B.C.'s Spot Prawn Festival goes virtual for 2021
Chefs Angus An, Ken Nakano, Ned Bell among those celebrating the beloved seafood’s season online
The 2021 Spot Prawn Festival started on May 14 and runs for six to eight weeks Photo by Meighan Makarchuk/Ocean Wise
IT’S SPOT-PRAWN season in B.C., and the annual Spot Prawn Festival is back for 2021 in a new pandemic-friendly format.
Presented by The Chefs’ Table Society of BC and Pacific Prawn Fishermen’s Association, the online fest runs for the entire season, which opened May 14 and lasts approximately six to eight weeks. It’s scheduled around the species’ complex life cycle to ensure sustainability.
On the Spot Prawn Festival website are recipes by chefs from all over B.C., while Chefs’ Table’s social-media accounts will feature chefs’ tips on things like how to identify and cook spot prawns, where to buy them, and more about sustainability.
Ken Nakano of Victoria’s Inn at Laurel Point is among the B.C. chefs participating in the 2021 Spot Prawn Festival.
In a normal year, chefs would serve up hot chowder at Granville Island’s Fisherman’s Wharf; this time out, Chefs’ Table is offering frozen Manhattan (tomato-based) chowder made with spot prawns and other sustainable seafoods. (It’s available via Legends Haul and Organic Ocean.) Funds raised will go toward Chefs’ Table initiatives such as culinary scholarships and the CTS Culinary Library, a legacy project.
The main Spot Prawn Festival event is a virtual soirée on May 29. Chefs Angus An of Vancouver’s Maenam, Ned Bell and Stacy Johnston of Naramata Inn, and Ken Nakano of Aura Waterfront Restaurant + Patio (at Inn at Laurel Point in Victoria) as well as special guest and Order of Canada recipient Robert Clark (Organic Ocean’s newly appointed chief culinary officer), will guide spot-prawn lovers at home through a three-course dinner.
This virtual happening will mimic the annual Spot Prawn Festival demo-stage. Guests will get a grocery list in advance, recipes, and a video link to a tutorial for each course. At 7 pm PDT, people will be able to enjoy their food while engaging live with the chefs.
Tickets for the online event are $25 and available on Eventbrite.
More information about the festival is here.
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