Scallop Festivalis all set to be the biggest ever

This year’s festival is the biggest and most ambitious yet and promises a week of events and activities.

The scallop of course takes centre stage and the towns restaurants and eateries will be serving up the local seafood delicacy in a myriad of exciting and innovative ways.

Dishes on offer will include scallops with caramelised apple, black pudding and a cider sauce; scallops served with lemon and linguine pasta and scallops with trout tartar and oyster jelly.

The festival has its own beer to accompany the scallops in the form of Scallop Top, Stout, specially brewed by the Old Dairy Brewery just over the border in Kent.

One Rye pub , the Ypres, is even transforming itself into a sushi bar for the duration of the festival, complete with conveyor belt.

Families will be able to take part in a Scallop Trail around the town looking for clues in shop windows which will be displayed in shell.

For those wanting to learn more about the scallop and get more intimately acquainted, there are quayside shelling and preparation demonstrations and a number of cookery classes taking place throughout the week.

Events during the week include live music, art displays and talks.

On Saturday from 10am - noon, Russell Drew, from Market Fisheries, will be giving a talk and demonstration on how to shuck and prepare scallops.

Russell says: ‘This will be an educational session so that people can learn and ask questions about fishing in the bay, harvesting the scallops, the sustainability of local fish and I’ll also be teaching some filleting techniques.”

On Saturday February 9 there are special Cooking Demos from noon at The Mermaid Inn and from noon to 2pm at Market Fisheries courtesy of The Beach Bistro.

One of the highlights of the Festival takes place on Sunday February 10 with the What a Load of Scallops Race at the Ship Inn at the Strand.

The colourful even sees teams racing to be first past the finishing line pushing wheelbarrows full of scallop shells.

For full details of the week’s events go to www.scallop.org.uk.