Friday, 15 February 2013

PR News Dorset Seafood Festival

 Dorset Seafood Festival FAQs
Q: What is the history of Dorset Seafood Festival?
A: The event started in 2008 and has grown to be the largest FREE seafood festival in the UK.
Q: What are the dates for the 2013 festival?
A: 13th & 14th July 2013
Q: What are the opening times?
A: The festival opens at 10am – 6pm on Saturday 13th July and will continue into the evening with a pop-up cinema screening of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, starting at 9.30pm and running until 11.30pm approx. More details about this event will be released nearer the time. The festival will then reopen on Sunday 14th July at 11am and will close at 6pm.
Q: Where exactly does the festival take place?
A: The festival extends over both sides of Weymouth’s picturesque working harbour and continues along to the forecourt area of Weymouth Pavilion.
Q: Is the festival a commercial event?
A: Dorset Seafood Festival is a not for profit event with any money raised donated to The Fishermen’s Mission. Last year’s donation totalled £12,539.60
The Fishermen’s Mission is the only fishermen’s charity that provides emergency support alongside practical and emotional care. It helps all fishermen, active or retired, and their families. It does this by:
·         Offering immediate assistance, day or night, to the families of fishermen who have been killed or seriously injured
·         Looking after the survivors of fishing boat accidents· Helping injured or ill fishermen to find medical help· Finding emergency housing and food if necessary
·         Supporting fishermen’s families in the case of illness, distress or financial difficulties·
·         Alleviating loneliness by visiting retired fishermen and their families at home or in hospital
·         Offering welfare and support to overseas fishermen, working in the UK fishing industry, especially those who have to live onboard boats· Providing Christian pastoral and practical help, including problems with debt, sickness, bereavement, family difficulties, debt and addiction problems.

Q: Who are the main sponsors of the event?
A: Pommery Champagne is the title sponsor and has been for the last three years. Others sponsors include: Roasting Plank and Weird Fish.
Q: What is the festival all about and what will be there?
A: The festival is the largest FREE seafood festivals in the UK and one of the many vibrant food festivals taking place in the summer. Weymouth harbour is transformed into a giant street food market with over 80 stalls serving freshly prepared seafood food. Visitors can also enjoy demonstration from celebrity chefs, wine and foraging experts. New additions to this year’s festival include:
·         A ‘How To Marquee’ with demonstration on fish filleting, debates on sustainable fishing and oyster shucking competitions
·         Pop-up cinema screening of 20,000 Leagues under the Sea with live DJ and musicians providing the soundtrack, presented by b-side multi-media arts festival
Q: What sort of food will be served at the festival?
A: Each year the stalls offer different seafood dishes. Last year’s menus included:
·         Mussels Orientale cooked in white wine
·         Moroccan fish seafood tagine
·         Handmade seafood pizza with seafood toppings,
·         Seafood and mango stir fry
·         Jelly & ice cream (lobster jelly with horseradish ice cream on a seaweed blini
·         Classic moules frites
·         Moules with lychee and coconut sauce
·         Punjabi and Mumbai fish curry with fish pakora
·         Lyme Bay bergamot cured mackerel
·         West Bay char grilled monk fish with honey spiced pork belly
·         Marinated cod tongues
·         Monkfish cheeks wrapped in Parma ham
·         BBQ razor clams in garlic and chilli butter
·         Crepes with smoked salmon and crème fraiche
·         Seafood chowder
·         Sprats with spiced tabbouleh and  fresh mackerel wraps with horseradish mayonnaise



Q: Which chefs will be attending this year?
A: Confirmed chefs include; Mark Hix, Mat Follas, John Wright, Lesley Waters, Russell Brown and from the South West Richard Bertinet, Matt Cook and Duncan Lucas.
Q: Will there be a festival programme?
A: A full festival programme will be available in June and there is also a festival app which can be downloaded here
Q: Where can I find photos for the festival?
A: Click here for a full gallery of images
Q: Is there a festival video?
A: Dorset Seafood Festival video can be viewed here
Q: Does the festival have a mission statement?
A: Yes. The Dorset Seafood Festival is a charitable food festival, organised by the Weymouth Harbour Traders Association Ltd, a non-profit making social enterprise dedicated to the improvement and promotion of Weymouth’s harbour for the benefit of its visitors, businesses and the community.
The festival celebrates Dorset’s inseparable links with the sea and its fishing communities and takes place on Weymouth’s historic Waterfront. The roads around the Old Harbour are closed to traffic for the weekend of the event to allow the erection of a Seafood Village where many different species of fish and shellfish are prepared and cooked in the open for festival visitors.
The festival theme explores the journey our seafood takes from ‘Sea to Plate’ and provides visitors with an enriching experience that is not only entertaining, but imparts a better understanding of the sea, the fishermen and the difficulties they face, the coast and the issues of sustainable fishing and environmental impact.
Q: What are the Festival Aims?
A: The aims of the festival are:
§  Providing a positive educational value in a fun, enjoyable way, the festival aims to:
  • Promote seafood in the interests of the Nation’s health
  • Encourage people, especially young people, to eat more fish
  • Promote sustainability and responsible fishing
  • Enrich people’s knowledge of seafood and seafood industry
  • Develop links throughout Dorset with the fishing industry, processors, suppliers, restaurants and hotels
  • Promote the excellence of local produce
  • Attract students into the catering industry
  • Raise charitable funds for The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen


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