Whole Sea Bass on the Barbecue: Why We Cook with Local Scottish Produce

September 17, 2026

Three whole sea bass barbecued with thyme by Italian Banquet Company for a private dinner service in Scotland

In short

Italian Banquet Company sources local Scottish produce for its weddings, private dinners and events across Scotland, and cooks it on site, from scratch, on the day.
The whole sea bass in these photographs were barbecued by the Italian Banquet Company brigade for one of its dinner services, dressed with nothing more than thyme, olive oil and salt.
The cooking is Italian; the larder is Scottish. Fish, shellfish, beef, lamb, game, vegetables and berries are bought as close to the event as the season allows.
Whole fish on the barbecue suits private dinners, house parties and relaxed wedding celebrations, served whole to the table or filleted by the chefs.
Every menu is written around what is good at that time of year, so no two Italian Banquet Company menus are quite the same.

In Italy nobody asks a cook where the recipe comes from. They ask where the fish comes from.

Why does an Italian caterer cook with Scottish produce?

Because that is what Italian cooking actually is. It was never a list of imported ingredients. It is a habit: buy what is near you, buy it fresh, and do as little to it as you can get away with. A cook on the Adriatic coast grills whatever the boats landed that morning. Italian Banquet Company does the same thing in Scotland, with one of the best larders in Europe on the doorstep.

So the recipes travel from Italy and the ingredients do not. The olive oil and the Parmesan come from home. The fish, the shellfish, the beef, the lamb, the game, the vegetables and the summer berries come from Scotland, always, wherever the season makes it possible.

Whole sea bass, thyme and fire

Whole barbecued sea bass with sprigs of thyme on a serving plate, cooked by Italian Banquet Company using local Scottish produce

These sea bass are a good example, and we are proud of them. They were cooked whole on the barbecue for one of our dinner services: cavities filled with thyme, skin rubbed with olive oil and salt, then straight over the heat until the skin blistered and crisped and the flesh underneath stayed white and moist.

That is the whole recipe. There is no sauce to hide behind and no garnish doing the work. A fish cooked this simply is only ever as good as the fish itself, which is exactly why the sourcing matters more than anything the chef does afterwards.

Cooking fish whole, on the bone, is also the kindest way to treat it. The bones and the skin protect the flesh from the fire, the thyme perfumes it from the inside, and it comes to the table looking like what it is: a generous plate of food made for sharing.

How whole fish works at a wedding or private dinner

Barbecued whole fish is at its best at the kind of events Italian Banquet Company is most often asked to cook: private dinners in country houses, multi-day house parties, and relaxed wedding celebrations where the couple want the food to feel abundant rather than formal.

It can be carried whole to the table on platters for guests to share, or filleted by the chefs and plated as the fish course of a full sit-down menu. Either way it is cooked on site, at the event, never transported hot from somewhere else.

What local sourcing means for your menu

It means the menu is written around the calendar, not the other way round. A summer wedding in Perthshire and a winter house party in the Highlands should not eat the same food, and with Italian Banquet Company they do not. We start from what is at its best in Scotland at that moment, then build the Italian menu around it.

It also means guests can taste where they are. People travel a long way to marry or celebrate in Scotland. Putting Scottish fish, Scottish beef and Scottish berries on the table, cooked the Italian way, gives them a meal they could not have had anywhere else.

Frequently asked questions

Does Italian Banquet Company use local Scottish produce?
Yes. Italian Banquet Company sources local Scottish produce for its weddings, private dinners and events wherever the season allows, including fish, shellfish, beef, lamb, game, vegetables and berries. Italian staples such as olive oil and Parmesan come from Italy.

Can Italian Banquet Company barbecue whole fish at a wedding or private dinner in Scotland?
Yes. Italian Banquet Company barbecues whole fish such as sea bass on site for private dinners, house parties and wedding celebrations across Scotland, served whole to the table for sharing or filleted and plated as a fish course.

How does Italian Banquet Company cook whole sea bass?
Italian Banquet Company cooks whole sea bass on the bone over the barbecue, with thyme in the cavity and olive oil and salt on the skin. The fish is cooked on site, on the day, and served straight from the fire.

Is the food cooked on site or brought in ready made?
Every dish served by Italian Banquet Company is prepared fresh, from scratch, on the day and on site by its own chefs. Nothing is cooked elsewhere and transported hot to the venue.

Can a seafood or fish menu be designed for my event?
Yes. Every Italian Banquet Company menu is bespoke. A menu can be built around fish and seafood, around meat and game, or as a mix, depending on the season, the venue and the guests. Dietary requirements are planned in from the start.

Where in Scotland does Italian Banquet Company cater?
Italian Banquet Company caters weddings, corporate events and private dinners across Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fife, Perthshire, the Highlands and the Scottish Borders, for parties from intimate dinners up to 200 guests.

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