an octopus’s head is compared to the rest of its body, but it must have been huge with its head on, too.” It only had its eyes left.’
Ziggy, who runs Rock Solid Coasteering from his home in Maidencombe, Torquay, posted a video of the huge creature on his YouTube channel.
The marine animal enthusiast and scientist filmed himself dissecting the creature, revealing what its beak and other features looked like.
Ziggy also won the Torquay edition of Come Dine With Me in 2014 and has already put his octopus cooking skills to the test.
He added: ‘I ate some of it last night, it was delicious. After I caught it, many people around Hopes Nose gave me advice on how to cook it.
‘On the advice of a gentleman, I let it simmer for 45 minutes and then marinated it in teriyaki sauce and served it with stir-fried vegetables.
“The rest is on ice, I hope to get the most out of it. I could never kill such an amazing creature, but it must not go to waste.
“I’ve had friends message me asking for pieces, so I’ve given away a leg or two.”
