Torbay’s friendliest family seafood and music festival returns

Now in its 4th year, the Paignton Harbour Festival, Torbay’s friendliest family seafood and music festival takes place at the harbour on Saturday 28th July, founded by Crabstock’s Adrian Bartlett and Alan Henderson, Operations Manager for the Blue Sea Food Company, (formerly Browse Brothers) with their committee including Paignton’s Harbourmaster Simon Pinder and local Paignton townspeople to raise awareness of the harbour area and money for the Brixham Fishermans Mission and South Devon and Channel Shellfishermen Association.

This family friendly event has lots to do including chef demonstrations of locally caught seafood and fish by day including Silla Bjerrum, founder of Sushi delivery company Feng Sushi, in London and Jacques Marchal is best known in Plymouth for Chez Nous, the Michelin fine-dining restaurant in Frankfort Gate he ran with his wife Suzanne from 1980 to 2003. With others chefs to be announced, and live music all day and evening, children’s activities including Circus Skills activities, craft and artisan food stalls, as well as Devonshire Cream Tea’s, and the traditional beer tent. There will be fishing demonstration on Fairy Cove and Rowing Races for local teams to participate in. Visitors can arrive in style from Brixham and Torquay, avoiding the traffic with the Paignton Pleasure Cruises ferry. Last year’s attendance was more than 4000 people.

For the first time this year, as part of the festival, there will be an exclusive black tie pop-up restaurant event – “The Picking Room” held in the former Browse Brother Crab Factory (now the Blue Sea Food Company) on the South Quay of the harbour for 70 guests with local chef Nigel Bloxham cooking up a shellfish storm, and musical entertainment by sea shanty group The Back Beach Boys from Teignmouth, who have been supporters of the festival since the beginning.

 www.paigntonharbourfestival.co.uk