Get ready for EAT Festival, the Sapphire Coast's flagship foodie event

Foodies from Canberra and Victoria will be flocking to Merimbula for the EAT Festival on their long weekend.

On Sunday 9 March, the EAT Festival showcases and celebrates the amazing range and quality of Sapphire Coast produce, spanning pork, beef, dairy, eggs, vegetables, wine, beer, gin, vodka, and, of course, oysters and seafood.

Natalie Godward, a member of the festival’s management committee, said that from the beginning they had wanted something that stood out. What emerged from their early musings in 2013 was some of the finest local restaurants and cafes specially creating tasting plates made from the best produce the region had to offer.

Now in its 13th year, most of the producers have been involved for years in what has become the region’s flagship foodie event.

Ms Godward said growing numbers of producers were basing themselves in the Sapphire Coast, drawn by its pristine waters and soil, and unspoilt landscape.

“EAT Festival has become a bit of a hub for this provedore environment,” she said.

The festival has it all, from tide to table, paddock to plate, garden to glass, farm to fork, and paddock to pint.

Unsurprisingly, it gets bigger each year with new producers and chefs coming on board, additional events being added in the lead up to the festival, and larger crowds arriving as word spreads.

It captures hatted waterside restaurants, award-winning distilleries, bespoke bakeries, and coffee houses serving locally roasted brews.

There is a mix of free and ticketed events held in the three days before the festival, including oyster shucking classes and a meet the producers farmers’ market-style event.

The festival is family-friendly, dog-friendly, and “everyone-friendly”, Ms Godward said.

The RFS will hold a stall with a sausage sizzle, plus a range of activities to keep the kids entertained.

The festival on Sunday is free and the entree-sized tasting plates are capped at $15, making it an accessible and memorable day out for everyone.

Even sitting on the lawn soaking up the atmosphere at Fishpen Road against the stunning backdrop of Merimbula Lake with its pristine waters is special.

Entertainment on the day includes local musicians and EAT’s Oyster and Spoon Race at 1 pm.

Six of the region’s finest chefs, producers, and other foodie legends will ditch glamour to don waders as they face off for the EAT Oyster and Spoon Race. Think three laps and 18 oysters at the starting line.

EAT Festival has become a platform to spotlight the new breed of growers, brewers, farmers and chefs in the region.

It reveals their characters and tells their stories to promote interest in the region’s produce as well as the festival itself.

In all, it is a great source of local pride to the small regional towns of the Sapphire Coast.

The main event on Sunday runs from 10 am to 2 pm. See the festival’s website for details about the three-day schedule of events leading up to the festival.