As the Shellfish Promotion Project speeds its way through second and final year, the emphasis latterly has been on education and not just for adults either. Although we’ve focussed on getting the good news about shellfish across to a wide cross section of the catering, hospitality and media sectors, grassroots education- where little acorns of ideas take root, has now been a priority.

Two events recently that SAGB have been directly involved with, have captured the essence of introducing young palates and taste buds to shellfish. Not only how delicious our variety of would and farmed species can be, but how incredibly nutritious, environmentally friendly and bursting with health-improving qualities they all are in their different forms.

Demonstrating their attributes through preparation, cooking and tasting is one thing, but where young senses are involved, it’s all about the sight, smell, touch and feel that accompany our wonderful crustaceans and molluscs.

With that in mind, Mike Warner our consultant project manager has attended two events that have done exactly that and put native shellfish in front of an estimated 4,500 Key Stage 1&2 primary schoolchildren.

Firstly, at the School Farm and Country Fair at Trinity Park in Suffolk and in collaboration with the Billingsgate Seafood School, we introduced the Suffolk school kids to mussels, Brown crab, oysters, native lobster and spider crab , both alive and cooked.

Needless to say they were enthralled. ‘Are they alive?’ the most common question being, followed by ‘can I hold them?’ can you actually eat them?’ and ‘where do they live?’ being equally popular. The main thing is that they were entranced by these sea creatures and so were their staff and parents, who were often as just as incredulous and thirsty fro knowledge about our display.