Forget coffee, tea or an icy shower, if there's anything guaranteed to give restaurant owners Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse a boost in the morning, it's their breakfast grappa.

Since travelling around Europe some years ago, on the hunt for culinary inspiration for their celebrated Seahorse restaurant in Devon, the two friends have continued the boozy morning ritual, which is popular in food markets in Italy and Spain.

"We like our little drink in the morning," says Tonks, laughing.

"It's quite enjoyable," adds the award-winning chef, who fronted Good Food series, Mitch And Matt's Big Fish Recipes, with former rugby star Matt Dawson.

"The secret is, it's only one drink, and for some reason, some days it's better than others. Some days you don't really get it, and other days you get really quite smashed and I'm not sure why."

While the pair's customary drink, which they quaff alongside their morning coffee, has raised a few eyebrows, it's part and parcel of the jovial atmosphere they hope to create in the restaurant, with dancing on tables and musical interludes from their maitre d' Mark Ely encouraged.

"It doesn't really sound like it's a very professional place," says Prowse with a laugh. "It has a life of its own."

Friends since the late Nineties, Tonks and Prowse - whose experience in kitchens began with pot-washing for a local eatery when he was 13 - have just released a new recipe book, aptly named The Seahorse, based on the dishes they serve in their restaurant.

And while they are both knee-deep in seafood these days, this wasn't always this case.

"I was working as a head chef at a restaurant in Bath and Mitch came to sell me fish," explains Prowse of how their partnership began.

"He set up his fishmongers there after giving up his previous life as an accountant in London. He came into the restaurant one day, trying to sell me fish, and that was it, we just hit it off. We decided to start running cookery classes."

While he and Tonks, who "wasn't having a great time" as an accountant and quit aged 27, bonded over their love of seafood, they're well aware that many people don't share their enthusiasm for fish.

"It smells. It's full of bone. It's going to stick in your throat and you're going to be dragged to hospital to get rid of it," exclaims Prowse, with a weary sigh.

"Everything you hear about fish, whether it's sustainability or cooking it, is all negative. But it's not. It's an easy thing to cook. Very simply with the sustainability thing, just find yourself a good fishmonger and trust they're doing that bit for you.

"Buy the freshest fish you can find, cook it really simply and you'll have the best meal ever. That's all we do in the restaurant. Sometimes you feel like a fraud because it is so easy, but behind the scenes it's not!"

Fancy trying your hand at some simple fishy dishes? Here are three recipes from The Seahorse to try at home...

:: SEA BASS WITH BRAISED COURGETTES

(Serves 4)

100ml plus 1tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 courgettes, cut into quarters then cut into 2.5cm chunks

A good handful of basil, roughly torn

4 sea bass fi llets, about 180-200g each, skin on

1 lemon

Salt and ground white pepper

1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6.

Heat the 100ml of olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and sweat for a minute without colouring. Next, add the courgettes and basil, then season with salt and white pepper and mix well. Cook the courgettes for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly until most of the water from the courgettes has evaporated and they have stewed down, leaving some in chunks and some completely broken down. Take off the heat and set aside.

Heat a large ovenproof frying pan with the tablespoon of olive oil over a medium heat. Place the sea bass in the pan skin-side down, season with a little salt and cook for about 12 minutes until the sea bass skin starts to take some colour and begins to crisp.

Carefully turn the fillets over and place the pan into the oven and roast for about five minutes, or until the flesh turns white and flakes easily.

To serve, reheat the courgettes over a low heat until they are just warm. Add a good squeeze of lemon and put a generous spoonful onto each warmed plate. Put the sea bass on top and serve with a lemon wedge.

:: RED GURNARD WITH PEPERONATA AND SALSA VERDE

(Serves 4)

50ml olive oil

4 red gurnard fillets, about 180-200g each, skin on

For the peperonata:

50ml olive oil

2 red onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1tsp dried oregano

1tbsp tomato puree

1/2tsp ground cumin

2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced

2 yellow peppers, deseeded and sliced

A pinch of saffron strands

For the salsa verde:

A handful of flat-leaf parsley

A handful of basil

A handful of mint

2 garlic cloves

1tbsp capers

1tbsp red wine vinegar

12 salted anchovy fillets

1tsp Dijon mustard

4tbsp olive oil

Salt

For the pepperonata, heat the olive oil in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and oregano and sweat for five minutes, or until soft. Add the tomato puree and cumin and cook for a further two minutes. Next, add the peppers and saffron and mix well, then cover the pan with a lid and stew the peppers for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. To make the salsa verde, place all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and pulse-blend them to a rough paste. Add half the oil and blend again to combine, then add the remaining oil and repeat.

To cook the fish, heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the red gurnard and cook for about two minutes until golden on one side.

Carefully turn the red gurnard over and place the pan into the oven and roast for six to eight minutes (depending on size and thickness of fish) until cooked.

Remove the fish from the oven and serve with a spoonful of the peperonata and the salsa verde.

:: CARAMEL AND ESPRESSO PANNACOTTA

(Makes 12 espresso cups)

For the pannacotta:

4 gelatine leaves

220ml freshly made espresso

220ml full-fat milk

120g caster sugar

100ml brandy

360ml double cream

For the syrup:

100ml water

300g granulated sugar

125ml freshly made espresso

25ml brandy

Place the gelatine in a small bowl and pour over enough cold water to cover. Soak for five minutes, or until soft, then drain and squeeze out the excess water.

To make the pannacotta, warm the espresso, milk and sugar in a saucepan over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Add the softened gelatine and stir to dissolve in the warm liquid. Take off the heat and allow to cool (not completely cold, just tepid). Add the brandy and cream and mix well until combined, then pour into espresso cups and allow to set for at least four hours in the fridge.

For the syrup, make a caramel: pour the water into a deep heavy-based saucepan, add the sugar, stir and put over a gentle heat to dissolve the sugar; keep stirring until it is fully dissolved. Once the sugar has dissolved, bring to the boil, and boil until the syrup is a light golden colour. Take off the heat and allow to cool slightly, but not get completely cold.

Carefully pour the 125ml of espresso into the cooled syrup and stir until smooth, then add the brandy. Stir to combine and allow to cool.

To serve, pour a little of the syrup over the top of the pannacottas to completely cover the surface.

:: The Seahorse by Mitch Tonks and Mat Prowse, photography by Chris Terry, is published in hardback by Absolute Press, priced £25.00. Available now

THREE OF THE BEST... Microwavable rice packs

:: Sainsbury's Microwave Rice Brown, 50p for 250g (Sainsbury's)

Brown rice can take time to perfect, so let the microwave do your bidding for you with this budget pack, which makes tasty and short work of grains.

:: Tilda Steamed Brown Basmati And Wild Rice, £1.59 for 250g (Morrisons)

Nicely nutty, this steamed rice pack is a good shout for weekday lunches, topped off with some roasted veg or fish.

:: Uncle Ben's Rice & Grains Wholegrain & Quinoa, £2 for 220g (Sainsbury's)

If you're after a grainy punch, try Uncle Ben's new range, the best of which combines wholegrains with quinoa. Makes a great accompaniment to salads and fish or chicken dishes.