British Columbia is a major producer of high quality seafood, harvesting over 100 seafood species; local Santa Monica Seafood supplies it to restaurants throughout LA and Orange County. BC seafood represents over half of Canada’s aquaculture production, and it is so important to BC’s economy that the month of June has been designated as BC Seafood Month by provincial proclamation
Highlighting the month is the BC Shellfish & Seafood Festival, the largest of its kind in Western Canada. It takes place in the bountiful Comox Valley known for producing the most shellfish in British Columbia. This year’s ten day extravaganza offered over 45 culinary events – wine paired dinners, celebrity chef demonstrations, chef competitions, a trade expo, and shellfish and seafood producer tours and open houses, all celebrating the bounty of the sea.
Because Santa Monica is an important market, a festival kick off event, free and open to the public, was held here at the Water Grill Santa Monica on Sunday April 30. The Oyster Bar Take-over Tasting featured Guiness Book of World Records title holder Shucker Paddy showing off his skills with a wide selection of BC oysters.
The grand opening of the Festival was its signature Fresh Fest held at the beautiful Coastal Black Winery which specializes in berry wines. Tasting stations featured seafood and wine pairings by the country’s top chefs. Dishes included tuna tartare, oysters on the half shell, Oysters Rockefeller – you’ve never seen them bigger, plumper, or meatier; fresh off the water grilled salmon served with an Indian sauce and spices; and a giant pan of seafood paella.
The next day’s Salmon Capital Seafood Taste at Spirit Square in Campbell River was an afternoon al fresco soiree that featured food stations all showcasing salmon. High marks for creativity went to a gravlax and a salmon macaroon sandwich.
The Best in Town Caesar Competition at the White Whale restaurant offered buck-a-shuck oysters and drink specials while top mixologists competed for the Best Caesar in Town. Americans unfamiliar with a Caesar might think of it as a Canadian Bloody Mary with clam juice. Judging was based on appearance, taste, garnish, and of course, shellfish and seafood relevance.
The Chef’s Shellfish Showdown that evening was a sit down wine paired sunset gala with live entertainment at the beautiful 40 Knots Estate Winery. Ten courses prepared by celebrity chefs were up for your vote which you cast with a shell in the appropriate jar. Of course, that posed quite a dilemma: with this many top choices, how do you pick a favorite?
At the end of the evening, though, jars with the most shells included oysters with chard and pork jowl; char grilled Pacific octopus with oyster salsa verde, fennel and pickled ramps; Cowichan Pasta crab and shrimp ravioli with wild morels and spring onions in plenty of brown butter; and halibut with ricotta, spinach, local wild mushrooms and vegetable fricassee.
In other events, Toscano’s Mediterranean Grill, 40 Knots Estate Winery and Cascadia Liquor Store hosted a seafood and wine pairing event that served smoked albacore tuna paired with local wines.
A Gin & Oysters Happy Hour at Wayward Distillation House featured Kusshi Oysters – commonly known as cocktail oysters – from Stellar Bay Shellfish served with Unruly Gin made from BC honey.
The Festival’s signature grand finale, Comox by the Sea Celebration, was also the Festival’s largest event, bringing in over 2500 people. Supported by producers, suppliers and educational institutions, it featured seafood tasting booths with local beer, wine and spirits, celebrity chef competitions and demos, interactive educational displays, and live music. The winner of the Ocean Wise Chowder Challenge won a trip to compete in Vancouver Aquarium’s Ocean Wise Chowder Chow Down. The best shucker from the Fanny Bay Oysters Shucking Championship won a trip to Prince Edward Island Shellfish Festival’s Raspberry Point International Oyster Shucking Championship.
Throughout the Festival seafood production facilities offered plant tours and open houses. These included Salish Sea Foods, operated by the Komoks First Nation Economic Development, which processes some of the best Pacific salmon, BC oysters, fin fish, clams, and halibut.
The BC Salmon Farm Tour included a boat ride across the Johnstone Strait with its beautiful scenery and wildlife sightings.
Fanny Bay Oysters in the tiny oceanside community renowned for oysters produces fresh and individually quick frozen shucked Pacific oysters and Manila clams.
The Macs Oysters Beach tour included a beach walk on Ships Point showcasing farming practices and foraging for marine delicacies.
The Manatee Royston Hatchery emphasized practices that focus on preservation of the environment along with sustainability in producing geoducks, sea cucumbers, scallops, and oysters.
Others related tours offer a half or full day wildlife tour of Salish Sea and Desolation Sound cruising bays, inlets, and tidal rapids in search of marine life. Crabbing Experience is a three hour boat trip that takes you through historic sites while you learn to catch and prepare crab. Crab traps are onboard with hopes of catching Dungeness crab; if you get lucky to find legal keepers, the boat chef will prepare them as part of your outing’s meal.
You can use the time between festival events to explore the beautiful Comox Valley. With mountains facing the sea, it offers the charm of a small town along with a touch of urban sophistication. Over 400 farmers and food producers operate in the region, providing the base for its rich farm to fork and tide to table culinary tradition. That culture is on display in the menus of its diverse selection of restaurants as well as in its award winning year round Comox Valley Farmers Market. Here you can find fresh local meat, vegetables, baked goods, healthy body products, as well as local beer, wine, cider and spirits.
For peace and tranquility, and to work off some of that seafood you’ve been chowing down, head out to the post card pretty Courtenay riverside walkway for a bracing morning walk or a leisurely after dinner sunset stroll in the long Canadian evenings. The walkway is easily accessible from the row of main hotels that include Old House and Holiday Inn; just look for the connecting pathways at the back.
For more event information, please visit www.bcshellfishfestival.com , www.discovercomaxvalley.com,
#BCShellFest #exploreComoxValley