12th July 2012

LYME REGIS: Chef cancels food festival after fall out with publican

TOP chef Mark Hix has been forced to cancel a two-day food festival to raise money for the RNLI after being accused, unfairly in his view, of “exploiting the charity” to promote one of his restaurants.

Mr Hix was planning to hold the festival, called “Food Rocks”, on the last two days of Lifeboat Week in Lyme Regis, in a marquee on the harbour slipway.

The festival would have featured a different event every hour on the hour between 10am and 4pm on Saturday and Sunday, July 28th and 29th in the run-up to an appearance by the Red Arrows. 

He had arranged for other chefs and food experts to appear at the festival which would have finished with a cook-off between the lifeboat crews from Lyme and Dartmouth.

Mr Hix, a long time supporter to the RNLI who has raised many thousands of pounds over the years, was expecting the festival to raise a four-figure sum for Lifeboat Week.

But publicans John and Linda McClements, who run the Cobb Arms pub and restaurant which overlooks the slipway, have  claimed the festival will harm their business.

Mr Hix, who owns the Oyster and Fish House in Lister Gardens as well as several top London restaurants,  was offered an alternative site on the shingle beach next to the Lifeboat Station but his main sponsor, kitchen suppliers VZug, who were providing the necessary equipment, said the site was unsafe and withdrew.

Mr Hix’s PR Jo Harris said they were left with no choice but to cancel the event.

Bigger event

They are now planning a much bigger festival for next summer at the other end of the seafront.

Mr Hix told the View from Lyme Regis: “I do food festivals all over the country, especially the West Country ones -  Dartmouth, Exeter and Rick Stein’s Christmas Festival -  where all the local chefs and restaurants do demos in his cookery school.

 “Mitch Tonks in Dartmouth and Michael Caines in Exeter all create a great local spirit and encourage foodies, friends and chefs to participate to put these West Country foodie destinations on the map and encourage tourism to the area. 

“I don't need to host a food festival in Lyme but what I would love is to have all the local traders on board in the same spirit as the above mentioned. I guess I will take the Lifeboat weekend off and go to Dartmouth

“I host several events in my restaurants throughout the year with chefs like Nathan Outlaw, Mitch Tonks and Matt Follas which has fantastic response and gives the general public a great insight into how restaurateurs work together as a form of marketing as all our customers use all of these restaurants depending on the occasion.”

Mr and Mrs McClements  threatend to withdraw their support from the Lifeboat if they went ahead with the festival on the slipway, stressing that their only real concern was the location so near to their business. 

After hearing that the festival had been cancelled, they wrote to Mr Hix expressing their disappointment that the event could not take place on the alternative site and offering full support next year.

Mr Hix spent last weekend at the Wymouth Seafood Festival and afterwards wrote on his blog: “Weymouth Food Festival is in full swing today and there are thousands of foodies here supporting local businesses.

“What a shame the festival was rained off yesterday and what a shame we have had to pull the Food Rocks festival in Lyme Regis.

“Anyway, must dash -  I’m just about to do a demo on the quay in front of Mallams restaurant and guess what, they haven’t said a word and fully support the festival unlike certain traders on the Cobb in Lyme Regis who seem to think it’s a threat to business having local chefs demonstrating dishes with local ingredients to support fishermen and growers.”

Lyme Regis RNLI have issued a statament saying they were “bitterly disappointed” that the festival had been cancelled.

The statement continued: “This a most unfortunate chain of events leading to the cancellation of a cookery demonstration which we believe would have raised substantial funds for the RNLI charity.

"Mr Hix is a long-standing supporter of the RNLI and we were very much looking forward to him taking part in our Lifeboat Week.

"His appearance would have been a major attraction, and his absence will doubtless result in a reduction in donations during the week."

PICTURE: CHEF Mark Hix preparing a dish at a cook-off on The Cobb which he organised for the RNLI last summer

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