An award-winning annual seafood festival has announced its line-up of chefs for 2019.

The Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival, which will be held around Weymouth Harbour on the weekend of July 13 and July 14, is a celebration of seafood that also aims to encourage sustainable consumption of culinary delights from the ocean.

The line-up will include Nigel Bloxham from The Crab House Café – a restaurant at Ferrybridge in Weymouth that was nominated ‘Restaurant of the Year’ at the British Restaurant Awards – and Mitch Tonks, who is opening a seafood restaurant in Weymouth this summer called Rockfish.

Brian Cooper, Festival Director, said: ‘We are thrilled to welcome such experienced and passionate chefs to our stages this year, from Festival regulars to some new faces who will be demonstrating delicious ways to enjoy seafood and entertain the crowds.

“We’re excited that Mitch Tonks will be back, especially as he is about to open his Rockfish seafood restaurant on the seafront right here in Weymouth.”

Other names on the list include drinks columnist Susy Atkins, John Wright of River Cottage, Pete Murt, Seafish’s Gus Caslake and Nick Evans, head chef lecturer from the Rick Stein Cookery School.

The Nyetimber Dorset Seafood Festival raises money for the Fishermen’s Mission, a charity which helps support fishermen and their families.

The charity offers them welfare and support, including during illness and retirement.

Nyetimber will itself feature at the event, providing English sparkling wines for people to have along with the seafood.

Aside from the food, the festival will include other events and displays as part of the weekend.

These will include, a performance titled I am Turtle from The Makeshift Ensemble at Weymouth Pavilion, a creative zone for children with Bella Ceramics and some musical acts.

The festival is free to attend.

It previously won Gold in the Dorset Tourism Awards for Tourism Event of the Year and Outstanding Contribution to Tourism and Silver in the South West Tourism Excellence Awards in 2015/2016.

Sponsors for the event this year include Nyetimber, Seafish, Badger Beers, Weird Fish, Dream Cottages, Waterside Holiday Group, Arthur J Gallagher and the Aster Group.

Anyone looking for more information can find it at www.dorsetseafood.co.uk and on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.