Oxford Cultural Collective heading north for the Stranraer Oyster Festival – 13th to 15th September 2024

 

For more information, visit the Stranraer Oyster Festival website.

The Oxford Cultural Collective will be back in Stranraer in September 2024 for the town’s hugely successful Oyster Festival. Helping to enrich the festival’s programme, OCC has drawn together some of the country’s best loved chefs, who will be demonstrating their favourite recipes in the festival’s Kitchen Theatre. They are (from top left).

Tony Singh MBE and Cyrus Todiwala OBE. It is ten years since acclaimed chefs Tony Singh and Cyrus Todiwala set out on a mission to wake Britain up to the versatility of spices with their hit BBC TV show The Incredible Spice Men. Cyrus co-owns London’s iconic restaurant Café Spice Namaste with his wife Pervin, and Tony is now running an exclusive summer-club from his home in Edinburgh.

Pam Brunton.  We are welcoming renowned Scottish chef Pam Brunton to the festival in the week that she launches her stunning new book Between Two Waters. Part memoir, part manifesto on the future of feeding the world, it documents the early days of her now multiple award-winning restaurant, Inver. Pam will be sharing her passions and philosophy, deeply rooted in sustainability and sense of place.

Julie Lin. Culinary star Julie Lin, owner of GaGa in Glasgow’s vibrant West End, has become a regular on BBC 1’s Saturday Kitchen Live. She has been working in the food world, as a chef, restaurateur, recipe developer and broadcaster, since appearing on BBC Masterchef in 2014. Julie will be sharing delicious dishes that reflect her Malaysian, Chinese and Scottish heritage.

Jimmy Lee. Social media sensation Jimmy Lee owns Lychee Oriental in Glasgow, winner of the Best Chinese Restaurant in Scotland award for 2024. No stranger to the limelight, Jimmy is now a regular on ITV’s This Morning, and was previously co-presenter of Julie and Jimmy’s Hot Woks with fellow Stranraer Oyster Festival chef Julie Lin.

 

Stranraer Oyster Festival, launched in 2017, is a celebration of Loch Ryan’s wild, native oysters. Formed by local people to achieve local  community and economic regeneration, it has grown to become a major celebration of the area’s unique coastal heritage and amazing seasonal produce. It’s an outstanding example of how the collective effort of community leaders, growers, harvesters and producers can help a place, its people and its natural environment flourish.

 

Also appearing at the Stranraer Oyster Festival are popular local chefs Ryan McCutcheon, who honed his skills at Cromlix House and Gleneagles, before embarking on a career as a private chef and champion of the very best Scottish ingredients; Helen Cross, podcaster, story-teller, gardener and author of Grow, Cook, Inspire; and Douglas and Massimo Lisi, known for their ever-popular cooking and cocktail masterclasses.

In addition to chefs performing in the Kitchen Theatre, highlights of the Stranraer Oyster Festival include the finals of the Scottish Oyster Shucking Competition; an entertainment marquee, featuring live music, street food and an oyster bar; and a Traders’ Zone, showcasing a wide range of local food and drink producers.