Brian Turner CBE and Jean-Christophe Novelli, are heading to Whitby as part of the free festival
Picture yourself in Whitby. If you’re not clutching a steaming portion of fish and chips, you’re not doing it right.
There’s something very special about this North Yorkshire coastal town’s chippies, but apparently they are not its entire seafood story. In fact, according to the people behind the new Fish & Ships Festival, Whitby’s delicious fish and chips are just a drop in its culinary ocean.
‘It’s a great time to be casting a spotlight on Whitby as a fishing town,’ said festival organiser Janet Deacon. ‘Whitby scampi is more popular than ever – the Yorkshire coast is now the largest supplier of scampi in the world – while its fish restaurants, like Trenchers and the Magpie Café, are winning awards as the UK’s best. Meanwhile, Yorkshire’s shellfish – its crab and lobster – is amongst the best in the country, with some of the UK’s biggest fishing ports exporting across Europe.
‘But that’s just dipping our toe in the water. During the festival, we’ll be making the most of Whitby’s extraordinary seafood harvest, showing visitors how to catch, fillet and dress a huge variety of locally-caught seafood as well as cooking it up in live demos and transforming the daily catch with barbecues on the pier.’
Two of the UK’s top TV chefs, Yorkshire’s own Brian Turner CBE and Jean-Christophe Novelli, are heading to Whitby as part of the free festival, which runs from May 18th-19th.
As well as Brian (appearing on Saturday at 11.30am and 1.30pm) and Jean-Christophe (Sunday, 12.30pm and 2.30pm), visitors will also be able to see top local chefs and producers like multi-award-winning Rob Green, Paul Gildroy, Martyn Hyde, Tim Lawrence, and Fish Craft Champion 2018 Andrew Barker championing Whitby’s seafood in the food theatre.
Once appetites are well and truly whetted, restaurants across the town will be serving up special ‘Dishes of the Festival’.
‘Having visited Whitby, one of the great fishing ports of the United Kingdom, as a child, I am so excited to be coming back to demonstrate in the food theatre,’ said Brian. ‘I’m looking forward to using some fantastic local produce as well as joining some great talented local chefs.’
The festival is not just about seafood though. Whitby was once an international maritime centre and is still one of the few places left in Britain where visitors can experience the seafarer’s way of life from sea to shore as it’s been for hundreds of years.
Modern Whitby is home to one of the UK’s leading boat builders and its coastal colleges have become premier training grounds for the next generation of mariners and chefs, with alumni like Michelin-starred Andrew Pern and TV chef James Martin leading the charge.
‘I’m excited to be coming to the Fish & Ships Festival, promoting the local fishing and boat building industries and supporting the great local chefs and cooks,’ said Jean-Christophe. ‘I hope people will come to see my demonstrations of quick and healthy dishes with fabulous fresh fish and seafood. I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the people who live and work around Whitby, as well as those who will be visiting this lovely seaside town.’
For more details, visit discoveryorkshirecoast.com.
