News

Dorset Seafood Festival is a Huge Success!

Celebrity chefs, stallholders, officials and participants all agree that the first Dorset
Seafood Festival was a very big hit! Committee Chairman, Roger Dalton said: “The feedback from those who attended the two-day event has been extremely complimentary. The festival attracted around 40,000 visitors, who enjoyed paella, seafood pasta, fishcakes, mussels, scallops and much more from the fabulous seafood on offer. The organizing team did a fantastic job, so much so that all of the stallholders are eager to come back next year.” He added:”The performances on the cookery stage were a huge success, and the really great news is that top chefs Mark Hix, Mitch Tonks and Tom Cull, along with compere Joe Wadsack, all want to be involved next year, they had a great time and thought the venue was amazing.”

As a major part of Weymouth’s ‘Spirit of the Sea’ maritime event, the Dorset Seafood Festival was organised by a committee led by the Harbour Traders Association, with help from Seafish, Weymouth College and the Dorset Coast Forum. A packed stage programme included, stomach churning Fishtucker Trials, fish filleting demonstrations and innovative cookery demonstrations from Mark, Mitch and Tom. A separate music programme in Hope Square ensured there was something for everyone.

One of the weekend highlights was the Young Seafood Chef Competition, which saw 20-year-old Sarah Male of Perry's Restaurant in Weymouth take the top prize with her grilled fillet of turbot on a bed of samphire grass with a white wine shellfish cream sauce, narrowly beating Thomas Wenclewski of the Hotel Alexandra in Lyme Regis with his pan-roasted fillet of sea bream with crushed new potatoes & black olives served with gazpacho salsa. Sponsorship for the event was provided by Main Sponsor, Brewers Quay, and Leading Sponsors, Villa Maria New Zealand Wine and Seafish South West. The Fishermen’s Mission charity was chosen as the event beneficiary. Chairman Roger Dalton concluded by saying: “I want to thank everyone who helped make the festival such a huge success, plans for next year’s event, provisionally scheduled for 11th and 12th July, will begin shortly, and discussions with sponsors are already underway.”