TWO Suffolk brands have unveiled a joint local food venture as East Anglia celebrates its rich array of produce at a showcase event. Tastes of Anglia's three-day Feast East event at Chilford Hall, Linton, near Cambridge, kicked off on Thursday with a trade-only event and opened up to the public yesterday.

TWO Suffolk brands have unveiled a joint local food venture as East Anglia celebrates its rich array of produce at a showcase event.

Tastes of Anglia's three-day Feast East event at Chilford Hall, Linton, near Cambridge, kicked off on Thursday with a trade-only event and opened up to the public yesterday.

Among the highlights of the celebration, which continues today, was the official launch of Fine Heritage Seafood, a collaboration between Pinneys of Orford and Walnut Tree Foods of Woodbridge to create a new range of quality frozen fish foods.

East Anglian Daily Times Suffolk magazine also chose the event to launch its annual Food & Drink Awards.

The popular food and drink festival, which this year features more than 80 exhibitors and is now in its 12th year, has proved a big hit over the years with producers, buyers and food-lovers.

Organisers are now planning to make it twice-yearly by creating another autumn show to take place in Essex.

New features for this year's show included an exhibition by seven wholesalers for trades afternoon, and a revamped cookery theatre where renowned regional chefs demonstrate recipes using local ingredients where possible.

Julie West, chief executive of the Tastes of Anglia marketing group, said while the retail trades had traditionally always taken an interest in the event, there was growing enthusiasm now from the hotels and catering trade, and they expected around 700 to 800 buyers through the doors over the course of the three days.

“We'll have everyone from Tescos to teashops and coffeeshops,” she said, with a “real buzz” around the workshops, where newcomers to the event were given advice.

Tastes of Anglia is planning a similar event this autumn with Essex County Council, she said. “We are looking at Great Leighs as a potential venue. We definitely want to do this in autumn and then we can focus on the Christmas market a little bit as well,” she explained.

Fine Heritage Seafood chose the event to launch its range of nine different frozen fish dishes, which it hopes will set new standards within the sector.

Pinneys of Orford will be supplying all the raw ingredients, nearly all of them sourced locally, while Walnut Tree Foods will be using its culinary skills and traditional cooking methods to cook and freeze the dishes.

Harvey Allen, a partner in Pinneys, and Stephen Thurlow, who has run Walnut Tree Foods since 1998, were there to unveil their new products.

“Stephen and I have spoken in the past about producing a quality line of frozen fish and it occurred to us that we each have a vital component to bring to the party, so to speak. We have the raw materials and Stephen has the facilities and spare capacity,” said Mr Allen.

Mr Thurlow, an award-winning chef, said: “All our existing dishes are hand-prepared by chefs before being blast frozen and that's exactly how Fine Heritage Seafood lines will be produced.”

The nine lines include Orford Mini Smoked Salmon Cakes with Lemon and Chive and Orford Baked Seafood Pot.

The EADT Suffolk Food & Drink Awards, sponsored by Southwold brewer Adnams and now in its third year, features ten categories this year, including best farm shop and best butcher.

Two new categories have also been added for 2008 - Producer of the Year and Suffolk Product of the Year.

Following an initial judging process, entries will be whittled down to five of the best local food and drink businesses in each category, and open for readers to vote on. The three top scorers will be visited by a panel of judges in the summer, and the winners will be announced at a celebratory lunch in October.

“We are constantly delighted at the enormous interest that our Food & Drink Awards command, both from organisations and individuals in the industry, and from the general public who love to have their say,” said EADT Suffolk editor Richard Bryson.

“The objective of these awards is to recognise and celebrate the county's finest and leading purveyors in this ever-growing industry. We are extremely lucky in this area to have in our midst some of the most dedicated and hard-working producers, retailers and suppliers.”

He added that the response to the 2007 awards was “overwhelming” with more than 100 organisations entering and thousands casting their votes.

“It is proof that the food and drink industry in our country is thriving and growing, and that the Suffolk public have a passion and interest in the source, preparation and presentation of their food,” he said.

For an entry pack, email foodanddrinkenquiries@archant.co.uk or phone 01473 324882. Entry packs can also be downloaded from our website at www.eadt.co.uk. Closing date for entries is May 23.

Feast East is open to the public today from 10am to 5pm. Entry is £5 on the door. Visit the website at www.tastesofanglia.com for more information.