Half Shell Manx Queenies popular with top UK restaurants

Half shell Manx Queenies are starting to gain some thing of a reputation in leading UK restaurants. With the increasing consumer demand for sustainable fish within restaurants Manx Queenies seem the ideal choice!

The Isle of Man Fishery is an well managed Queenie fishery with many of the boats owned by families with a strong heritage of fishing in the Isle of Man, going back generations.

During May and November the Isle of Man Queen Scallop trawl fishery has been awarded by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as a certified sustainable and well-managed fishery.

Half shell Manx Queenies are especially suited to restaurants as they have great plate coverage and over a bit of the wow factor! They are also very versatile, taking on lots of different flavours and are adaptable to many different types of cuisine.

So the next time your in London, keep a look out for Manx Queenies on the menu!

Could You Cook up a Seafood Storm?

Budding chefs invited to show their skills in Queenie Festival cooking competition

Are you passionate about seafood? Do you have a flair for experimenting and creating your own dishes? If so, then you could take top honours at a Masterchef-style cook-off at the 2011 Queenie Festival (1st – 3rd July).

The festival organisers, together with the Isle of Man Seafood Development Partnership, are running a competition to find the best recipe featuring Manx Queenies, and are now encouraging the Island’s hidden culinary genuises to come forward!

With their subtle taste and succulent texture, Queenies (Queen Scallops) are a strong favourite with discerning chefs and seafood lovers far and wide. What’s more, as Manx Queenies are sustainably sourced, they leave a good taste in the mouth ethically, too.

So, to help celebrate its success, the festival wants to know your winning ways with the small but mighty scallop. From amongst the entries received, two finalists will be chosen to go head to head in a live cook-off at 4pm on Sunday, the closing day of the festival.

The judging panel consists of the renowned UK chefs and food experts who, as the festival’s very special guests, will also be giving talks and demonstrations over the weekend: Simon Wadham and Richard Kirkwood, Head Chefs at London’s Rivington and J. Sheekey respectively, and food writer/broadcaster Henrietta Green. Alastair Hamilton, head of the Seafood Development Partnership, will also be on the panel.

The judges’ final decision will be followed by a prize presentation, when the victor will claim a personalised trophy and £100 worth of Paddy’s seafood.

Sounds tempting? Entry forms are downloadable from the festival website here; alternatively, you can pick one up from Paddy’s The Quay in Port St Mary or Paddy’s at the Victoria Road, Douglas Shoprite.

The competition is open to people of all ages and abilities – the only essential is enthusiasm! In your entry, you must include: the name of your dish, full details of your methods and ingredients, and a photo of the finished dish. The recipe should take no more than thirty minutes to prepare. The closing date for entries is 20th June, at 3pm, so get cracking!

Marine award presented to queen scallop fishery

THE Isle of Man’s queen scallops fishing industry was officially honoured in London yesterday when the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) awarded a coveted MSC certificate as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.

The certificate was presented at an industry dinner in Fishmongers’ Hall in central London and follows a 21-month assessment of Isle of Man-registered day boats using otter trawls instead of the traditional dredges.

Presenting the certificate, Claire Pescod, UK Fisheries Outreach Manager for the MSC, congratulated the Isle of Man fishermen on their certification.

“The certificate include a number of conditions on the fishery which will build on the good work already carried out in the run up to, and during the assessment by the fishermen, Isle of Man government and processors. I am looking forward to continuing to celebrate MSC certified queenies on the Isle of Man at the Queenie Festival. ”

Queen scallops are prized by more and more restaurants and a number of celebrity chefs are now using them in their cooking.

John Shimmin MHK, Minister for the Isle of Man Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture said, “MSC accreditation of the Isle of Man queenie fishery has only been possible as a result of the close working partnership between government, fishermen and processors.

“All three parties have worked hard over the last few years to improve the sustainability and quality of Isle of Man Queenies, which discerning consumers can now purchase with confidence.

“I hope in the coming months that we will be able to extend this partnership, and in time that the whole of the Irish Sea queenie stocks will be able to benefit from measures similar to those introduced in Manx waters. ”

Billy Caley, ex-skipper and owner of Isle of Man Seafood Ltd, added, “Fishermen and processors here on the Isle of Man have worked closely together to ensure that only the best quality queenies are landed, with the remainder of the stock being protected for the future.

“This award is recognition of this hard work and we look forward to supplying the first MSC certified queenies when the season re-opens on June 1st. “

Manx Queenies win Sustainable Seafood Award

Brilliant News – The Isle of Man Government has been working really hard over the past 5 years with it’s fishery and has rightly been recognised for the work it has done for the Manx Queenie. On Thursday a delegation went over to London for the annual Sustainable Seafood Awards held at the Billingsgate Seafood School.

Manx Queenies were against 5 other finalists which included the likes of the Wild Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for their Alaskan Cod, so the standard of entry was extremely high. Andy Reid the Director of the Fisheries on the Isle of Man presented the case in front of a panel of judges including industry experts, food journalists and scientists.

When the results were read out and the Isle of Man Manx Queenies had won, it was a fantastic moment for all concerned, Fishermen, processors and everyone involved in the success of the Queenie. Looks like the festival in July is gonna be a cracking celebration!
Check out the Manx Queenies on ITV here!

Queenies in the News

Check out the Manx Queenies as they make a storming appearance on Granada News! This is as a result of Manx Queenies winning the 2011 Sustainable Seafood Award 2011 held at Billingsgate in London on 28 January 2011. Its not the fist time the Manx Queenie has been on TV so there not shy to a bit of the limelight! Well done everyone involved and to the local people for all your support!

Fun on the Water goes Swimmingly!

The weather was in our favour again tonight and ‘Fun on the Water’ at the The Shore Hotel and Gansey went swimmingly.

Actually, quite literally as the first legs of the Scallop Shell Swims got under way. With contestants travelling from across to take part this was a really great event to watch. Have to say I chickened out this year!! The main swim was 1mile long and was won in a time well under 30 minutes which is pretty impressive.

The Kayaking sessions provided by Adventurous Experiences went down extremely well too and I believe a couple of the groups heading out had a couple of playful Seals swimming along with them! There was also a kayak race and Dinghy sailing to entertain the crowds gathered along the seafront to watch and cheer on the competitors. It was fantastic to see Gansey so busy especially on such a good night.

Manx Queenies were back on the menu with barbeque and of course the special Queenie Festival beer brewed especially to compliment the sweet taste of the Manx Queenie by Okell’s.

To round the night off nicely Truman Falls set up outside the Shore for an evening of live music. Queenie Beer was flowing pretty nicely when we left so I’m sure there’s still many hardy souls making the most of the weather and the festival.

Manx Queenies – the talk of the Southern Show!

It wasn’t prize bulls, Manx lamb or the newest tractor that was the talk of this years Southern District Agricultural Show, no it was none other than the fantastic half shell Manx Queenies and Queenie Spring rolls that were cooked up in the Manx food court by none other than Tim Croft of Island Seafare.

Tim was there promoting the Queenie Festival and the Marine Day Festival of the Sea and boy oh boy did they taste good and were definatley the talk of the show ground over the weekend!

We have recently heard that due to demand Tim is now looking into a way of producing more Queenie Spring Rolls with the help of a food technician, so look out the next time you order a spring roll from a local Chinese restaurant! You know where you saw it first!

Queenie Festival BBQ with The Hairy Bikers

As part of the Queenie Festival celebrations 2008 there will be a BBQ down at The Bay in Port Erin on the evening of the the 8th August.

The evening will kick off at 7pm with Si King and Dave Myers aka The Hairy Bikers getting behind the BBQ and cooking up some fantastic seafood and Manx produce treats including those juicy Manx Queenies!

There will be three sittings, 7.30pm – 8.15pm, 8.15pm – 9.00pm, 9.00pm – 9.45pm so don’t worry you wont have to wait for long to get some tasty Manx treats!

Numbers are strictly limited so be sure to contact The Bay, Port Erin on 832084 or Paddy’s Market, Port St Mary on 834494 to get your hands on those tickets and there only 15 quid each!