4th Annual Spot Prawn Festival, Vancouver BC

Spot Prawn FEVER!!

The 4th Annual Spot Prawn Festival kicked off yesterday during a gorgeous afternoon at Vancouver's False Creek Fishermen's Wharf.


Spot prawns are the sweetest prawn you'll ever eat, sustainably harvested from local British Columbia waters, available for only a short 6-8 week season every year.


I was introduced to these prized local delicacies during my visit last year and loved them so much I ate them at least a dozen times! This year, I made sure to time my visit to coincide with the lively season opener.



We arrived 15 minutes before the event began and quickly got in line for the spot prawn tastings:


$10 per plate for 4 spot prawns with 'accompaniments' and a piece of bread:


The food was dished out rather efficiently via assembly line, expertly manned by students from the Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts. The spot prawns were prepared very simply this year to showcase their natural sweetness (in prior years, local restaurants set up individual tasting stations which offered more elaborate spot prawn dishes).

Spot prawns simply boiled in saltwater:


Chilled spot prawns, poached in a court boullion:


3 saucy accompaniments, nam jim Thai sauce, cocktail sauce, and mango salsa:


And delicious pizza bianca bread from Terra Breads:


YUM! And don't forget to suck the heads!


Afterwards we sampled wines from the Okanagan's Prospect Winery:


Microbrew tastings from Granville Island Brewing:

Live entertainment from local blues-rock band, Terminal Station:

A loud horn announced the much anticipated arrival of the first catch of the season:

Our favorite spot prawn fishermen, Steve Johansen and Frank Keitsch from Organic Ocean:


For more interesting facts about spot prawns, check out my post from last season which includes an interview with Steve and Frank and features a 6 course spot prawn tasting menu I had at C Restaurant.

WHERE TO BUY
You can purchase live spot prawns from Organic Ocean at False Creek Fishermen's Wharf after 1pm daily for $12/lb for the duration of spot prawn season.

LEARN TO COOK
Every Wednesday during the month of May, the Dirty Apron Cooking School is offering spot prawn classes featuring Chef Nico Schuermans of Chambar/Cafe Medina. Dishes will include a spot prawn ceviche, spot prawn bisque and spiced butter poached spot prawns.
$145 per person

WHERE TO EAT
Dozens of local restaurants will be featuring spot prawns on their menus throughout the season including:

REFUEL
BC Spot Prawn Boil
Every Saturday this month starting May 8th
Early seating: 6 - 8pm
Late seating: 8:30 -10:30pm

$65 per person

MAENAM
Menu will feature 8 Thai-influenced spot prawn dishes throughout the season.

C RESTAURANT
5 course spot prawn tasting menu for one week only! Now thru Sat May 15th.

For the remainder of spot prawn season, a tasting menu may be available on special request (ask when booking your reservation).

VIJ'S
Spot prawns featured on the menu all year round.

GO FISH!
Spot prawn daily specials throughout the season.

PROVENCE MARINASIDE
Chef's menu featuring spot prawns

DB BISTRO MODERNE
Bouillabaisse Provencal featuring BC spot prawns

4th Annual Spot Prawn Festival, Vancouver BC

For the Love of Fish: From Producer to Plate

Most of you know that I was in Vancouver (stuffing my face) last month, and over the next few weeks I will be sharing some of my favorite and most memorable experiences from my trip.

On Thursday, May 28th, hubby Kris and I attended "For The Love of Fish: From Producer to Plate", a guided tasting of eight local sustainable seafoods prepared by local chefs, hosted by Slow Food Vancouver and SeaChoice at the Italian Cultural Centre in Vancouver.

The star line-up included world renowned chef Hidekazu Tojo, famous for inventing the California roll, Chef Robert Clark of C Restaurant, local champion of sustainable seafood, and Chef Andrea Carlson, executive chef of Bishop's Restaurant, a Vancouver institution featuring award-winning regional cuisine.

Featured producers and fishermen, including my spot prawn buddy Steve Johansen from Organic Ocean, were there to showcase their sustainable seafood and answer questions. Only 100 seats were available for $50 per ticket ($35 for Slow Food members), a bargain price to taste the seafood creations of local celebrity chefs (and a lot cheaper than fine dining at Tojo's, Bishop's, or C Restaurant).


I know most of you are probably here to gawk at the food, but I've also thrown in some sustainable seafood facts and interesting tidbits I learned from attending this 3 hour event.

The tasting was accompanied by a bread basket from the Bread Affair, artisanal cheeses from Mt. Pleasant Cheese Company, and wine from Farmstead Wines:


ALBACORE TUNA, spice encrusted and lightly seared, chilled and served with smoked salt, Pemberton beet salad, and horseradish dressing (from Natural Gift Seafoods, as prepared by Chef Peter Berg, and plated by Chef Quang Dang of C Restaurant):
BC albacore tuna is not only sustainable (trolling results in very little by-catch), it's deliciously rich and buttery, and so highly regarded that most of the commerical catch is shipped to Japan as sashimi grade tuna.


PACIFIC SARDINES, lightly seared and pickled, pumpernickel bread, sour cream, cilantro and cucumber (from Seaside Marketing, as prepared by Chef Colman Herrington, A Plus Catering): Sardines are very nutritious, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and low in mercury and other contaminants. They disappeared completely from British Columbia waters in the 1940s and mysteriously reappeared 50 years later in the early 1990s. Overcooking oily fish like sardines will result in fishiness!


SABLEFISH COLLAR aka SABLEENE, marinated in sweet vermouth, served with edamame daikon salad (from Seaside Marketing, as prepared by Chef Clement Chan, Mosaic Restaurant, Hyatt Regency Vancouver):

Sablefish is also known as black cod. Before sableenes became fashionable, they were thrown overboard by fisherman or ground into fishmeal for fertilizer! Sustainable seafood is all about using every part of the fish, and these tasty little morsels are starting to pop up on local menus.


KUSSHI OYSTER, shallot wine mignonette, brunoise of organic apples with cider vinegar (from Stellar Bay Shellfish, as prepared by Chef Matthew Davies, Provence Marinaside Grill): Off-bottom oyster farms have little impact on the environment. This clean tasting kuushi was also Kris' first raw oyster! And he liked it!

COHO SALMON, marinated in brown sugar, with watercress salad (from Swift Aquaculture, as prepared by Chef Robert Clark, C Restaurant):

Most Atlantic salmon is farmed using open-net pens in the ocean, a method known for it's devastating impact on wild salmon populations. Swift Aquaculture's coho salmon is farmed in an environmentally responsible closed tank system, and it's really delicious too!

DUNGENESS CRAB, fried crispy dungeness crab avocado roll (from Seafood 4 Life, as prepared by Chef Hidekazu Tojo from Tojo’s Restaurant):

DUNGENESS CRAB, raw scallop, raw salmon, wrapped in egg crepe, topped with roe: Unique to the Westcoast, sweet Dungeness crabs are caught using baited traps, resulting in low by-catch. I have to admit that I get starstruck easily, so I was most excited to try these sushi rolls prepared by the famous Hidekazu Tojo! And they were absolutely delicious. Raw fish novice Kris was on a roll that night (pun intended), eating raw salmon, scallop, spot prawn, and oyster! YAY Kris!

SPOT PRAWNS, on kombu with pea shoot salad and tomato jelly (from Organic Ocean, as prepared by Chef Julian Bond, Pacific Institute of Culinary Arts):

Named for the 4 distinctive white spots on their shells, sustainable wild BC spot prawns are highly prized for their sweetness and firm textured flesh. But you already knew that if you've read my recent post about Vancouver's Annual Spot Prawn Festival and my interview with producer Steve Johansen.

PACIFIC SCALLOPS, cured with fennel, salt and sugar, citrus brine, with sweet sicily pod, shaved fennel and rhubarb (from Edge Water Foods, as prepared by Chef Andrea Carlson, Bishop’s Restaurant):

My favorite dish of the night, scallop was super sweet and juicy! Off-bottom farming of BC scallops doesn't hurt the sea floor like dredging (on-bottom farming).

Do you love fish and seafood? Are you worried about our oceans? You can make a difference by choosing sustainable seafoods:
USA - Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch for all US Regions

Canada's Seafood Guide

For the Love of Fish: From Producer to Plate