BC Shellfish & Seafood Festival Preview
Recently I had the privilege to attend the media launch event for BC Shellfish & Seafood Festival happening Jun 9-18, 2017 in Comox Valley, Vancouver Island. Needless to say, being that my favourite protein is pretty much seafood, I was psyched.
This festival (in it’s 11th year I might add) was established to ‘drive national, international and regional long-term awareness to the importance and diversity of BC coastal communities seafood industries’. Having gone to the event, I now understand what they’re trying to achieve. It’s all about bringing awareness and celebrating the incredible producers, chefs, and partners of BC.
We started off with some wine from 40 Knots Vineyard & Estate Winery (located on Vancouver Island).
Then we got a taste of Chef Chris Andrazas’s panko breaded fanny bay oysters from, you guessed it, Fanny Bay Oyster Bar!! Their oysters are incredibly fresh and it’s literally ‘tide-to-table’ within 24 hours.
Maenam made a visit and showcased their steamed mussels with Thai aromatics. The aromatics included lemongrass, lime leaf, galangal, and Thai basil. The mussels were plump and juicy of course, and went great with the Nahm Jim sauce.
One of my favourite dishes of the night was the mirin and tamari marinated sablefish with fiery gingered yam puree by Chef Nigel at the Blackfin Pub. The sablefish was divine and quite literally, melted in my mouth. I’m not sure if it was the supplier (Golden Eagle Aquaculture) or the chef that is to be praised, but it was one of the best sablefish dishes I’ve ever had.
This was the Steelhead Gravlax from Savoury Chef Foods. It has cured steelhead filet, everything bagel spice, and creme fraiche, all sitting on top of a steelhead cracker that is very similar to those Asian shrimp crackers you get at Asian seafood restaurants!
Chef Ronald St.Pierre from Locals Restaurant on Vancouver Island served a delicious Chinook Salmon Tartar, presented in a crispy Proscuitto ham cup with Tree Island Goodness yogurt sauce and homemade fennel cracker.
At this point during the event, we were already feeling pretty good. 😛 But after tasting the honey vodka from this booth, we were goooooood. Wayward Spirits is a local BC company that makes vodka, gin, and spirits using real BC honey. The taste is a smooth, sweet, gorgeous liquor that is as good sipped as it is mixed.
I want to thank SG Travel and Communications for inviting me to this exclusive media event and I can’t wait for the festival in June!
Here are some of the different events and tours happening between June 9-18:
- BC Seafood on Your Plate Campaign June 9-18
- Chef’s Shellfish Showdown June 9
- Fresh Fest June 10
- BC Seafood Expo June 12 & 13
- Nourish in Nature – BC Shellfish Growers Association Shellfish Feast June 16
- Comox by the Sea Celebration June 18
Happy Eating!
