WIN at the 2009 Adelaide Show

TASTE SA PAVILLION

At the 2009 SA Seafood Awards, secretary Tracy Hill announced the main WIN projects for the next two years

One was to hold the 2011 Seafood Awards in Port Lincoln, and the other was to represent the Seafood industry at the Royal Adelaide Show

Ferguson Australia stepped in to partner with WIN as we were unable to secure product this year to participate in the Yellow Brick road.  However we are confident that this will be a reality next year.

The stall was decorated with the Big fish from the Awards night and displayed quality photographs, brochures, prize draws and recipe books for sale.   Fergusons sold their condiments and specialty foods.

WIN's plan was to provide information to the public, but this plan was sunk on day one as visitors to the stall expected to try seafood.  A quick rethink took place it was decided to give the public what they wanted.  A quick trip to Meningie to get fish and cooking equipment rescued what could have been a disaster.

The gamble paid off and tastings of fish on bread were sold for $1 each. In addition Fergusons made available some of their lobster and lemon infused oils which when added to some egg mayonnaise made a fantastic dressing for the tasty fish.

Customers were impressed with the result with over 7,000 tastings cooked from a single electric frying pan.  It added to the workload but the response was terrific.

In addition it gave us a captive audience to talk about the industry, and issues affecting it.   Nathan Bicknell from SEANET attended with some interesting support material.  Brochures from several industry groups, FRDC, MSC and Wildcatch were on display.  WIN aslo produced stickers and gave away ballons, pencils and rulers.  Several recipe books were sold.

Stall costs, wages, cooking supplies and most expenses were covered by the sales which means that the balance WIN bank account can still be used for future projects.

It was very tiring but rewarding and Taste SA was definately excited that we represented the SA Seafood Industry.  We will be holding a meeting to decide if we do something similar next year or not. 

However it did prove once again that the South Australian public wants to have access to local seafood.