Killybegs’s third annual seafood celebration, “Hooked”, will take place in the town on Saturday, September 2nd.
The event is organised by the Killybegs Community Council and supported by a range of sponsors, including: FLAG (Fisheries Local Action Group), an EU funded programme administered by BIM; Donegal Local Enterprise Office/Food Coast; Fáilte Ireland; Donegal County Council; Malin Waters; Donegal Atlantic Coastal Trail; Ireland’s seafish development authority, BIM (Bord Iascaigh Mhara) and the Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT), plus a range of local seafood businesses in Killybegs.
“Hooked” will take place from 11am – 5pm at the LYIT School of Tourism, overlooking Killybegs Harbour, and will feature a variety of exhibitions, demonstrations and competitions focused on quality marine products.
Following the official opening at 11am by newly-elected Killybegs Mayor, Conal Breslin – himself a fisherman with a lifetime’s experience – a Seafood Village will be open all day at the campus, with stalls and displays, including many from local producers.
A major highlight of the day will be the judging of the hotly-contested chowder competition.
Among those present will be the reigning World Chowder Champions team from Nancy’s Barn, Ballyliffan, along with the Irish Chowder Champion, Mark Gallagher, and County Chowder Champion, Christopher Molloy of the Lemon Tree restaurant, Letterkenny. They will all be doing demonstrations of their culinary skills throughout the day.
At 12 noon, appropriately, there will be a fish and chip cooking demonstration by local chef, Ciara Shine, and, at 1.30pm, there will be a cooking exhibition by Christopher Molloy.
Said Christopher: “At the Lemon Tree, we believe it’s important to give our customers a unique taste of Donegal. Fresh fish is a special feature and – unusually these days – everything is made freshly on site, including all breads, pastries, pastas and desserts.”
For the youngsters, there will be a variety of entertainment, including face-painting and the unbelievable Mr Majestic, with his fully-interactive magic show. There will also be a selected programme of presentations in the children’s cinema throughout the day.
Considerable excitement is building up for the school’s trophy competition in which local national schools will produce outline ideas for the Donegal Chowder Champion award.
Music will commence at 12 noon with a tuneful selection of musicians led by local favourite, Denny Coleman.
Outdoor fun can be had at the penalty shot-out and other entertainment throughout the day, including demonstrations by Killybegs Coast Guard team, the RNLI and Killybegs Rowing Club.
Local chefs will also demonstrate their culinary skills using top-quality seafood donated by Killybegs fish companies and visitors can sample the results, commencing at 12.30pm.
At 2.00pm, the Chowder Competition and tasting will commence and continue till 4pm.
Fish filleting demonstrations will take place from 2pm – 4pm with local filleters showing their skills and a BIM expert giving some cutting edge tips. At 3.00pm a cooking demonstration will be given by Kieran Dooey, Nancy’s Barn.
At 3.45pm there will be a “Ready, Steady, Cook” competition, following which the results of Chowder Competition will be announced.
Said Eimear McGuinness, chair of Killybegs Community Council: “This year’s Hooked will be considerably larger and more varied than previous years and we are looking forward to an even bigger number of visitors to enjoy the products and learn about Killybegs’s magnificent seafood.”
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