Two locations, top TV chefs, two entertainment stages, and two days of amazing foodie fun - the Taste of the Sea festival is coming back to Maryport.
Now in its fifth year, the event takes place on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 August all around the town’s historic waterfront.
The brilliant new Harbourside event space, part of Cumberland Council’s £12 million regeneration projects, will host part of the festival, while the rest of the attractions will be on the big showfield next to the Marina.
Some of the highlights will take place on the Demo Stage, which will be located on the Harbourside event space. Jack Stein, son of television star Rick Stein, and now an international chef in his own right, will appear on the Saturday morning, while Cumbria’s own Masterchef winner, Irini Tzortzoglou, will be in action on Saturday afternoon. Scottish seafood ambassador CJ Jackson will be another draw as she talks about working in the likes of the famed Billingsgate Fish Market.
Elsewhere at the festival, there will also be a big Producers’ Market to browse, loads of culinary experts to talk to, hot food and cold drinks, a children’s fairground and more.
As well as the ever-popular music stage, and the rum bar and beer marquee, there will be hot and cold seafood traders, an oyster bar and fish to buy straight from the Chelaris boat. Entertainment will include sea shanty bands, storytelling and roaming street theatre, as well as a children’s Postcard Trail to take visitors all around the town.
The Taste Cumbria events are organised by Cumberland Council.
Councillor Anne Quilter, Cumberland Council’s Executive Member for Vibrant and Healthy Places, said:
“The words ‘Stein’ and ‘seafood’ go hand in hand so it’s brilliant that Jack Stein, of Cornwall’s culinary dynasty will be one of the main attractions at this year’s event in Maryport. We always promise you the best local talent too, so welcoming Irini back to Taste Cumbria is a joy.
“This is shaping up to be another fabulous foodie event which will bring thousands of visitors to the town and I hope they also get to experience some of the regeneration projects we’re working so hard on - whether that’s the great businesses who are in premises improved by shopfront grants, or visiting the Boardwalk or Shipping Brow Gallery, or taking the family to the Shiver Me Timbers splashpark or the skatepark on the Prom. Maryport is well worth a visit this summer.”
This is the second Taste Cumbria event of 2025. Taste Wigton took place in April and the next festival will be in Cockermouth on 27 and 28 September, with Taste Cumbria Carlisle on 1 and 2 November. The Taste Cumbria Christmas festival ends the year in Cockermouth on 6 and 7 December.
For the latest information on all the Taste Cumbria events visit www.tastecumbria.co.uk