Chef’s Table - A great catch

Originally from Sudan, Peter Paulo is a seafood coach in the 70,000-square-foot seafood department (No. 2 in gross receipts after produce) at Your DeKalb Farmers Market.

Was this your first job in the United States?

No. I used to live in Alexandria, Va. I worked part time at Chesapeake Bay Seafood. You could say I was a dishwasher.

How’d you end up in Atlanta?

The weather is more like Africa. But it is still too cold.

How long have you been at YDFM? What was your first job there?

A long time, three years. I cleaned the fish. After two months, if you are doing well, you learn to fillet. You learn to talk to customers. Lots of people don’t know what is good to buy.

Give me an example.

A lady wants something she can fry — something cheaper and smaller. I sell her tilapia fillets.

What else does a seafood coach do?

I work from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or sometimes 6 or 7 p.m. I open the market. I supervise 53 people. I receive fish and I send some back if it is not 100 percent. I make sure the fish and shellfish are presentable in the displays. I fillet some fish for the restaurant. I do inventory every Sunday.

How many varieties of fish and shellfish do you have?

A lot, about 150. We have fish from Brazil, Florida, Virginia, Canada, Vietnam.

When you go home, are you sick of fish?

Only sometimes. If I buy some fish, I don’t have time to cook it. I want to take rest.

Your DeKalb Farmers Market, 3000 E. Ponce de Leon Avenue, Decatur. 404-377-6500. www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com.