Newquay Fish Festival is one of the most popular foodie festivals in Cornwall. Now in its 13th year, this family friendly food and crafts show combines the traditional fishing history of Newquay harbour with modern day entertainment, displays and cookery demonstrations.
Expect sand castle competitions, a Punch & Judy show, games, events, music, entertainment and, of course, lots of food and fishy favourites! There will be fish for sale, chunky crab sandwiches, Cornish oysters and fish filleting demos.
Not only that, but see the Cornish chef community out in force as leading Head Chefs demonstrate live recipes in front of your eyes. Expect chefs such as Nathan Outlaw, Aaron James of the Harbour Hotel and Rick Stein’s Head Chef Fergus Coyle from his new restaurant in Newquay, to mention a few!
To find somewhere to stay that’s close to all the action, here are our cottages in Newquay >
If you can’t wait until the event, here is a recipe we put together earlier! Well, it wasn’t exactly ‘us'; Paul at The Fish House, a renowned fish restaurant in Newquay, has provided us with his recipe for an Indian fish curry for you to try at home.
Indian Fish Curry
Serves 4
700g white fish fillet (Cod, Pollock, Hake)
1 small white onion
2 vine tomatoes
4 teaspoons dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
90g fresh coconut
100ml shellfish stock
40g fresh coriander
5 cloves peeled garlic
75g coconut milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
To make the masala (paste) heat the coriander seeds, cumin and black pepper in a dry pan until smoking. Transfer to a pestle and mortar and grind to a fine powder. Put the onion, tomato, garlic, chilli and ground spices into a food processor not including the turmeric and black mustard seeds, and blend to a paste.
Heat a separate wok or pan add a tablespoon of vegetable oil and fry the turmeric and mustard seeds for 20 seconds, add the masala paste and cook on a gentle heat for 5 mins.
This is now your paste which will keep in the fridge for 3 days.
To make the curry put the paste, coconut milk and shellfish stock (you can use water) into a wok and heat for a few seconds, gently lay your fish fillets into the sauce, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Finally, add your fresh coriander and check for seasoning. Serve with basmati rice and poppadom.
A bit about The Fish House…
They had always dreamed of opening a seafood restaurant in Newquay and had spent the last 5 years searching for an appropriate site when they came across a disused store room which was owned by Quiksilver with breathtaking views across Fistral beach. They knew the moment they arrived that this was the place they had been looking for.
So the challenge began installing enough electricity and water supply to run a restaurant, the project was very stressful and they couldn’t wait to open, after 3 months on the 20th June 2014 they finally had their opening.
The vision was to bring fresh local seafood at a reasonable price to serve the beach, moules frites, lobster, squid and local brown crab all featured on the menu. The response was immediate – the bookings kept coming and the sun kept shining which was a bonus as they have a small terrace to the front, perfect for catching those rays!
Once they reached the end of the summer they changed the menu to include fish stew, risotto, and hake with wild mushrooms.
The Fish House is run by Paul and Elise and their children Olivia and Sam. Make sure you check them out when you visit the area, especially during the Newquay Fish Festival – don’t forget to book a table!
And not forgetting your self catering holiday home in Newquay too ;)