An evening for Seafood Lovers at Queenie Festival Extravaganza!

For seafood lovers, the hottest up and coming ticket in town is The Seafood Extravaganza, a night of fine dining and live music taking place during Port St Mary’s annual Queenie Festival. On Saturday 30 June, Port St Mary’s quayside will be transformed for the night by a grand marquee, where diners will be able to enjoy a delicious seafood feast prepared by top visiting chefs, followed by live music from popular band Skeet.

Queenies will of course feature on the menu which are prized for their subtle texture and flavour, and are increasingly finding their way onto the menus of celebrated restaurants in the UK. Once again, The Queenie Festival has invited a number of celebrated chefs – including Simon Wadham, Head Chef at London’s Rivington, Dave McCarthy, Head Chef of London’s Scotts, Pascal Proyart, Head Chef of London’s One o One, Marcus Verberne, Head Chef of London’s Roast and Mat Follas of The Wild Garlic in Dorset. Guests at the Seafood Extravaganza can enjoy a special chance to taste the fruits of their labour – along with those of popular local chefs, amongst the sumptuous fare on offer during the evening. All of these chef’s will be giving cooking demonstrations in the quayside food theatre over the festival weekend.

Guests at the event will receive champagne and a selection of delicate canapés upon arrival, followed by a fabulous seafood feast, dessert, cheeseboard and coffee and mints. Dancing shoes are advised for the second half of the evening when local band Skeet will take to the stage to perform a rousing set of non-stop popular covers spanning the ages. As well as wine lists to accompany dinner, there will be a bar open throughout the night.

Tickets for the event, which runs from 7pm till 11.45pm, are £50.00 per person, with seating on tables of ten; corporate tables can be easily arranged. Places are strictly limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis – call Tim Croft on 834494 or 495930 to reserve your place or table.

Previous Masterchef Winner Mat Follas to appear at Queenie Festival

Masterchef 2009 winner Mat Follas will be appearing at Port St Mary on Saturday 30 and Sunday 1 July as part of the Isle of Man Queenie Festival this year.  Over the weekend Mat will be cooking up a number of Queenie dishes in the festival’s food theatre which is hosted by the Isle of Man’s very own Kathryn Sentence of Relish Cookery School.

Mat was born in Portsmouth, Hampshire, where his father had been posted with the New Zealand Navy. Although he grew-up in New Zealand, Mat has spent most of his adult life in England and has made the UK his home. Mat’s background is in engineering. Beginning with an apprenticeship at the Naval Dockyards in Auckland, NZ, his career took him to Melbourne, Australia and then to London, before returning to New Zealand to gain a degree in Electronics & Computer Science as a mature student. He has been living in the UK and has built a very successful career in IT over the last 12 years. Outside of his career, Mat loves to travel widely, spending time in Central Europe, North America and South East Asia, including a period living in Thailand teaching people to scuba dive. This wide exposure to different cultures and food is reflected in his cooking influences.

Cooking at a high level came late to Mat. After moving to West Dorset with his family in 2002, Mat discovered that British waters offer great scuba diving opportunities, and with that came lots of fresh seafood. A day’s cooking course at Rick Stein’s Seafood School was the start of a journey that included winning the popular TV series Masterchef in 2009 and opening and running his own restaurant The Wild Garlic to considerable acclaim. The Wild Garlic was given some of the highest scores ever by The Guardian 9½/10 and The Telegraph 9/10 it has also been listed or recommended in the AA Restaurant guide, The Good Food Guide and The Michelin guide since the first year of opening.

Tim Croft, Queenie Festival organiser commented on Mat’s appearance, “We are delighted to welcome Mat to the Queenie Festival this year. He has been an advocate of Manx Queenies since tasting them at the BBC Good Food Show back in 2009. Since then Mat always hoped to attend the Queenie festival and this year we have been lucky enough to secure his appearance in what is a very busy time of year for him. Once again it shows the appeal that the Queenie Festival has and I can’t wait to try some of his dishes.”

2012 sees Mat working in partnership with the Dorset Wildlife Trust at their new centre on Chesil beach at Ferry Bridge, Portland. His new venture, The Chesil Beach Cafe, is a family friendly beach cafe where he will aim to cater for the regular beach customers with a range of cheerful and delicious takeaway meals and bacon rolls as well as sit down lunch and dinner for the family using, amongst more traditional kitchen equipment, the Chesil Beach Cafe’s own indoor BBQ for the best burgers and mackerel baps around.

To see Mat and the many other attractions taking place as part of The Isle of Man Queenie Festival Marine Weekend be sure to head to Port St Mary on Saturday 30 June and Sunday 1 July between 11am and 5pm.

Entries are open for the ‘Mezeron Manx Mile’ Open Water Swim.

The Mezeron Manx Mile open swim takes place on Saturday 30th June 2012, 12 midday registration for 1pm race start, at Chapel Beach, Port St Mary, Isle of Man. If you aren’t familiar with the Island, type “The Promenade, Port St Mary” into google maps and you’ll find where we are!

Online entries only, through SiEntries here

Details for the swim are as follows:

Distances are Junior (12-u16) 800m; Novice (16+) 800m; Senior (16+) 1600m (2 laps of the junior course), run under BLDSA rules, with categories for wetsuit and costume swims. Entries close 25 June. We’re using electronic timing chips this year, so entries are limited at present although we may add extra waves if there is high demand.

The Course!

The swim is part of the “Isle of Man Queenie Festival – A Celebration of the Sea” with lots of other events including the Sure Beach Party the night before the swim, bands, food stalls, crafts, water events, and a party on the Saturday evening after the swim.  There will be a group fun-swim on the Sunday morning as well, unless we have had to psotpone the race to Sunday morning in the event of poor weather on the Saturday.

For anyone wanting to get some practice in beforehand, we meet at the slipway near the Bay pub, Port Erin every Sunday all year round, come snow or (occassional) sun at 10.30 for a group swim. Please be aware the group swims are in the public beach area, but are at your own risk and don’t have safety boat cover. It’s still quite cold in the sea, around 8degC rising to around 13degC by the time of the race, so wetsuits would be recommended if you haven’t been in regularly as we swim for around 20-30minutes, but we go for a hot chocolate in the cafe afterwards though!

For tips and discussion, our Facebook page is at  or search for IOM Open Water Swimming Club.

Anyone wanting to use the swim as a charity fundraiser is more than welcome, or help us support our local Channel Relay Team raising money for Aspire Spinal Injuries through and you can donate here.

Please let me know if you don’t want to receive any further e-mails about this or future events, or if you have friends who may be interested please feel free to pass on their details and i’ll add them to the mailing list.

If you are able to promote the event on your website, we would be very grateful, and if you require any further information please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

If you are a kayaker or boat handler who is able to help with safety cover, please get in touch.

We will be holding a second race 2 weeks later on 14th July 2012 as part of the Port Erin Beach Festival and Sport Regatta, with details to follow shortly.

New Zealand Teenage Singer Songwriter to perform at Queenie Festival Sure Beach Party

Rory Malone, teenage singer song writer from Tauranga, New Zealand will be taking to the stage as the first live act of the Isle of Man Queenie Festival this year.

Rory, somewhat of an up and coming star in New Zealand will kick off the Sure Beach Party start in what promises to be a great evening’s entertainment down on Port Erin Beach on Friday 29 June.

Rory who was born in Lincoln, England and moved to New Zealand when he was 4 years old. He lived in Masterton until he was 9 then moved up to Tauranga. Rory has become a well-known in the music scene in New Zealand and he moved to the UK in March to pursue his solo career.

His first taste of music was performing as the lead singer and song writer of A Kiss Goodbye. Over a five year period Rory had many memorable highlights. When he turned 16, A Kiss Goodbye opened for Panic at the Disco at the Vector Arena in Auckland. This was followed by a number of large gigs over subsequent years.

He is currently working on a new set especially for the festival audience. His song writing is influenced by artists including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, John Mayer, The Beatles, and Nevershoutnever. The new acoustic set promises to appeal to a wide age range.  His plan is to perform 100 gigs from John O’ Groats to Lands End!

The Sure Beach Party will take on the 29 June at Port Erin Beach between 6pm and 11pm and is free to everyone!

Top Seafood Chef Pascal Proyart to attend Queenie Festival 2012

Pascal Proyart, head chef of one of the most highly acclaimed fish restaurants in London ‘One-o-one’ will be attending this year’s Isle of Man Queenie Festival.

Pascal will be cooking up a whole host of seafood delights including some superb French classics with a Manx twist during the Saturday and Sunday of the festival held on the quay in Port St Mary as part of the Relish cookery theater.

Pascal was born and raised in a similar size fishing village to Port St Mary, on the Brittany coast, where his family have been restaurateurs for three generations. His formal chef training began at "Les Sorbets" Hotel School in Noirmoutier where he remained for two years, before his military service in Africa.

Pascal then spent a decade working in a number of hotels and restaurants throughout Europe, with Yves Mattagnes and Jacques le Divellec at the two-star Michelin Sea Grill in Brussels and the two-star Michelin Le Divellec in Paris.

Amongst many of his accolades Pascal has won a number of catering industry awards including a "Trophée Lauffer Delta d'Or, and a Silver Plate from "Chaîne des Rôtisseurs" in 1996. He has also made a number of TV appearances on the BBC’S Celebrity Master Chef and The Good Food Channel’s Market Kitchen.

Pascal’s philosophy on cooking has always been to use the freshest fish and he shares a strong belief in sustainability.

Tim Croft, festival organiser commented, “It is fantastic that the Isle of Man Queenies festival now draws some of the world’s best chefs. When I spoke to Pascal and explained to him what the key messages of the festival were, including sustainability and conservation he couldn’t wait to put Queenies on his restaurant menu and also take part in the festival.”

Be a part of this years festival?

The hugely popular Queenie Festival will once again be back between 29 June and 1 July, bringing its usual three days of fun entertainment, marine activities, local heritage and of course fantastic seafood! This year organisers are hoping that the public will help to make the fifth annual ‘celebration of the sea’ the best yet by getting involved or lending a hand.

A truly local, community event, the Isle of Man Queenie Festival showcases Manx produce, culture, wildlife and the Isle of Man’s beautiful seascape. As in previous years, the Friday evening ‘Sure Beach Party’ in Port Erin will kick off proceedings with live music and plenty of giveaways. Then the festival moves to Port St Mary harbour and Chapel Bay for a packed weekend programme for all ages and interests.

As well as favourite features such as the Trawler Race, chef cooking demonstrations and the Manx Mile Swim, there’ll be a host of things to see, do and sample, whether it’s a scuba try-out or a plate of delicious seafood cooked to order.

The festival organisers are inviting expressions of interest from anyone who would like to support the Queenie Festival, whether that is sponsorship of an individual element or by lending a hand with any aspect of the preparation and running of the festival.

Tim Croft, festival organiser commented, “The Queenie Festival has gone from strength to strength each year thanks to the generosity of our sponsors and all our volunteers. We’re now looking for people to help make sure that the 2012 event is our most successful yet.

“As well as the feel-good factor of supporting your local community and marine conservation, you’re guaranteed to have a great time getting into the festival spirit and enjoying the many attractions and events taking place”.

The Queenie Festival is also welcoming enquiries from stallholders – especially artists, craftspeople and local producers – and any bands, musicians or entertainers who are interested in performing live during the festival. It’s a great opportunity to play to a friendly crowd while supporting a 100% local initiative”.

To find out more about how you can get involved in Queenie Festival 2012, simply contact Tim Croft on 834494 or email timcroft@islandseafare.co.uk

Sure invite you to their beach party birthday bash!

Sure will be celebrating their Isle of Man 5^th birthday this year and as part of the celebrations they will once again be hosting a beach party in Port Erin as part of the Isle of Man Queenie Festival 2012.

The Sure Beach Party will be taking place on Friday 29 June under the fantastic backdrop of Bradda head, Port Erin beach will be transformed into a fun packed entertainment zone, this year with an Olympic flavour!

The evening will get underway at 6pm and promises a whole heap of fun with activities for everyone young and old, including the 2012 Beach Olympics!  There will be the usual favourites making an appearance with live music from several local bands, fun and games for the kids, the popular seafood BBQ and new for 2012 and omitted from the London games, ‘The Mackerel Dash’!  All of the entertainment is free of charge and the Sure team will be on hand with competitions and giveaways galore, so it promises to be a real celebration!

Kate Hegarty Marketing Manager of Sure commented “Over the years the beach party has been such a great community event especially for the south of the island and we are very proud to be associated with it once again!  It’s our fourth year sponsoring the event and our fifth year of being on the Isle of Man, so we want to make it a real celebration. We’ll be providing birthday cake for everyone, so there is even more reason to join in the fun this year!

The event marks the start of the Isle of Man Queenie Festival weekend. Following on from the beach party the event will move to Port St Mary where it will host the popular Marine Weekend taking place on Saturday and Sunday on the quayside.

Tim Croft, Queenie Festival organiser said, “We are extremely grateful for the support of Sure for the Port Erin Beach party again this year. Sure as a sponsor provide fantastic resources as well as financial assistance to enhance the event year on year.   We hope that as many people as possible come down to and join in the entertainment that will be laid on and have a great fun filled evening.”

Golden Queenie Still At Large

Cluemaster guards secret whereabouts of £4,000 hidden treasure.

The sun might now have set on another successful Queenie Festival (1st – 3rd July) but the case of the Golden Queenie Conundrum is most definitely still open!

The festival organisers promised that this year’s conundrum would be the ‘toughest ever’ and it looks as though they’ve been as good as their word, for the location of the Golden Queenie – which has an estimated retail value of £4,000 – is still a mystery to the many treasure hunters on its trail.

In only its third year, the cryptic challenge, reminiscent of the Cadbury’s Golden Egg treasure hunt in the early 1980s, has become a hugely popular tradition. Taking people far and wide to local landmarks and hidden corners, it tests people’s knowledge of the Island’s geography and history, myth and language.

The conundrum clues were first released in the second week of June via the festival programme and website, and, all over the Island, people set out to find the golden shell.
Six weeks and much head scratching later, organiser Tim Croft is urging people not to give up: “We asked our Cluemaster to make the conundrum particularly fiendish this year because we know the calibre of our treasure hunters – they’re a determined, resourceful lot!

“All I can say is, keep puzzling – the prize is out there, just waiting to be claimed! Don’t be put off if you’re new to the search, you’ve got just as much chance of cracking the code as someone who’s already familiar with the clues”.
The conundrum consists of 14 riddles. Entered into a grid, the answers will yield a 13 digit code; only by texting a mobile number revealed by the 14th answer will participants receive their final instruction, leading them to the location of the treasure.

The Cluemaster, who insists on remaining anonymous, refuses to shed light on any of the cryptic clues. Pressed at length, however, he gives the following tips: “The answers may be in Manx or English, and they may be numbers or letters. When the grid is complete, you should have a random alpha-numeric code.
“To search in earnest, you’ll need a map (the Ordnance Survey Outdoor Leisure Map, 1:25000)…and a ruler. This is all I can tell you”.

Treasure hunters have been sharing their progress and frustrations on the Queenie Festival website, with one commenting, “I think I’ll be very pleased whoever wins, as I’ll know they have put in more than enough work to deserve it”.

Top Chefs cooking up a treat this year!

Once again two top UK chef’s will cook up some great seafood and Queenie treats for festival goers this year! Lets take a look in more detail!

SIMON WADHAM, HEAD CHEF
RIVINGTON GRILL

Born on the Isle of Wight, Simon attended Kingham Hill School in Oxfordshire before joining the army aged 15, serving abroad for the next seven years. Upon leaving the army he began working at the fashionable Joe’s Café in South Kensington. He then went to work for Oliver Peyton at Atlantic Bar & Grill, spending the next ten years working for Peyton, at most of his operations at one stage or another. In 2007, Simon joined Caprice Holdings as Head Chef at Rivington Grill Shoreditch and Greenwich where he works with locally sourced produce, creating distinctively British dishes. Outside of the kitchen, Simon is interested in film, mountain sports and sky diving.

RICHARD KIRKWOOD, HEAD CHEF
J SHEEKEY & J SHEEKEY OYSTER BAR

After school, Richard began working at Malmaison in his home city of Edinburgh. On moving to London he worked at The Hyde Park Hotel before joining Le Caprice as Demi Chef de Partie. In 1998 he helped to open the newly-refurbished J Sheekey as Junior Sous Chef. After taking a year off to travel he returned in 2003, working at Le Coq d’Argent and then rejoining Caprice Holdings at The Ivy. He took a break to help open the Paternoster Chop House before returning to The Ivy. In 2006, he moved back to J Sheekey as Senior Sous Chef and in 2009 was promoted to Head Chef.

Cracking Band line up!

Over the weekend of the festival there are some cracking band line ups to keep you entertained offering a variety or modern and traditional music and styles – do come along and support them!

Saturday – Sure Stage, Alfred Pier, Contemporary
12.00 – 1.00 Mr Eliminator & The Vipers
1.00 – 2.00 The Bus Pass Blues Band
2.00 – 3.00 Truman Falls
3.00 – 4.00 “Scallop Dancing on Thin Ice ”
4.00 – 5.00 Prize Presentations

Saturday – Hey Boy Stage, Rear of Lime Street, Manx & Celtic folk
11.00 – 12.00 Informal manx session
12.00 – 1.00 Mollag Band
1.00 – 2.00 Reeling Stones
2.00 – 3.00 Skeal
3.00 – 4.00 David Kinley band
4.00 – 5.00 Geoff Merchant

Sunday – Sure Stage, Alfred Pier, Contemporary Manx Youth Soundcheck day
12.00 - 1.00 Savage Tim
1.00 - 2.00 Jake Orrit, The Same
2.00 - 3.00 The Kinky Wizards
3.00 - 4.00 Four Along Zero, Scarlett Brunstrom
4.00 - 5.00 With Eyes Wide Shut

Sunday – Hey Boy Stage Rear of Lime Street, Manx & Celtic folk
12.00 – 1.00 Show Willing
1.00 – 2.00 Truman Falls
2.00 – 3.00 The Fecktones
3.00 – 4.00 Nick Barlow
4.00 – 5.00 Geoff Merchant

Tags: Bands, Entertainement, live music

Next Page »