CELEBRITY chef Mark Hix will once again be headlining the Dorset Seafood Festival on July 11 - 12, which sees the Waterfront on both sides of Weymouth Old Harbour transformed into a thriving festival with over 30 stalls. The event is a must for passionate foodies, cooks and gourmands – young and old.

Mark will be joined on the main stage by Masterchef 2009 winner Mat Follas and wine expert Joe Wadsack. Visitors will have the chance to buy freshly prepared seafood dishes, made from fish and shell fish landed straight from boats, from a range of stalls. Mark Hix will also be on the main show stage to demonstrate his culinary skills and share tips on filleting and cooking with fish.

Mark Hix trained at Weymouth College and is a fervent supporter of this annual event. He is a celebrated food writer and renowned restaurateur and opened Hix Oyster & Fish House last June in nearby Lyme Regis, Dorset.

“Now living and having a restaurant on the coast reminds me of my childhood down here and how naturally fish and seafood was a part of our weekly diet. It’s tricky I know these days with depleting fish stocks but there are plenty of species of fish in the sea that we should be eating apart from the common and obvious suspects that we all know about.”

“A lot of people are scared to cook fish but treated with simplicity it’s an easy eating option.”

But it’s not all about cooking and eating. This event is bulging with other sea related family oriented events providing entertainment and education.

Once again the Historical Diving Society will don their copper helmets and heavy suits to demonstrate traditional diving techniques. There’ll be live music in Hope Square, the final of the Young Seafood Chef competition, various nautical craft displays, the stomach-churning Fish Tucker Trials and the famous fish auction hosted by John Buchan, star of the BBC2 ‘Trawlermen’ series.

For those wanting to increase their knowledge of the sea and the local area there will be a multitude of features on marine conservation, Dorset shellfish, the sea fishing industry and fishing in Dorset.

The Dorset Seafood Festival is a real gem in the county's social calendar, attracting around 40,000 visitors in 2008.

The event, part of Weymouth’s 2009 Spirit of the Sea maritime event, is organised by a committee led by the Harbour Traders Association with help from Seafish, Weymouth College and Dorset Coast Forum and benefits The Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen.