Love Seafood – Celebrate it at Port Stephens.
Love Seafood – Celebrate it With Local Oyster Farmers, Fishing Families and Food Legends at Port Stephens.
Seafood-lovers can look forward to an even bigger and better Love Seafood festival at Port Stephens this winter as organisers expand on the many great ways to experience the local catch, in the company of local oyster growers, fishing families and food legends. Port Stephens is renowned for its pristine waters and premium fresh seafood and this delicious, month-long, destination-festival is the best time to experience it, at its peak and right at the source.
The Love Seafood festival runs from August 1 to August 31 with a gala dinner, an exciting expo weekend, cooking demonstrations, a masterclass series local wine and seafood pairing and signature dinners by guest chefs, among program highlights. The popular Trawler to Table and Fish to Dish menus are back - with local eateries offering ‘meet the maker’ style signature dinners or lunches, hosted by local seafood legends; and great value festival menus, throughout the month of August.
Fun to watch, will be the Oyster Shucking Competition and Blind Tasting of Oysters; bringing together oyster growing families from all over Port Stephens to create a real sense of community spirit at the festival. The port has been Australia’s largest oyster producing area from the time of early settlement, with generations of growers scattered throughout the region – and they’re all coming to town for Love Seafood! Fresh seafood tastings are another opportunity to get to know local growers and gain insight to seafood selection, preparation and production. Take-in a talk on fish farm sustainability or gather-round ‘old salts’ spinning a yarn or two from their years at sea.
Not to be missed, Love Seafood 2017 will be a unique celebration of the quality and abundance of sublime Port Stephens seafood. It all unfolds in the spectaculars setting of a 98,000 hectare marine sanctuary with crystal-clear aquamarine waters, fringed by 26 white sandy beaches. So grab a few gourmet days away at Port Stephens.
Love Seafood Festival Highlights – 2017
Meet the Oyster Grower – Saturday August 12
Unsurpassed for the quality and diversity of local oysters, Port Stephens has been Australia’s largest oyster growing region since the time of settlement. Generations of oyster growing families from all over Port Stephens will bring a taste of the farm to town with blind tastings of oysters and pointers for shucking ‘the perfect dozen’.
Gala Dinner – Friday August 25
A panoramic bay vista and four fabulous chefs, showcasing their favourite seafood - at Broughton’s on D’Albora Marina, where the fishing boats come in each morning. Not to be missed, the experience pairs premium local seafood with sublime local wines and some surprises!
Fish and Fun - Saturday August 26 - Sunday August 27
The signature weekend of Love Seafood with a host of activities, from cooking with seafood by local and celebrity chefs to tastings with seafood producers, oyster-shucking competition and a Kids Fun Zone of interactive displays, touch tanks and fish feeding.
Trawler to Table – Signature Series
Restaurants all around Port Stephens will host ‘meet the maker’ style lunches and dinners, hosted by local seafood legends, for an authentic experience of the local specialities.
Fish to Dish – Seafood Lunch Specials
Local eateries will offer mid-week seafood specials throughout August to showcase seasonal seafood, fresh from the fishing boats and farmers of Port Stephens.