TV Chef Jenny Bristow for Achill Seafood Festival
Celebrated chef and author Jenny Bristow will be the Guest of Honour at this year’s Féile Bia na Mara, Achill Island’s popular seafood festival. The event is a culinary celebration of Achill’s rich heritage with the sea. It will begin on Thursday 15th July with complimentary oyster tasting in the local pubs and restaurants and continue through Sunday 18th July.
Jenny will officially open the festival at the Gala Seafood Buffet in Ostán Oileann Acla on Friday 16th, where every imaginable type of seafood will be displayed in a traditional Achill currach. Guests will enjoy live music and dance into the small hours. Tickets are highly sought-after, so reserve a place at this mouth-watering event by ringing Achill Tourism at 098 47353.
On Saturday morning Jenny will host a food forum Q&A session in the Park Inn Hotel, Mulranny, followed by a cookery demonstration on Saturday afternoon in Gielty’s Clew Bay in Dooagh, where she will cook some of the 34 species of fish to be found around Achill’s coastline.
Throughout the weekend there will be an array of activities available: Seaweed Safaris, Fish Markets, family Sand Castle Competition, Cailín agus Buachaill Óg, ‘Achill’s Got Talent’, Seafood BBQs and an RNLI Lifeboat and Coastguard Demonstration are only some of what’s on offer.
“This is a fantastic festival that highlights our unique coastal community,” said Kate O’Malley of Achill Tourism. “There will be a variety of maritime activities on offer, and visitors will experience genuine Irish island culture and fun – not to mention everyone’s seafood favourites!” Dúirt sí, “Tá seanfhocal do Féile Bia na Mara: is maith an t-anlann an t-ocras”.
Féile Bia na Mara aims to promote local seafood, marine activities and water safety awareness, and to celebrate the cultural heritage of Achill Island and the Gaeltacht. The weekend of fun and feasting is sponsored by Údarás na Gaeltachta.
