FoodScape - Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival

This weekend just gone (14th-15th Sept) saw the return of the annual foodie festival showcasing some of the greatest locally produced food and drink. Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival has been running for the past 8 years now and is becoming an event many locals highlight in their calendar. The newly generated open space at the Stade is a perfect location for the food celebrations as it's tucked away between the juxtaposed backdrop of the weathered net huts and the sleek architecture of the Jerwood art gallery. The festival's focus on seafood highlights Hasting's impressive heritage as a fishing town, as well as its current accolade of being the largest beach launched fishing fleet in Europe.

Not only was there a around 30 food and drink stalls, but also a tasty music menu, from Jazz breakfasts with renowned jazz singer Liane Carrol, to the Reggae/Ska/Soul band Kobo who closed the festival on the Sunday evening. Over the course of the two days there were cooking demonstrations run by Sussex Coast College and local restaurateurs, as well as wine tastings. 

With so much choice I had to do a couple laps of the stalls before I could decide what to feast on. In the end, I decided to go for the non-seafood option, I'm still not that brave. I simply believe cockles, mussels, and the like, are vessels for vinegar, which I'm also not a massive fan of either. I know, I'm a rubbish seasider! Ultimately, I found myself drawn to Mamma Putts, a stall specialising in Caribbean and African cuisine. Jollof rice, a sufficiently spicy stew sauce and jerk chicken, with a token dumpling thrown in too.

Next we visited the bhaji and pakora stall, which I return to year after year. Half the fun is trying to identify the vegetables hidden beneath the tasty batter. This serving consisted of carrot, beetroot, onion, cauliflower and sweet potato. Accompanied by a delicious dollop of mango chutney.

And if that wasn't enough, we also got a portion of deep fried sprats with tartar dip. Considering I'm not a massive fan of seafood I can surprisingly stomach these babies. Essentially they're a grown up version of fish fingers, but instead you consume heads, tails and bones in one satisfying crunch. Yum!

Other stalls were serving up beautiful cupcakes, speciality breads, soup in a roll, and local wines and ales. There was a lot of people walking around, all be it reluctantly, sipping a pint of cider that looked like radioactive berroca, but tasted like paint stripper. Always ask for a taster guys!

I have to highlight the beautifully renovated double decker bus, kitted out as a mobile cafe with upstairs seating and tables. Well done 1066 bakery, this is genius! Love it!

One of the best combinations on offer has to be the Mackerel and Mojito or the Calamari and Cava deal, the latter of which is my mothers personal favourite. We debated as to whether the former was in actual fact a mackerel flavoured mojito... I was too scared to ask in fear of ridicule so it shall remain a mystery!

This festival is yet another example that demonstrates Hastings Old Town knows how to throw a party. Although we failed in our recent city of culture bid, I can foresee this town being a strong contender in the future, providing events like these continue to expand and attract visitors from all over the south east.