Seafood Week Set For A Flying Start

Seafood Week 2007 is off to a great start, with a host of well known chefs, hotels and restaurants signing up for the campaign which runs from the 5-12 October. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Tom Parker Bowles, Nick Nairn and Brian Turner are just some of the top names who have pledged their support for the annual seafood celebration.

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who is supporting the campaign for the first time, said: “Without fish and shellfish, I’d feel pretty bereft in the kitchen. I eat seafood several times a week and many of my failsafe, ready-in-20-minutes weekday suppers are based on fish simply fried, grilled or roasted. I am endlessly inspired by the enormous variety of edible creatures that swim in our seas.”

Major UK-wide hotel chain, Macdonald Hotels has also signed up as a partner and is currently planning activity across its 48 hotels. Alan Swinson, director of catering for the Group, said: “Seafood features heavily on the menus across all of our hotels. We place a big emphasis on the source of our seafood and we will be using Seafood Week to encourage our diners to try something different and to remind them of how tasty fresh fish can be.”

Other organisations to sign up to Seafood Week so far include Seafood Award winner, Jim Cowie of The Captain’s Galley Restaurant in Caithness; the Marston’s Pub Company; Best Western Hotels and Loch Fyne Restaurants.

Seafood Week is now in its seventh year and is run by UK industry body Seafish. For the second year running, ‘2 a week’ is the theme, encouraging everybody to eat the recommended two portions a week, as recommended by the Food Standards Agency. Chris Stevens, commercial manager of Seafish said: “We’ve had a fabulous response from restaurants, bars and retailers across the UK, who all recognise the many benefits that taking part can bring. Seafood Week is an excellent way of raising awareness of the many different varieties of seafood available and has proven to increase sales.”

For further information or to sign up to Seafood Week log onto Seafoodweek.co.uk.