CATCH: The Nova Scotia Seafood Festival is a premier showcase of the best of Nova Scotia culture — the world’s freshest seafood, locally produced fine wines, musical entertainment and a gathering of great friends! This year’s festival will feature a number of special events and activities — from meeting celebrity food guests, to culinary competitions, to seafood and wine pairing events, and even kids events. There’s something for everyone!
Great Chef Competition
Ray Bear will host the GREAT CATCH Chef Competition, taking place during the CATCH Nova Scotia Seafood Festival, June 19 & 20, 2010. This action-packed culinary showdown will include some of Canada’s top restaurants and chefs, including:
- Luis Clavel, Executive Chef, Holiday Inn Harbourview, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
- Peter Dewar, Professional Chef/ Teacher, Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC)
- BeeChoo Char, Executive Chef, GIO, Halifax, Nova Scotia
- Nitin Mehra, Chef, East India Co. , Ottawa, Ontario
- Tom Malycha, Executive Chef, Spirit Catering, Toronto, Ontario
- Roger Andrews, Chef Instructor, College of the North Atlantic, St. John’s, NL
- Jesse Vergen, Executive Chef and Owner, Ale House, Saint John, N.B.
For more information, click here.
Cookbook signings
When it comes to seafood, what better way to showcase this fine fare than in a cookbook? On June 19th and 20th, the CATCH Seafood Festival has invited some of the province’s talented individuals to join in the fun, showcasing and signing their cookbooks in a booksigning at the Nova Scotia Tourism booth from noon to 3 p.m.
On Saturday afternoon, join former Saltscapes founding food editor and Chronicle Herald food writer Marie Nightingale as she signs her cookbook; Out of Old Nova Scotian Kitchens, Nova Scotia’s most popular cookbook ever produced. In its 40th year of publication, this literary work is still one of Nimbus Publishing’s best sellers, and its 40th year anniversary edition will be released this October, 2010. Marie’s collection of traditional Nova Scotian recipes and corresponding notes about the people who cooked them, provides recipes for the body and soul.
Also on Saturday, join West Pubnico’s Donald Doucette as he signs his book, Surette’s Island, West Pubnico and Georges Bank … My Memoirs, which describes life at Surette’s Island, a small French Acadian community in Yarmouth County, Nova Scotia.
On Sunday afternoon, CATCH welcomes local chef and author, Michael Howell, owner of Tempest Restaurant in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, as he signs his cookbook, Atlantic Seafood. After 20 years of cooking and travelling around the world, Michael came back home to settle in Nova Scotia. An honours graduate of the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago, Michael has honed his skill in kitchens across the globe, working in such places as New York, Michigan and Toronto, as well as the exotic Bahamas.
Nova Scotia’s CATCH Seafood Festival will also welcome cookbook author Judy Eberspeacher to the province on Sunday afternoon as she showcases Totally Scallops, the first and only single-subject cookbook featuring scallops.
As the former restaurant critic for Halifax’s famed newsweekly, the Coast, Liz Feltham will bring her newly released and much anticipated South Shore Tastes to the table. Specializing in culinary writing, Liz is a certified journeyperson chef and has worked in kitchens from Whitehorse to St. John’s. Liz is also a contributor to a number of magazines, and South Shore Tastes adds to her collection of authored cookbooks which include Fabulous Fishcakes and Summer Drinks.
Oyster Shucking Challenge
Don’t miss the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture’s annual Oyster Shucking Challenge as part of the CATCH Seafood Festival. The competition will take place at the Cunard Centre (961 Marginal Rd, adjacent to Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia) on Sunday, June 20.
Celebrity chefs
The Food Network Canada’s Chef Chuck Hughes , host of Chuck’s Day Off, has joined the CATCH 2010 lineup with plans to attend the festival on Saturday, June 19 to share his seafood expertise. Chuck’s food philosophy revolves around simple, well-made food. “I worked in restaurants where you’re putting cracked pepper on the side of the plate and there’s branches coming out of everywhere and you have to deconstruct your food before eating it… there’s a place for that out there, but it’s just not me.” For more on Chuck, click here.
Chef Anthony Sedlak, host of The Main on the Food Network Canada, will wow audiences on the CATCH culinary stage on Saturday and Sunday, June 19 & 20. With a love for creating recipes with Nova Scotia seafood, the British Columbia native is coming east to give CATCH attendees a lesson in his own brand of culinary art. “I am devoted to simple classics and top-shelf ingredients,” Sedlak says. “I’m passionate about simple flavours and flawless technique and want to wow the connoisseurs looking for a whole story behind the dishes I present. Trends come and go; classics are forever.” For more on Anthony, click here.
Learn a thing or two
We are pleased to announce that one of Canada’s leading nutritionists, Leslie Beck, will be participating in CATCH on June 19 and 20. Don’t miss her presentation on seafood, and why it’s good for you health. As one of Canada’s leading nutritionists, Leslie has helped more than 2,000 individuals achieve their nutrition and fitness goals. For the past 18 years, Leslie has helped thousands of individuals achieve their nutrition and fitness goals. Leslie operates an “integrative nutrition practice,” offering clients both dietary advice and science-based recommendations on the use of nutritional supplements. Her speaking presentations help audiences see the direct relation between diet and personal performance, and share how to boost energy, manage weight, and prevent disease with food, diet and nutrition.
A registered dietician, Leslie is recognized by the media as an authority on nutrition and food issues and as such she is an experienced communicator in television, radio and print. In addition to her weekly column in Canada’s national newspaper, The Globe and Mail, and appears weekly on CTV as Canada AM’s nutrition expert. Leslie’s nutrition advice can also be heard weekly on Montreal’s CJAD Morning Radio.
Leslie is the best-selling author of 8 books on nutrition and health: Foods that Fight Disease (January 2008), The No-Fail Diet, Healthy Eating for Preteens and Teens, Leslie Beck’s Nutrition Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy, Leslie Beck’s Nutrition Guide to Menopause, Leslie Beck’s 10 Steps to Healthy Eating, Leslie Beck’s Nutrition Encyclopedia, and Leslie Beck’s Nutrition Guide for Women. Her books are published by Penguin Canada.
Fishing Vessels
Be sure to check out the L’Acadie 2000 and the Ivy Rose fishing vessels which will be docked outside the CATCH festival this weekend. So make sure to stop by, meet the crews, learn about our fishing industry, and even take a tour of the vessels.
L’Acadie 2000 is a 65 foot vessel owned by Acadian Fish Processors Ltd from Lower West Pubnico and is used for fishing Silver Hake. The vessel fishes along the Continental shelf going East, Lehave Basin and Emerald Basin. The vessel is capable to carry 75000 to 80000 lbs of boxed fish. The boat is captained by Darren d’Eon along with crew members Garth d’Eon and Douglas Goreham. The L’Acadie 2000 will be at CATCH throughout the entire event.
The Ivy Rose, is a 30.5 metre (100 foot) shelterdecked steel longliner built at the A.F. Theriault & Son shipyard. The vessel is owned by Ivy Fisheries, and will be at the CATCH festival from 11-6 on Saturday.