Festival’s catch of the day

May 3 2008 by Jane Hall, The Journal

AFLEET of trawlers will sail down the River Tyne this afternoon for the first time in 40 years, to mark the start of a month of gastronomic treats for food lovers of all ages.

The five vessels from Amble and North Shields won’t be making the fantastic voyage under the Gateshead Millennium Bridge to fish, however. They will be delivering a fresh catch of the day straight from the North Sea to an army of chefs from top local restaurants waiting on the Quayside.

The super-fresh fish will then be rushed back to kitchens across Tyneside and Northumberland to be turned into special suppers.

The fleet’s arrival is just one of the many highlights of this weekend’s Fish on the Tyne event – the starter course for the second Eat! NewcastleGateshead food festival which runs until May 22.

The unique festival has been organised by the NewcastleGateshead Initiative to showcase the best of our region’s food produce and culinary delights from shops, restaurants and hotels.

Others events lined up over the coming weeks include the chance to forage for your supper; a 10 Things to Eat Before They Die closing gala dinner using ingredients from a list of endangered culinary treasures, and a Food Heroes Tasting Market, which will showcase 35 of the North East’s best and most interesting producers and suppliers, including Cabosse Chocolates and spicy sauce makers, Trees Can’t Dance.

But the showstoppers are set to be the chance to dine in darkness and this year’s version of the guerilla restaurant which captured the imagination of diners at the first Eat! festival in April 2007.

Eat!ing – A Secret Restaurant will run for five days from May 12 in association with Latin American specialists ¡Vamos! The location, the chef and the menu are being kept hush-hush, the only hint from organisers being that sensible footwear will be needed. Festival director Simon Preston describes getting a reservation as “like winning one of Willy Wonka’s golden tickets”. Details cannot be revealed: the restaurant’s location, chef and menu are closely guarded secrets. All we can tell you is that last year this event sold out 12 times over, and people are still talking about it.

“This year it is completely different again. Book early to reserve your place. If you’re successful, you’ll be told the location just 24 hours before your reservation. And be prepared for some surprises.”

Dans le Noir is the other big dining experience everyone is already talking about. On at Northern Stage in Newcastle between May 6-10, it is the first time the concept has been taken outside London and, as the name suggests, is a restaurant in complete and utter darkness. “You literally won’t be able to see a thing,” Mr Preston said: “Without your sight, your other senses taste and smell, touch and sound will be heightened, making this an intense and truly extraordinary experience.”

The opening Eat! weekend based around the NewcastleGateshead Quayside and Baltic Square, will see a variety of fish-themed activities and entertainments for the public to participate in. The skies will be filled with thousands of fish-shaped windsocks made by local schoolchildren, alongside a giant 20ft inflatable squid and a shark’s head, to name but a few.

Cook on the Tyne will see top local chefs demonstrating how to prepare fish in a 100-seat marquee. There will also be an outdoor producers’ market selling everything from the finest seafood to fishing equipment and recipe books. Among the tasty treats on offer will be the freshest fish and chips, paella, organic fish soup, wood-fired seafood pizzas, mussels and beer.

A free fishing taster session will also be running across the weekend on Baltic Square, Gateshead. Mr Preston, who has worked in the hospitality and food industry nationally and abroad, including Harvey Nichols, said: “Last year’s pilot was such a success. This year’s programme is much larger with over 30 events and activities, but we are still very much focusing on the high-quality food produced and served in this area, as well as highlighting major national and international issues, such as those of fair trade and sustainability.”

Stella Hall, creative director of the NewcastleGateshead Initiative, added: “Eat! offers so much more than your typical food festival. We wanted to bring something very different to the table, such as giving people unique and creative experiences as well as fantastic food. Eat! will showcase us as an emerging foodie destination which will bring visitors from around the region, the country and much further afield to Newcastle Gateshead.”

For full details of the Eat! festival, go to www.NewcastleGateshead.com/EAT