Seafood Week Sails Into St George’s Market
Weekend events programme kicks off Northern Irish activity in nationwide campaign to encourage people to eat more fish and shellfish
Foodies, families and friends alike can prepare to have their taste buds tantalised when the Seafood Week celebrations return to St George’s Market, from Friday 4 October to Sunday 6 October 2019.
Seafood Week is an annual campaign run by Seafish, the public body which supports the £10bn UK seafood industry, as part of its work to encourage people to eat more seafood, more often. The Northern Irish Seafood Week celebration taking place in St George’s Market has been organised in partnership with Belfast City Council, Food NI and the market’s seafood sellers.
This is the second year that the market has celebrated Seafood Week and once again visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy seafood preparation and cookery demonstrations and taste some fantastic local seafood.
Activities running over the weekend will include:
- Top local chefs – including Andy Rea of the Mourne Seafood Bar, Ian Hunter of the Belfast Cookery School, Grainne Donnelly of Stock Kitchen & Bar and Susan Gillespie of Chowder Up! Seafood – cooking a delicious variety of seafood dishes in the market’s Demo Kitchen throughout the weekend.
- Local students from South Eastern Regional College showcasing their seafood skills in the kitchen on the Friday 4 October with a “Buy it, Cook it, Eat it!” event, where visitors can buy fresh local seafood at the fishmongers’ stalls then get it cooked right in front of them at the demo kitchen.
- Master fishmonger, Hal Dawson will be on hand on Sunday 6 October to provide classes in how to perfectly fillet a fish.
- Local celebrity neurosurgeon Dr Mano Shanmuganathan of Treasure Island with Bear Grylls fame, will be cooking “off the hip” with Andy Rea and Hal Dawson on Sunday afternoon and highlighting the many health benefits of eating seafood.
- There will even be an opportunity to enjoy listening to a sea shanty or two, with live music from well-known local musicians bringing a tuneful note to the celebrations.
Dr Annika Clements, Seafish Northern Ireland Manager, said: “We’re absolutely delighted to be partnering with Belfast City Council, Food NI and the local seafood traders to celebrate Seafood Week at St George’s Market. With an exciting programme of events planned from 4-6 October, it’s a great opportunity to promote the fantastic variety of delicious fish and shellfish available and give local seafood lovers a chance to tempt their taste buds and try something new. I’d encourage everyone who’s in the area to stop by and join the festivities.”
Susan Gillespie of ChowderUp! Seafood said: “Chowder Up! Seafood are delighted to participate in this fantastic event where we will help to showcase the versatility of our local seafood and hope to inspire people to be more adventurous with their seafood choices”
Now in its fifth year, Seafood Week aims to encourage the consumption of seafood everywhere – whether it’s cooked and enjoyed at home, in a café or restaurant, or at the local fish and chip shop – and to promote the fantastic variety of species available in the UK and celebrate the health benefits of this delicious protein source.
This year’s campaign will run from 4-11 October with activity delivered from Seafish’s consumer brand Fish is the Dish. People can get involved and join the Seafood Week conversation online by tagging @fishisthedish using the hashtag #seafoodweek.
To find out more about Seafood Week visit: https://www.fishisthedish.co.uk/seafoodweek
For further information about the event at St George’s Market or Seafish’s work in Northern Ireland contact Dr Annika Clements, Seafish Regional Manager Northern Ireland, on annika.clements@seafish.co.uk.
