With over 500 miles of coastline in Devon, we’re extremely blessed to have access to incredibly fresh seafood and fish from our bountiful waters.

Pair that with passionate, local businesses and you can experience a huge variety of delicious dishes or engaging experiences to immerse yourself in the stories of catch to cooker, fish to fork, seafood to supper. I recently enjoyed a day out thanks to The Seafood Feast, to preview three of the venues who are holding very special events in the coming weeks, that is showing off these stories. [AD – PR Invited}

England’s Seafood Feast returns 27th September – 13th October 2024 to play host to a feast for all the senses. You will be able to immerse yourself in some of the best seafood in the world. This isn’t a conventional festival with a big marquee – instead, you can enjoy a whole range of locally landed and caught fish and seafood at over 30 eateries across Brixham, Paignton and Torquay.

We have worked with them before, experiencing the 7 chefs & 7 restaurants food crawls a couple of years in a row, and the events they coordinate with local businesses to create a sensational schedule during their 16-day festival is just brilliant and should be supported to the max.

So let’s dive in…

Brixham Fish Market Tour and Rockfish Breakfast

I have been wanting to do Brixham Fish Market tour for a few years now but have been waiting as my son wasn’t old enough (min age 14). As a well-raised foodie, the lure of the bait (fish and breakfast!) was enough to motivate him to emerge from his slumber before 5am to join in the tiur that started at 6:15am sharp.

Brixham fish market is positioned at the left corner of Brixham harbour as you come into the town, and an easy walk from any of the town car parks. The U-shaped harbour town is a wonderful place to visit, and at this time of the morning, with the calm waters and the sun just rising, it’s even more special.

Our early bird crowd piled into the entrance and thanks to Neil the Fishing Director and Adam the Finance Director, we were suited and booted and given an informative talk to start with upstairs before heading down into the bosom of the active and refrigerated fishmarket. It was fascinating to see everyone at work, and they were very open and brilliant with any questions from the curious tour group.

I don’t want to give too much of the information away, but they let us know about going digital with their sales, their increased turnover on the back of this, how much fish goes to Europe direct, the fact 26 tonnes was being processed while we were there (and that was a quiet day!), the actual costs of running a boat which affects fish prices plus the budget-friendly tip that cuttlefish is cheap and just like calamari! (Rockfish serves cuttlefish).

If you’re not buying fish from them or Rockfish fishmonger below, then Morrisons is a great place as they are very good at having their origin info available for customers so you can know if you’re buying British landed fish! Just ask the fishmonger.

We then proceeded next door and upstairs for the breakfast at Rockfish, perched above the harbourside hustle and bustle with their cosy interior and wonderful wrap-balcony overlooking the harbourside and sea beyond where your fish came from. Coffee and tea served, brekkie was a lovely mix of your usual eggs and bacon, but with the added bonus of beautiful fresh fish and seafood. We couldn’t leave without buying some seafood from Rockfish fish market, including their amazing bearnaise butter! If you want it kept fresh for you while you enjoy your day out, they will hold your purchase for you to collect later on in the day which is what we did.

The experience was really interesting and eye opening, and the breakfast was a welcome ending for an early morning hungry tummy, with a feel good factor that a high proportion of the ticket price goes to the Fishermen’s Mission charity which is fish-tastic.

Find out more and book here for their tour date on the 9th of October (as the 2nd of October has already sold out!).

Have a look at our Instagram Reel here.

Sea Kayaking with Reach Outdoors

Now you may think ‘what has sea kayaking got to do with eating seafood’? Well, you can Kayak, Cast and Cookout.

My son and I popped in the car and headed down the road to Goodrington Sands to go kayaking with Reach Outdoors for a 2 hour kayak tour along the coast.

We had great fun, and were really well looked after, along with other families. We found a non-stinging jellyfish, we pulled up in a cove and had a dip plus looked at the various types of seaweed and Immie shared some other info about the coastline.

Have you ever kayaked, or thought about going out on the water in one? It’s more stable than you might think, and a wonderful way to sea the coastline! We had a mix of abilities and ages in the group and we all managed to enjoy the same experience.

Whilst this wasn’t their catch and cook event, the kayaking experience would be the same overall. For their Seafood Feast event, you’ll be able try hand line fishing for mackerel, and relish a delicious BBQ lunch. Upon returning, learn how to prepare and grill your catch in a friendly and fun setting by the beach. How cool does that sound!

Find out more about their event and how to book here. You can view my reel on Devon With Kids (who I also write for) here.

Lunch at La Petite Maison

After an activity like that, our breakfast was but a deliciously distant memory and we headed back to Brixham for lunch! We dropped anchor at La Petite Maison, Brixham to satisfy our French foodie desires. It may be a ‘petite maison’ but it’s jam-packed with a cool, comfy yet bold interior, and classic yet delicious food that was trés magnifique!

We enjoyed:

The best Brixham Scallops roasted in shell with White Wine and French Garlic Herb Infused Butter

French Classic – Local mussels cooked with White Wine, Garlic and Cream, with Fresh Herbs, served with French Fries and freshly baked French Baguette

Homemade smoked haddock fishcakes – their own Fishcakes using the best fillets of Haddock topped with Hollandaise Sauce and a Fried Egg

Creme Brulee served with Sablés Bretons

The flavours were so on point! Garlicky drinkable sauce cuddling plump sweet mussels, tender scallops with a delicate textured coat, silky smooth hollondaise plus that golden yolk on a crunchy fishcake and oh my that creme brulee was phenomenal.

It’s a great spot to get away from the hustle and bustle and cocoon yourself inside, or have a window seat where you can be nosey towards the harbourside and people watch. They also alfresco seating across the road under the Old Fish Market opposite, so close to the harbourside you can smell where the fish came from, but I really loved the bold interior so was very happy to be in the bosom of their house. They have some classic meat dishes too! And I noted a good handful of gluten-free options for those who need it plus one or two vegetarian and vegan options.

They are offering their normal menu plus items on the special board throughout The Seafood Feast, and if you book with the secret code, you can enjoy a free welcome glass of Sparkling French Rose.

More booking information can be found here. View our Instagram Reel here.

Thank you so much to The Seafood Feast and associated businesses for hosting us!

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