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By John Smith • Updated: 06 Nov 2024 • 13:09 • 1 minute read
Every day saw a large turnout at the Ostend shrimp croquette festival Credit: Ostend Tourism
For those who like those tiny North Sea shrimps and croquettes then 11 restaurants in Ostend, managed to produce no less than 49,500.
This was to ensure that visitors to the ever popular Ostend shrimp croquette festival wouldn’t go hungry when it ran from October 5 to 7.
Tickets which have to be purchased in advance sold out at a very early stage and unlike in Spain where customers travel from one bar or restaurant to another as part of a Ruta de Tapas, this festival was held in a single location, the ACEG Wellington Hippodrome.
Starting quite humbly, this annual event, sponsored by Ostend Tourism grows in importance and size but it is left to the diners as well as professional judges to vote for their favourite crustacean morsel, with two separate prizes.
Many followed traditional recipes but some were more adventurous, adding curry flavour or tomatoes to their croquettes but the overall opinion was that they were all very tasty.
Large crowds queued in the sunshine whilst awaiting entry and once inside they headed for the stalls of each of the 11 participating restaurants to obtain their delicious samples as well as a beer to wash it down whilst they were also able to enjoy local jazz bands.
All visitors were asked to arrive by bus, bicycle, scooter or car share in order to keep city pollution at a minimum level.
Another tasty shrimp delicacy, much loved in Ostend, the smeus which consists of shrimps, mashed potato and a poached (topped with caviar if you are a real gourmand) was not available on this occasion but is certainly recommend if you visit the city.
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Married to Ophelia in Gibraltar in 1978, John has spent much of his life travelling on security print and minting business and visited every continent except Antarctica. Having retired several years ago, the couple moved to their house in Estepona and John became a regular news writer for the EWN Media Group taking particular interest in Finance, Gibraltar and Costa del Sol Social Scene. Currently he is acting as Editorial Consultant for the paper helping to shape its future development. Share your story with us by emailing newsdesk@euroweeklynews.com, by calling +34 951 38 61 61 or by messaging our Facebook page www.facebook.com/EuroWeeklyNews
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