Written By Adam Cantor Events / Places May 15, 2014 Coming Up: Spot Prawn Festivals SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter PinterestAs I type this, the fishing boats are just beginning to come in to Cowichan Bay with the first catch of spot prawns. The spot prawn, a world famous delicacy and special to Vancouver Island, is being celebrated at a number of venues over the next couple of weeks. Not only are spot prawns delicious, but also they are a sustainable and well-managed resource. Eat Magazine sent me, your fearless reporter, out on the road for the scoop.1: Spot Prawn Festival at the Victoria Public Market. I went down to meet Maryanne Carmac, erstwhile Eat reporter, and now general manager at the Public Market. The festival at the market, happening May 17–18, has a lot to offer Victorians this year. There will be tastings, and cooking demonstrations by a number of excellent local chefs. Cormac highlighted the participation, for example, of Les Chan, a well-known emissary of Chinese cooking in the city. “Because we are right beside Chinatown,” she explained, “it is important that we start bridging the culinary gap between ourselves and that neighbourhood. It is such a huge part of Victoria’s history.”While I was at the market, I had the chance to sample a salad made by chef Leana Meyer at Cowichan Bay Seafood. The salad, made with prawns, apple, mint, fennel, and chipotle dressing, made for an excellent, light lunch. The spot prawn, as you willlearn from watching the cooking demonstrations and wandering about the festival, is such a great ingredient because of the number of ways in which it can be prepared. The possibilities are limitless. (For recipes the current issue of EAT for a Spot Prawn Cobb Salad or visit the Wild BC Spot Prawn website2: Next day, I went to Cowichan Bay with Nick Versteeg , a documentary film-maker and emissary for the slow food movement in Cowichan who is overseeing the Cowichan Bay Spot Prawn Festival this year. A philosophical man, committed to the quality and development of local agriculture and businesses, Versteeg engaged me in much conversation on the rich history and the doings of Cowichan. The village itself, once known as a hangout for bikers and other such sorts, is now entirely transformed with gourmet shops offering local and delectable products.At the Cow Café and West Coast Grill, local chef Matt Heyne worked up two dishes for me to try. The first was a spot prawn salad with heirloom tomatoes and a pear vinaigrette. Next (and here was the real showpiece) spot prawns and filet mignon on a bed of mashed Yukon gold potatoes and hollandaise sauce. Although this has nothing to do with prawns, I should note that the café also has excellent clam chowder.It was an excellent day, which began among the bobbing fishing boats in Cowichan Bay and ended with me heading back on the Malahat in the dark. The festival in Cowichan Bay this year, along with chef demonstrations, wine tastings, and whale watching, is going to feature a very large vat of boiled prawns for the public to devour by the bucket load. This is my idea of happiness.Vic Public Market – May 17 & May 18. See their website for details.website: Cowichan Bay SeafoodWebsite: Prawnfest May 24 & 25.: See their website for detailsWebsite: Cow CaféCowichan Bayfestivalsspot prawnsVictoriaVictoria Public Market SHARE VIA: Facebook Twitter Pinterest Written By: Adam Cantor Born and raised in the mysterious East (by which I mean Ontario and Quebec, not Asia), Adam migrated out to British Columbia in search of adventure and fortune. He had been at different times a scholar, a musician, a poet and a ... Read More You may also like Events / Food News / Places April 28, 2021 CITY EATS May|June 2021 At press time, restaurants, pubs, bars and food courts remain closed for indoor dining. One silver lining is that the weather is warming up and more ... Read More Awards / Drink People / Events / Wine Events / Wine News October 15, 2020 SOMM SMACKDOWN—Rumble at Aura Waterfront Restaurant Strange, interesting, and wonderful things can happen in odd times, and there is no stranger time than now, but something needed to be done to pay ... Read More Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / Events March 2, 2020 Victoria Beer Week March 6 – 14 Victoria Beer Week returns March 6-14 with 19 different events held in venues around Victoria. This 7th annual festival of craft beer offers ... Read More Events / Food & Wine Pairing / Food Events / Places / Victoria February 25, 2020 Pacific Northwest Wine Dinner: Canoe Brewpub & Unsworth Vineyards Multi-award winning Unsworth Vineyards and Canoe’s Chef Kyle Dampsy joined forces on Wednesday, February 19, in Canoe’s upstairs Dining ... Read More Beer / Events / Food Events / Places / Spirits / Victoria February 25, 2020 11th Annual Island Beer and Spirits Festival The Strathcona Hotel has long brought together BC brewers and distillers in its multiple taprooms but rarely is the brewing craft celebrated so much ... Read More Beer & Cider / Events / Food Events / Places / Victoria November 17, 2019 Canoe Brewpub’s Eighth Annual Winterbrau Festival 2019 Beer brewers from across the island and the lower mainland gathered in the lofty wooden halls of Canoe Brewpub over November 9 and 10 for the eighth ... Read More Comments are closed.
Events / Food News / Places April 28, 2021 CITY EATS May|June 2021 At press time, restaurants, pubs, bars and food courts remain closed for indoor dining. One silver lining is that the weather is warming up and more ... Read More
Awards / Drink People / Events / Wine Events / Wine News October 15, 2020 SOMM SMACKDOWN—Rumble at Aura Waterfront Restaurant Strange, interesting, and wonderful things can happen in odd times, and there is no stranger time than now, but something needed to be done to pay ... Read More
Beer / Beer & Cider / Drink / Events March 2, 2020 Victoria Beer Week March 6 – 14 Victoria Beer Week returns March 6-14 with 19 different events held in venues around Victoria. This 7th annual festival of craft beer offers ... Read More
Events / Food & Wine Pairing / Food Events / Places / Victoria February 25, 2020 Pacific Northwest Wine Dinner: Canoe Brewpub & Unsworth Vineyards Multi-award winning Unsworth Vineyards and Canoe’s Chef Kyle Dampsy joined forces on Wednesday, February 19, in Canoe’s upstairs Dining ... Read More
Beer / Events / Food Events / Places / Spirits / Victoria February 25, 2020 11th Annual Island Beer and Spirits Festival The Strathcona Hotel has long brought together BC brewers and distillers in its multiple taprooms but rarely is the brewing craft celebrated so much ... Read More
Beer & Cider / Events / Food Events / Places / Victoria November 17, 2019 Canoe Brewpub’s Eighth Annual Winterbrau Festival 2019 Beer brewers from across the island and the lower mainland gathered in the lofty wooden halls of Canoe Brewpub over November 9 and 10 for the eighth ... Read More
Correction / EAT Magazine News May 16, 2022 Correction — May|June 2022 The article on L’Apéro in the May|June issue should have stated Chef Andrea Maiolo staged at The Courtney Room and Zambri’s and that he held the ... Read More
2022 Issues / Drink / EAT Magazine News / Food / Magazine May 6, 2022 May|June 2022 May|June issue on the stands. Read ... Read More
Wine News Jan 10, 2012 Update: Winter Okanagan Wine Festival – January 14-22, 2012 Sun Peaks, BC (January 10, 2012) – Four events are already sold out and less than 70 tickets are available for the signature event of the 14th ... Read More