BC Seafood Festival returns with an exciting line up of Chefs and Competitions 2019!

The 13th Annual BC Seafood Festival 2019 Chef Line Up Announced with More Competitions and Seafood Experiences than Ever Before!

Chefs and Mixologists will battle for top prizes and epic bragging rights during the #BCSeafoodfest Signature Weekend, June 14-16, 2019

Visitors to the 13th annual BC Seafood Festival Signature Weekend, June 14 – 16th in Comox Valley, will experience more chef competitions and seafood demonstrations than ever before during Western Canada’s largest seafood celebration – perfect for foodies who love to sample, slurp and savor BC seafood & spirits, music lovers, and families who want to explore & learn about cooking and the benefits of eating seafood for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

“We are incredibly excited about the chef lineup and seafood events featured at this year’s BC Seafood Festival,” says Nathan Fong, Chef Producer for BC Seafood Festival 2019. “The festival competitions have grown in popularity and prizes, and this year more chefs than ever are interested in competing. We are anticipating fast-paced competition in the Chef Challenge once again, and we are excited about the new Junior Chef Competition featuring cooks from ages 8-12 years old.”

The 2019 BC Seafood Festival competitions, held during the Signature Weekend, June 14 – 16th, will feature a variety of celebrity chefs, mixologists and oyster shuckers as they compete their way to win prizes, including the coveted $5,000 top prize at the BC Seafood Festival Chef Challenge– back for its second year! Throughout the BC Seafood Festival, June 7 – 16th, chefs will also be participating in demonstrations, cooking events, tastings and competitions all showcasing the bounty of BC seafood.

Reach for BC Seafood – The 2019 BC Seafood Festival program highlights:

The Signature Weekend –  June 15 and 16th – Back by popular demand! Tickets are now on sale for the Signature Weekend featuring new events and celebrations including celebrity chef demonstrations, award-winning shellfish and seafood tastings, interactive and educational displays along with the famous seafood competitions. New for 2019 – Enter the Shuck It! Let’s Go! culinary and adventure contest featuring airfare, accommodation and tickets for two to the Signature Weekend.

BC Seafood Festival Chef Challenge – Presented by FortisBC and Garland – June 15th and 16th – The ultimate seafood challenge using BC seafood ingredients featuring an exciting line-up of 12 chefs who will compete head-to-head in black-box heats to present unique BC seafood dishes to a group of discerning Judges. Featuring a top prize of $5,000 to the winning Chef and a second prize of $1,500 awarded by FortisBC.

New for 2019! Junior Chef Challenge – June 16th – It’s time for the next crop of aspiring chefs to test their culinary chops! Four young aspiring chefs (ages 8 to 12) will be selected and transform BC seafood ingredients into mouth-watering culinary creations. Just like in the big leagues, there’ll be a twist ingredient the junior chefs must incorporate into their dishes. And what’s a competition without a race against the clock? The junior chefs will have 45 short minutes to prepare a seafood masterpiece and win the judges over with their creativity, plate presentation and delicious flavours!  

Chef Lineup for the 2019 BC Seafood Festival:

Local Comox Valley area participating chefs include: Ronald St. Pierre, Executive Chef and Owner, Locals Restaurant; Nigel McMeans, Executive Chef, Black Fin Pub; Andre Durbach, Executive Chef, Il Falcone Restaurant; Sloan Romano, Executive Chef, Atlas Café; Wes Erickson, Chef, Wild Pacific Halibut; Aaron Rail, Chef, Kingfisher Oceanside Resort.

Regional and Canadian participating chefs include:

• • Nathan Fong, Executive Chef Producer of the BC Seafood Festival; Fong on Food, Vancouver, BC;
  • Duncan Ly, Owner and Chef and Jinhee Lee, Executive Chef, Top Chef Finalist, and Hyungae Lim, Chef de Cuisine, Foreign Concepts, Calgary, AB;
  • Hamid Salimian, Culinary Team Canada Chef and Chef NextJen Gluten-Free, Vancouver, BC;
  • Shelome Bouvette, Owner and Executive Chef, Chicha Restaurant, Vancouver, BC;
  • Lee Cooper, Executive Chef and Owner, Coquille Fine Seafood and L’Abattoir, Vancouver, BC;
  • Chris Andraza, Executive Chef, Fanny Bay Oyster Bar and Restaurant, Vancouver, BC;
  • Ned Bell, Executive Chef, Ocean Wise, Vancouver, BC;
  • Ricardo Valverde, Executive Chef, Ancora Waterfront Dining and Patio, Vancouver and West Vancouver, BC;  
  • Jean-Francis Quaglia, Executive Chef and Founder, Provence Marinaside, Vancouver, BC;
  • Welbert Choi, Executive Chef, Forage, Vancouver, BC;
• Eva Chin, Sous Chef, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar (Vancouver Restaurant Award Winner 2019), Vancouver, BC;
• Bobby Milheron, Executive Chef, West Restaurant, Vancouver, BC;
• Morgan Wilson, Executive Chef, Fairmount Empress Hotel, Victoria, BC;
• Isabel Chung, Executive Chef, Fairmont Chateau Whistler Resort, Whistler, BC;
• Derek Bendig, Executive Sous Chef, Chateau Fairmont Whistler, Whistler, BC;
• Lisa Ahier, Founder and Executive Chef, Sobo, Tofino, BC;
• Culinary Team British Columbia.

Also returning for 2019: Patrick McMurray, “Shucker Paddy”, Guinness Book of World Record Holder oyster shucker; and Charlotte Langley, Marine Stewardship Counsel Chef Ambassador and Culinary Curator for the Comox Garland Culinary Competition and Chef & Owner of Scout Canning and Events, Toronto.

Mixologists include: Amber Bruce, The Keefer Bar, Vancouver, BC (Vancouver Restaurant Award Winner 2019); Sabrine Dhaliwal, Pourhouse, Vancouver, BC; Katie Ingram, Elisa, Vancouver, BC; Kumiko Umeno, Chicha, Vancouver, BC.

Competition judges include: Pino Posteraro, Owner and Chef, Cioppinos, Vancouver; Mijune Pak, Iron Chef and Top Chef Canada and Follow Me Foodie; Alex Chen, Executive Chef, Boulevard Kitchen & Oyster Bar, Vancouver; and Quang Dang, Executive Chef, Top Table Group, Vancouver, BC.

Other key Signature Weekend events include:

• The Fanny Bay Oyster Shucking Competition, June 15th and The Ocean Wise Chowder Challenge, June 16th.
• Featured ticketed events: Gala Event, June 14th; Shucked! Oyster Bar Happy Hour, June 14th – The largest oyster bar happy hour in Canada; Baked n’ Boiled! Kitchen Party, June 15th – Where East coast meets West coast in a slurptastic seafood boil; Ceviche! Ceviche! Ceviche! Masterclass, June 15th; and Bounty! Seafood Cookout Brunch, June 16th.
• Largest ever Kids Interactive Zone – Children will learn how seafood is sourced with numerous touch tanks, interactive displays, and seafood Cooking Classes.

Sponsors: An incredible number of partners and sponsors continue to support the Festival including Air Canada, Garland Canada, FortisBC, Flying Fresh Air Freight, Nespresso, Sobey’s, and Coast Capital Savings. Funding support for the 2019 BC Seafood Festival is provided, in part, by the BC Government’s Buy BC Partnership Program; delivered by the investment Agriculture Foundation of BC with funding from the Government of British Columbia.

Tickets: For a limited time, the “Limited Release” Signature Weekend Passes for the BC Seafood Festival are available for purchase. Tickets prices are $15.00 per Day Pass, $25 for the Weekend Pass, and the Weekend Pass with food vouchers is $70. For information, Signature Weekend or other event tickets, and accommodations, go to www.BCSeafoodFestival.com or call the Vancouver Island Visitors Center 1-855-400-2882.  Inquire about a Free Signature Weekend Pass with Stays at participating hotels while supplies last.

Join the conversation at #BCSeafoodFest

BACKGROUNDER

About:  The 2019 BC Seafood Festival #BCSeafoodFest  www.bcseafoodfestival.com
The 13h annual BC Seafood Festival will be held in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island from June 7-16, 2019. Western Canada’s largest seafood festival welcomes its most extensive list of chefs from British Columbia and Canada to celebrate the bounty of BC Seafood.  

The 2019 BC Seafood Festival Program – Reach for BC Seafood:

Signature Weekend June 14 – 16th

Brought back by popular demand! Three-days featuring new and popular events and celebrations including celebrity chef demonstrations, award-winning shellfish and seafood tastings, interactive and educational displays all with the famous seafood competitions. New for 2019 – Enter the Shuck It! Let’s Go! culinary and adventure contest featuring airfare, accommodation and tickets for two to the Signature Weekend.

BC Seafood Festival Chef Challenge – Presented by FortisBC and Garland – The ultimate seafood challenge using the freshest ingredients from BC seafood with a top prize of $5,000 to the winning Chef and a second prize of $1,500 awarded by FortisBC, small wares provided by Bargeen Ellingson and large cooking equipment sponsored by Garland Canada.

New for 2019! Junior Chef Challenge: June 16th It’s time for the next crop of aspiring chefs to test their culinary chops! Four young people (aged 8 to 12) will be selected and transform BC seafood ingredients into mouth-watering, gorgeous culinary creations. Just like in the big leagues, there’ll be a twist ingredient the junior chefs must incorporate into their dishes. And what’s a competition without a race against the clock? The junior chefs will have just 45 short minutes to prepare a seafood masterpiece and win the judges over with their creativity, plate presentation and, of course, delicious flavours. The winner takes home the RESP prize AND bragging rights as the Junior Chef Champion!

Fanny Bay Oysters Shucking Championship – June 15th

The fastest shuckers in British Columbia will compete for the top prize of an all-expense paid trip to compete in the PEI Shellfish Festival Raspberry Point Shucking Championship. Guinness Book of World Record Holder, Shucker Paddy, will be returning in this “must-attend” event.

Ocean Wise Chowder Challenge – June 16th

Restaurants and their seafood-lovin’ chefs serve up the best sustainable seafood chowder for a chance to win an OceanWise annual membership and attendance to the big leagues of chowder competitions, the Vancouver OceanWise Chowder Chowdown.

Best Caesar in Town – June 16th

Show off your Caesar making skills amongst some of the best bartenders in BC, as part of the 13th annual BC Seafood Festival. Participating bars, pubs and restaurants will showcase their signature competition Caesar during the BC Seafood Festival Signature Weekend, Filberg Lodge and Park, Comox.

Featured ticketed events during the Signature Weekend include:

• June 14th – The BCSGA Gala Dinner
• June 14th – Shucked! Oyster Bar Happy Hour.  The largest oyster bar happy hour in Canada;
• June 15th – Baked n’ Boiled! Kitchen Party. Where Eastcoast meets Westcoast in a slurptastic seafood boil;
• June 15th – Ceviche! Ceviche! Ceviche! Masterclass. A masterclass for ceviche seafood creations;
• June 16th – Bounty! Seafood Brunch Cookout. A delicious brunch seafood cookout experience.

For the entire family!
In addition to the seafood competitions and tastings, this year’s festival offers up the largest Kids Interactive Zone. Designed to show children how eating seafood is good for you! Children will learn how seafood is sourced and cooked, along with exploring numerous touch tanks, interactive displays, seafood cooking classes.

Signature Event Sponsors for this year’s festival include: Air Canada, Garland Canada, Fortis BC, Buy BC, Nespresso, Sobeys, FFAF Cargo and Coast Capital Savings.

Other Sponsors for the 2019 BC Seafood Festival include:

• Discover Comox Valley
• Coast Fresh Salmon Raised in BC
• Fanny Bay Oysters
• Comox Valley Airport

BC Shellfish Growers Association

• 40 Knots Vineyard & Estate Winery
• Mac’s Oysters
• Old House Hotel & Spa
• Travelodge
• The Anco Motel
• Comox Valley Inn
• River Heights Motel
• Cona Hostel
• Holiday Inn Express
• Best Western
• Crown Isle Resort & Golf Community

About BC Seafood on Your Plate – June is BC Seafood Month

As June is BC Seafood Month, we’ve designed a campaign for seafood fans, participating restaurants will once again come together for BC Seafood on Your Plate highlighting favorite seafood experiences for diners from June 1-30, 2019. Top participating British Columbia restaurants will be showcasing their favorite seafood dishes to celebrate BC’s bounty and compete for a $1,000 prize by earning the most votes. Seafood options range from appetizers, entrees, three-course meals and wine pairings. A complete list of participating restaurants can be viewed at https://bcseafoodfestival.com/bc-seafood-on-your-plate/

About Buy BC

Funding support for the 2019 BC Seafood Festival is provided, in part, by the BC Government’s Buy BC Partnership Program; delivered by the investment Agriculture Foundation of BC with funding from the Government of British Columbia.

The 2019 BC Seafood Festival is working to promote reaching for BC seafood as part of a healthy diet. Canada’s new Food Guide recognizes the health benefits of eating fish and seafood.

About the BC Shellfish Growers Association (BCSGA)

The BC Shellfish Growers Association originally founded the BC Shellfish Festival which has evolved to what we know today as the BC Seafood Festival – a collaboration between BCSGA and the Comox Valley Economic Development Society. The BCSGA is a non-profit society that represents the farmed shellfish industry which include farmers, processors and hatcheries as well as industry service providers and stakeholders http://bcsga.ca/ .

About the BC Seafood Expo

Held from June 12-13, 2019. In its fifth year, this is the largest seafood industry trade event in the Pacific Northwest attracting suppliers, buyers, distributors, producers, industry leaders and government representative to network, meet and grow the seafood sector #BCSeafoodExpo

Tickets: For a limited time, the “Limited Release” Signature Weekend Passes for the BC Seafood Festival are available for purchase. Tickets prices are $15.00 per Day Pass, $25 for the Weekend Pass, and the Weekend Pass with food vouchers is $70. For information, Signature Weekend or other event tickets, and accommodations, go to www.BCSeafoodFestival.com or call the Vancouver Island Visitors Center 1-855-400-2882.  Inquire about a Free Signature Weekend Pass with Stays at participating hotels while supplies last.

About the Comox Valley

Located midway on the east coast of Vancouver Island, the Comox Valley is well known for its culinary bounty from the farms and sea to table. Rich with festivals and sporting events, stunning alpine to ocean resorts and spas, this region is a place of super natural beauty that offers lush culinary, cultural and outdoor experiences. It is comprised of the communities of Comox, Courtenay and surrounding rural areas in the Comox Valley Regional District. Visit https://discovercomoxvalley.com/

Media release and images provided by Suzanne Girard, Suzanne Girard Travel & Communications.

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