CELEBRITY chef Rick Stein described Newlyn as a "jewel" of Cornwall as he returned to the fish festival after more than a decade to open the event in glorious sunshine.
The Padstow-based TV personality added a touch of glamour to the twentieth annual Newlyn Fish Festival, which attracted visitors from across Cornwall and beyond.
As thousands flooded through the gates, with ticket sales slightly up on last year at just over 7,300, he was grabbed by people asking for his autograph at every corner.
Former MP David Harris, chairman of the Royal National Mission to Deep Sea Fishermen for which the fish festival raises money, introduced the TV chef to the stage, saying he had "done more for the fishing industry than perhaps anyone else".
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Mr Stein, who was joined at the official opening by local mayors and dignitaries from across West Penwith, then told a delighted crowd: "Newlyn in the sunshine this morning is a really pretty fishing port.
"The majority of the fish that we use in our restaurants comes from here and I have been filming here for, probably, the past 15 years. I have got a great deal of time for the Fishermen's Mission. What I really like about the Newlyn Fish Festival is the sense of informality about it. I think the reason it works so well is people love to see a working port."
Pete Goss, with his lugger the Spirit of Mystery, also returned to Newlyn this year, alongside a host of lovingly restored vessels and displays from the Mount's Bay Lugger Association, Barnabas from the Cornish Maritime Trust and the Newlyn-based Ripple, with owner John Lambourn.
Inside the food hall, a fish display, with all produce donated by local fishermen, proved a major attraction, with experts on hand to talk visitors through the different species.
Local chefs including Keir Meikle, from the Navy Inn, Sanjay Kumar, from the Greenbank Hotel and Andy Appleton, from Fifteen Cornwall, gave demonstrations of their work.
A huge variety of food stands, selling sea produce from Devon fishcakes to Cornish Sea Salt; shellfish to pilchards; Thai dishes to Indian curries, helped show just how diverse seafood could be.
Among the new attractions were the Old Newlyn Marquee, which welcomed hundreds of people to its stands displaying old pictures of Newlyn and information about the history of the port.
Pam Lomax, acting archivist for the Newlyn Archive Centre, which organised the stall, said she had received information from several people about the missing names of boats pictured in the archives.
She said: "This is the first time the Archive has been here because we only started just before Christmas."
Liz Harman and John Wallis were also on hand at the marquee in period costume, to share their storytelling skills with the crowds.
Festival secretary Steve Ryman said he had attempted to widen the scope of the festival this year to give something for everyone.
He said: "I wanted to create a wider ranging festival. It is obviously all about fish but to add something different, something that has not been here before.
"When I started organising the festival I had big ideas for it. You are limited by the topography of the site but it will not stop us thinking about how we can expand in other ways.
"Although we raise money for the Mission, it is important to make it a community event and give people a good time."
article copyright THE CORNISHMAN