BC spot prawns made a brief appearance in the Okanagan yesterday as the stars of the 2nd Annual Wild BC Spot Prawn Festival. The event took place from 1:00 – 4:00 pm on the sunny patio at The Cove Lakeside Resort, and was co-sponsored by Codfather’s Seafood Market.
Some of the Valley’s top chefs were on hand offering samples that showed off the sweet and succulent flavour of these little beauties. Participating restaurants included:
- 19 Grill + Lounge
- Bonfire Grill at the Cove
- C Restaurant, Vancouver
- Hillside Estate Winery & Bistro
- Joy Road Catering
- Poppadoms
- Ricardo’s Mediterranean Grill
- The Terrace at Mission Hill Family Estate
Live spot prawns for sale
A sustainable choice, closely regulated to minimize the impact on our oceans
The venue
The team from Poppadoms presented Coconut Curry Prawns over Basmati Rice.
Hillside Winery & Bistro presented Cold Poached Prawns with Cucumber Relish and Muscat Pearls served on a Rice Cracker
Bonfire Grill at the Cove presented Sambuca Prawns served with Puff Pastry ~ Recipe courtesy of Chef Grant
C Restaurant, Vancouver presented Wild BC Spot Prawn Gazpacho ~ Recipe courtesy of Chef Robert Clark
The Cove Beach Resort nestled along the western shore of Lake Okanagan.
Beach side at The Cove
The cool, shady pathways at neighbouring Gellatly Nut Farm.
Chef Ned Bell from last year’s Spot Prawn Festival at False Creek in Vancouver, BC, courtesy of Vancouver Magazine.
Residents of the Okanagan obviously adore spot prawns (half of the restaurants sold out of samples before 3:00 pm) so if you’re planning to check out next year’s festival, be sure and go early!
For more great recipes and tips on buying, storing and preparing wild BC spot prawns, check out www.wildbcspotprawns.ca.
*Many thanks to Val at More Than Burnt Toast for giving me the lowdown on the festival!
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Just to let you know that I still follow your blog since your move, although there’s no “Like” button anymore. All those dishes looked and sounded great! And, congrats on the JC 100!
Thanks so much! I miss the “Like” button too but other than that, I’m very happy with the move. I took a few pictures of some Canadian Geese and their young at the lake yesterday that I had been hoping to include in this post, but the shot was out of focus.
Cheers, Laura
Looks like you had a fabulous time!You have no idea how I missed attending this years event. It is at times that this that I have to remind myself why I am working 6 days a week with the reward at the end.
It will so be worth it when you’re exploring Italy!
My only regret for the Spot Prawn Festival was that I wasn’t there right at 1:00. Mission Hills, 19 Grill + Lounge, and Joy Road Catering were all sold out by the time I got there. I came a little late on purpose because I had volunteered to help out and my assignment was taking down tables, etc., after the event was over. Next time I’m volunteering to help with the setup.
These look great! We get fresh Maine shrimp every year, but they’re much smaller than these prawns. These look like monsters by comparison. I’ll have to time a trip out to B.C. during the season. Good post. Ken
Hi Ken,
This was my first time tasting spot prawns, but it definitely won’t be my last. They were delicious – and yes – enormous! Harvest season starts in early May and lasts anywhere from 6 – 8 weeks. Great excuse to visit Vancouver for sure!
Cheers,
Laura
Laura, those photos made me hungry! I have to go get some lunch – fast!
Oh good! It worked! Thanks a lot for stopping by Joan.
I love prawns. When I was a child till about 12 or so, my dad raised prawns which were mostly exported to Japan. Then one day, a few men got greedy, did the intensive production without regard to nature. Then a disease came that infected the main river source. After a few years of trying to revive it, we finally gave up. I still get to eat them when I go home but now we buy them from the fish market. It did brought me a lot of great memories though. Thank you for a “delicious” post!
http://thismansjourney.net/2012/06/13/weekly-image-of-life-happiness/
I’m glad it brought back great memories for you! Thanks very much for sharing your family’s history with prawns. I had no idea prawns could be raised in rivers! Much like your Dad’s business, most of the BC spot prawns are exported to Japan and the rest of Asia where they are very popular in the sushi markets. Only about 10% of are sold locally in B.C.
That’s a great new photo challenge you’ve started in the wordpress.com community! Every time I visit your blog I tell myself my next winter vacation should be to the Gulf Coast area in Texas.
Have a wonderful weekend!