MEDIA INFORMATION

27th February 2017

The UK’s most popular Seafood Festival announce

Sponsors− Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival - 10-year anniversary in 2017 −

The UK’s largest Seafood Festival, the Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival has announced its sponsors for this year’s 10th anniversary. The free to attend festival is committed to raising funds for the Fishermen’s Mission, the first port of call for fishermen and their families. Title sponsor, Champagne Pommery’s continued support and loyalty allows the festival to build on its national reputation and an opportunity to invest in the future development of the festival.

The 10th Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival takes place on the 8th and 9th July around the historic harbour. Sponsors this year include:

Sara Hicks – Director, Champagne Pommery commented: “It was a simple decision all those years ago, to sponsor the Dorset Seafood Festival. It is still an easy decision to continue the support and of course be headline sponsor. The festival explores the journey our seafood takes from ‘Sea to Plate’ and not only provides visitors with divine food and of course the best champagne, but it also imparts a better understanding of the sea, the fishermen and the difficulties they face, the coast and the issues of sustainable fishing and the environmental impact.”

Pommery source all its grapes from some of the very best vineyards in the Champagne region with a high proportion from those rated Grand Cru. The brand has an amazing wine maker, Chef de Cave Thierry Gasco who expertly creates Pommery champagne by blending Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Meunier so that the champagne has vivacity, is fresh and has plenty of finesse.

Returning as sponsors for a second year is the Demo Theatre Sponsor Fisher & Paykel. A global design led appliance company best known for its innovative products, such as the DishDrawer™ dishwasher and ActiveSmart™ fridge and continuing the extremely popular ‘The Social Kitchen’, from last year’s event.

Helen Haider, Marketing Manager, Fisher & Paykel commented: “We are delighted to be re-turning as a sponsor to the Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival, especially for the 10 th year celeb-rations. In addition to supporting the demo line up, we want to show you that you can create amazing food with our oven but that ultimately it is about getting together, eating great food and enjoying being together.

“Anyone can have a “Social Kitchen”. It can be your work mates meeting for lunch and talking about the latest project, it can be meeting with your extended family for a special birthday cel-ebration, or it could be meeting a group of strangers at a food festival and sitting together to try some amazing food, and finding you have this love of food in common. It’s all about Real Products for Real People for their Real Lives.”

Weird Fish has been involved with the Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival for many years now and continue to support the festival by being a sponsor. It’s not just the name that makes them a great fit for the festival though! Weird Fish is about relaxed and easy going clothes that give you that ‘forever weekend feeling’, becoming instant feel good favourites. Much like the festival itself!

Dan Marsland, Head of Marketing – Weird Fish commented: “Having a stand at the festival really makes us feel part of the event – we have had our store in Weymouth Town Centre for many years now – but smelling all the delicious food and seeing people walking around in our clothes brings great pleasure. The Festival gets bigger and better every year. The variety of food available is fantastic, as is the organisation, everyone we chat to on our stand is having a great time. Look out for our competition this year – you won’t want to miss it” Dorset Food & Drink is really pleased to be once again taking part in the Pommery Dorset Sea-food Festival, bringing together many local producers. Dorset Food & Drink is a membership or-ganisation to promote, grow, strengthen, and celebrate the outstanding food and drink sector in Dorset.

Katharine Wright, Dorset Food & Drink Coordinator commented: “To be part of such a fant-astic event for Weymouth and the wider brand of Dorset Festival gives us an ideal opportunity to shout about what a great County we are for food and drink. Our Marquee brings a real local producer element to the festival”.

A brand-new sponsor to the event is Volvo Cars Poole. Volvo Cars Poole is Dorset’s new Volvo retailer based at Holes Bay, Poole. The luxurious car range, coupled with the highest levels of customer service, fit perfectly with lovers of quality food and dining.

Catherine Hawkings, Marketing Assistant at Volvo Cars Poole commented: “Volvo Cars Poole is delighted to be involved with this year’s Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival as a new sponsor in the 10th year of this hugely popular event. We are looking forward to bringing a taste of Sweden to the festival and showcasing vehicles from the award-winning Volvo model range”.

Hall & Woodhouse also join the festival as new sponsors. Owned and run by the seventh generation of the Woodhouse family, the company is proud to be a leading independent regional brewer. With an established pub estate of beautiful pubs in great locations across the South of England, Hall & Woodhouse has amazing pub locations – Weymouth harbour being one of them! Badger beer remains the golden thread that runs throughout the business and the team are at the heart of everything they aspire to.

Seafish continues to support the festival, inspiring and educating festival goers about seafood. Trying one of the many species of seafood that Dorset has to offer and knowing that the local fishing community is working with high quality fish, caught in a responsible way is very special.

Dream Cottages has always been a big supporter of the festival. Many people come from outside of Dorset and stay in the town and surrounding areas – just to sample the seafood! Dream Cottages has over 300 of the finest holiday cottages available around Dorset & the Jurassic coastline, Dorset is famous for the stunning Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and natural landmarks like Durdle Door, Old Harry Rocks, the Isle of Purbeck, Chesil Beach and of course Weymouth Harbour.

Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival celebrates its 10-year milestone this year. The festival draws crowds of over 50,000 people and hosts some of the top names in seafood produce, chefs, and fishing. Chefs for this year’s event which are confirmed include: Dan Doherty, Neil Rankin, Gizzi Erskine, Mitch Tonks, Peter Gordon, Sophie Michell, Duncan Lucas – Passionate About Fish, Nigel Bloxham – Crab House Café, Matt Budden – Hilton, Pete Murt – Rick Stein’s, Jeremy Pax-man is booked to speak in our Fish Tails feature.

A not-for-profit event, the organisers raise money for the Fishermen’s Mission.

EndsEditor’s Notes

Issued on behalf of Pommery Dorset Seafood Festival by In The Bag PR For more information please see www.dorsetseafood.co.uk or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

For further information please contact; Sophie Kermani, Director – In The Bag PR TEL: 07739554794 and EMAIL: sophie@inthebagpr.co.uk

Dorset Seafood Festival represents the UK’s largest, free-to-attend seafood festival, recently winning Gold in the Dorset Tourism Awards for Tourism Event of the Year as well as Outstanding Contribution to Tourism and Silver in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in 2015/2016.

Charity Information - The Fishermen’s MissionThe Fishermen’s Mission is the only fishermen’s charity that provides emergency support alongside practical and emotional care. It helps all fishermen, active or retired, and their families. It does this by:

Offering immediate assistance, day or night, to the families of fishermen who have been killed or seriously injured

Looking after the survivors of fishing boat accidents · Helping injured or ill fishermen to find medical help · Finding emergency housing and food if necessary

Supporting fishermen’s families in the case of illness, distress or financial difficulties Alleviating loneliness by visiting retired fishermen and their families at home or in hospi-

tal Offering welfare and support to overseas fishermen working in the UK fishing industry, espe-

cially those who have to live onboard boats · Providing Christian pastoral and practical help, including problems with debt, sickness, bereavement, family difficulties and addiction prob-lems.