PRESS RELEASE

Gala Dinner raises £3700 for charities

“I really wanted to do something positive in memory of my mum,” says Jen George. And she did. Jen called together her work colleagues at the Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock and on 11th May organised a sell-out fundraiser, a six-course Gala Dinner, in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support and Weldmar Hospicecare Trust.

In a speech that was very moving and truly from the heart, Jen talked to the guests about her mother’s illness. “On 9th September 2011 mum died from secondary tumours following an initial diagnosis of Breast Cancer eight years ago. Until it happens, you never think that it will affect your family.” In the weeks leading up to her mother’s death Jen and her sisters spent time together in the hospital. “It was there we decided that if we combined forces we could do something to honour mum and help charities that offer support or do research into an illness that touches so many.”

Tickets for the spectacular evening of tasting the finest fish in Lyme Bay and the most perfect wines to accompany each course were sold through the Hive Beach Café web site. All 85 places went in under a week. At £30 per head plus a raffle Jen is able to make a donation of over £3700 to the chosen charities. But it doesn’t end there, as Jen explains. “Between us we’re swimming the English Channel, running the Edinburgh Marathon and I’m doing the Three Peaks Challenge – climbing Ben Nevis, Snowdon and Scafell all within 24 hours!”

“I could not have done this without the support of my boss Steve Attrill, his generosity and for providing the venue. “ The Hive has also nominated Macmillan as their preferred charity this year after Bill Attrill, Steve’s father, died in December 2011. Jen continues, “Likewise I truly appreciate wine expert Andrew Kindness and Dukes Auction House for supplying the appropriate vintages.” Hive staff gave their time free of charge as did all the other suppliers and contributors as Jen says. “I’ve been touched by all the warmth and enthusiasm for the event and would like to thank the following businesses for helping make the evening such a success and so worthwhile.”

Dukes Auction House for the sponsoring the wine
Footeprints for printing the tickets, posters and menu’s
Hive Beach Café and the Watch House Café staff for their time
Andrew Kindness for his expertise and entertainment
Samways for supplying the fish
Annette Shaw PR
Weyfish for the crab
Graham Wiffen Photography
Raffle prizes from many sources including Lesley waters, Wells Golf Club, the History Girls, Harbour News and Palmers

The Hive’s Wine Tasting Evening:

Oysters from the River Yealm served naturally on ice

wine: Valentin Bianchi, Brut NV

Seared Scallop with Basil, Lemon and Garlic Butter

Castillo de Tomas Verdejo 2011

Lyme Bay Squid Braised with Chorizo, Olives, Red Peppers and Tomatoes

Montepulciano D’Abbruzzo Cerasuolo 2010 Gran Sasso

Weymouth Brown Crab Gratin

Macon Villages Dom. Perraud 2009/2010

Lyme Bay Tempura Hake fillet, Creamy Leeks, Pancetta and Peas served with Chips

Vignerons De Valencay vin de pays Sauvignon Blanc 2010

Lemon Posset

Moscato d’Asti Strevi 2011

Here’s a gallery of pictures from the evenings event:

Good luck to all our Olympic and Paralympic Sailors.

The Hive Beach Cafe and the Watch House Cafe are sending our best wishes and our support to all the Olympic sailors from Team GBR. With the Sailing events taking place just down the coast in Weymouth and Portland we want to see them do well and bring home the Gold for Britain. With a number of the competitors living in the Weymouth area, its local and we want to see the region well represented as well as the country.

The final team members have now been nominated, so we send out our best to all those racing and taking part:

Ben Ainslie – Finn
Paul Goodison – Laser
Alison Young – Laser Radial
Bryony Shaw – RS:X Women
Nick Dempsey – RS:X Men
Hannah Mills & Saskia Clark – 470 Women
Luke Patience & Stuart Bithell – 470 Men
Stevie Morrison & Ben Rhodes – 49er
Iain Percy & Andrew Simpson – Star
Lucy Macgregor, Annie Lush & Kate Macgregor – Women’s Match Racing

ParalympicsGB sailors for 2012:

Helena Lucas – 2.4mR
Alexandra Rickham & Niki Birrell – SKUD
John Robertson, Hannah Stodel & Steve Thomas – Sonar

Further information about the team members, the racing and the games can be found on the TeamGBR site here.

Hive Beach will be buzzing on Saturday 19 & Sunday 20 May 2012

Hello and welcome to Spring Tide 2012. Now in its third fantastic year!

Spring Tide 2012 is only a few weeks away, so fingers crossed for a sunny weekend!

Set in this fantastic location here at Hive Beach on Dorset’s famous Jurassic Coast, we look forward to welcoming visitors in the relaxed atmosphere of the food marquee with its great mix of colourful stalls where you can sample and buy a fantastic array of high quality local products which were truly ‘home grown’.

Spring Tide is all about buying and trying great local food and drink, meeting the producers, as well as seeing what fantastic local arts and crafts are made right here on your doorstep.

So expect to find everything on the shopping list from spring veg, fresh fish, local meat, artisan bread, cheeses plus a selection of locally made wines, beers and cider. We aim to connect you to the most extraordinary and delicious food experiences you will find anywhere. You can also meet some of the organisations supporting the local food networks and celebrating all that’s great about being outdoors in West Dorset.

The local food movement coupled with concerns about sustainability and the health of our planet really do matter to people who live here.

As a host of small, local food businesses continues to grow, we are delighted that some of them are able contribute to the success of the Spring Tide Festival. People here in West Dorset genuinely do care about where their food comes from and what they eat and drink. This is not just a trend or a fad: it is a fundamental shift in how intelligent consumers and food lovers alike choose to shop, eat and drink. Long may it continue!

Spring Tide wouldn’t be possible without the help- and support of the following local partners, so a BIG thank you to – NT staff & volunteers– Dorset AONB, Jurassic Coast WHT, and Clive Sage – co-ordinator of the Bridport Farmers market.

On behalf of NT West Dorset, and the Hive Beach Cafe, we look forward to welcoming you to Spring Tide 2012!

Big love
Caroline Richards
Spring Tide Festival Project Manager
T: 07824 488000
e: info@spring-tide.org.uk
Web: http://www.spring-tide.org.uk/

May 2012

Getting there: Hive Beach is located just off the B3157 coast road at Burton Bradstock, between Bridport and Weymouth. Access is via Beach Road.

Postcode: DT6 4RF.

For info and Hive Beach Café opening hours Tel: 01308 897 070

Click here for images from last years festival, courtesy of Graham Wiffen.

Springtide Festival, 19th / 20th May
Returning for its 3rd year, this great food and craft fair takes place in the top car park at Burton Bradstock, so come and visit both in one go. Take a quick peek at last years event

Jubilee ‘Street’ Party on the lower car park, Burton Bradstock, Saturday June 2nd
A village street party to celebrate the Queen’s Jubilee will be held on the lower car park below the Hive’s patio from 5pm. The café will be open during the festivities so you can pop in, have dinner, listen to the music and watch the sun go down.

Bridport Food Festival, 10th-17th June

The Hive will be hosting the fresh fish counter in the marquee on Saturday 16th, providing some fun and entertainment as well as offering a taste of the local seas. We will also be offering a great selection of local, Dorset seafood for the week at both the Hive and our sister café, the Watch House Café in West Bay.

Dorset Seafood Festival 7th / 8th July

This amazing festival around the harbour side  is set to be bigger and better this year as the 2012 Games start shortly afterwards and the Sailing events are taking place just across the beach. We had such fun last year with the mussels, scallops and chorizo baps that we’ve decided to do it all over again. Check out last years festivities.

Eat Dorset Food Fair 13th / 14th October

The Champagne and Oysters will be flowing again this year at Parnham House. Come and join us for a glass whilst checking out the best Dorset has to offer. Here’s the highlights from last year.

And some extra bits and pieces to keep you and the family entertained over the summer holidays…

A Pop-Up Museum will be arriving in the lower car park on 25th July. More details to follow.

The Lions Youth Brass Band will be playing on 24th July. This was great fun last year so come and tap your feet whilst having a cream tea.

And finally …… this was is not yet confirmed but we’re planning a Punch & Judy show for both the Hive  and the Watch House Café over the summer holidays.Watch this space for more information.

Its set to be a busy summer for both the Hive and the Watch House Café in West Bay so if you want to be kept up to date with details of these events and anything else thats going on, please sign up for our regular newsletters at the bottom of the page.

• Sun – Sat (all week) 10am – 5pm
  Breakfast 10am – 11.45am
  Lunch 12 noon – 3pm

May Events:

Sea Food & Wine tasting evening, 11th
Spring Tide, 19/20th

Our opening times are always weather dependant.

Future opening hours

Hive Beach Café News Release

Global recognition

Mexico City, Granada, San Sebastian and … Burton Bradstock! Writing in the Sunday Telegraph celebrity chef Valentine Warner lists these as the ultimate destinations for the world’s best fish.

“We are over the moon!” says Steve Attrill owner of the Hive Beach Café at Burton Bradstock in West Dorset. The award winning café is no stranger to accolades but being highlighted on a global level is a real honour.

Mr. Warner actually lists five restaurants, the remaining one being The Seahorse in Dartmouth. “I feel that the South West is in a super league in terms of the quality of the produce available to us,” continues Steve. “It’s a tribute to the region and all the suppliers from fishing boats to bakers and vineyards.” Portland Bill Wild Seabass, West Bay Turbot with wild mushroom and tarragon cream sauce or Cornish Coast Sardines simply grilled with cracked black pepper and sea salt are just some of the dishes to have worked their magic on diners’ taste buds.

Awards judges have previously commented on how fresh and delicious the fish and seafood is, especially the crab and lobster. Café staff have been praised for knowing the source of the fish and whether it came from sustainable stock. As Steve explains, “We specialise in using environmentally friendly fishing methods such as local day boats, based in West Bay, Lyme Regis or Brixham, that use static pots and static nets or that line-catch their fish. All of which results in a higher quality of fish on the plate.” Hive chefs have also worked with their suppliers to gain access to the fish that may have otherwise been discarded. Species such as Dogfish, Dabs, Gurnard and Flounder are regularly on offer and encourage customers to try something different.

The menu changes daily and reflects what is landed by these boats and sold at market. Tim Attrill from the chefs’ team adds, “Because I live and work by the sea I’m constantly in touch with the local fishing industry, developing a cooking style that works brilliantly at the Hive.” For instance, spider crabs have a breeding ground off Burton beach, lobsters are caught in pots almost in view of the café and crabs are landed at Weymouth. “I’m passionate about my job,” says Tim “And with the other Hive chefs offer a cosmopolitan style menu, not forgetting of course, the Hive’s spectacular Seafood Platter, a real gourmet experience.”

The timing of this news could not be better. With the UK set for worldwide spotlight during the 2012 Games there is no doubt that visitors to Dorset and our neighbouring counties are in for a foodie treat.

For pictures, interviews and more information contact

Annette Shaw PR
Telephone: – 01308 456699
E-mail:- annetteshaw08@btinternet.com

Graham Wiffen (Business Manager)
Telephone: – (Hive) 01308 897070
Web site: – www.hivebeachcafe.co.uk
E-mail:- sales@hivebeachcafe.co.uk

Hive Beach Café, Beach Rd, Burton Bradstock
Dorset, DT6 4RF

The café offers both internal and external seating, but to ensure we can accommodate our guests and protect them against the inclement and changeable English weather, we have submitted a planning application for an awning to cover part of the external seating areas. This will allow us to increase the protected seating from 28 to 55 covers.

This increase in seating capacity not only protects our guests against the weather, it will protect the new jobs we have created in West Bay. With the regional unemployment growing, its good news for jobs to be created, but we need to protect them over the leaner winter months and the awning will help us do that. The new outdoor structure will also allow dogs to accompany their owners for a coffee or brunch under cover.

The concept of awnings has been working well for our sister café, the Hive Beach Café in Burton Bradstock for many years. The design allows the sides to be rolled up in sunny weather, the roof providing much needed shade, or the sides can be dropped in windy or wet weather. Unfortunately, the coastal position means we are exposed to the South Westerly winds.

We need your support with our application and ask that you go online and write a short letter of support for the Watch House and its new awning. Currently the County Council seem to be against the awning but we can see no real reason why and we need to show support for it. Many other groups have supported the application already, but your view and support is important, so please show your support.

Please go to :

www.dorsetforyou.com/160186

• Go to the ‘Detailed Search’ box and type in ‘Watch House Cafe’ in the ‘Property Name’ box.

• The top entry in the list is the application, and click on ‘Details’ on the far right.

• On the menu at the top of the screen, in the top left, click on ‘Submit Comment’ and enter your comments.

Thank you in advance for your help and support and we hope to have some good news for you in the very near future.

A free book give-away will be held at the café between 3pm – 4pm, where one of the 25 nominated titles will be available to pick up. People are bring asked to bring along some books they’ve already read to swap them over coffee, so come along and join in the fun.

Read more about the World Book Night here.

Other fish that are coming into season are Plaice. Since Christmas they have been spawning which makes them very thin and not good to eat but during April Plaice have finished their spawning and are starting to get heavier making them great to eat.

Dog fish (or Huss) have had a lot of good press recently and quite rightly so; they are delicious. We serve them in a fish finger bap which has gone down a storm at the Hive. They are around in good numbers at the moment and well worth a try.

Brill are in season and are at a good price as too are Bass. The water is getting clearer which brings the Mackerel in, so we are starting to see our first landings of Mackerel. They are slightly small but will start getting bigger soon. We wait to see if Mackerel stocks continue to be sustainable this year.

Lemon Sole’s are starting to roe up, so we will try to avoid them until they have finished spawning.

Other fish in season:

Scallops
Gurnard
Turbot
Mussels
John Dory (but still price’y)
Sardines (when available)
Hake
Lobster

The Watch House Café has opened this week after extensive refurbishment, modernisation, updating and extending over the winter months. It now offers great views across Lyme Bay from its ‘Upper Deck’, a much larger outside decked seating area, updated menus and has already received great comments from locals and the press. It’s set to become West Bay’s best beach café. Read all about it…

Easter is fast approaching and we are calling on all the children out there (young ones that is) to join us in decorating some eggs for our Easter Egg Competition…

The Hive has nominated MacMillan Cancer Support as its charity for 2012. Read how we are doing in raising funds for this great organisation. A selection of stories can be viewed here…

With the 2012 Games coming up in the next few months and the Sailing events being held in Weymouth, we have started our own ‘Olympic Blog‘ to keep you up to date with information related to the games. So far, this includes travel updates, art projects and the Torch Relay but will be updated regularly as we get closer to the start line…

The Hive Beach Café Cookbook is still selling well and makes an ideal present for anyone interested in cooking or sea food. The book is available via Amazon or online through our shop…

View from the Kitchen: the latest news from the chefs in the kitchen as to what’s around and good to eat…

Support your local fishermen: The Hive has always been a keen supporter of using environmentally friendly fishing methods and using local boats for our supplies of fish. Now the TV series, ‘The Fishermen’s Apprentice’ has been exploring the issues surrounding sustainable fishing …

Earlier in the year we had a large cliff fall take place just down from the café, with a couple who were walking the beach seeing it fall right in front of them. Read their story and see a gallery of the fall here…

Another story from earlier in the year was the annual outing of the Golden Whisk Trophy, our take on Pancake Day with a race along the beach…

And finally… the Coast Awards 2012: a big thank you to all our readers and followers for your votes over the Christmas period, as we heard recently that we have reached the finals of the Coast Awards in the Best Beach Café category. Fingers crossed now as we wait for the announcement of the winners … read the full article here…

That’s it for now. Its been a busy start to the year and we look forward to seeing many of you down at the Hive, or the Watch House, over the coming weeks and months. Have a great Easter and enjoy the lovely weather we’re having.