The Australian Oyster Shucking Championship, where speed and skill combine. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
A firm fixture on the calendar of foodies in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and everywhere between, Narooma Oyster Festival returns on 1-3 May.
It champions the rock oyster and its growers. Celebrated chefs create special dishes pairing oysters with other local seafood and produce.
Australia’s Biggest Oyster is a family favourite while the Australian Shucking Championships have everyone on their feet cheering on the farmers who come back year after year, vying to represent Australia in the world championships held in Ireland.
Add live music, fireworks, and an amazing range of food and beverage stalls and there is everything for a delicious, exciting and fun-filled festival.
It has been a great summer, with farmers reporting their oysters are wonderfully plump. Each year between 65,000 and 70,000 oysters are consumed at the festival.
Oyster Farmers Alley will be packed with growers extolling the unique merroir of their oysters. As well as NSW Rock oysters, there will be Pacific oysters and the native Angasi oysters on offer. Some of the grande oysters can weigh between 200 and 500 grams. Growers are bringing their harvests from NSW’s most southern oyster-producing estuary, Wonboyn, to Greenwell Point and Narooma’s own Wagonga Inlet.
Betta Cooking Demonstrations, where visiting and local chefs showcase rock oysters and seafood. Photo: Aus Aperture Photography.
Around a dozen of Australia’s most experienced shuckers will compete for the Australian Shucking Championships, including last year’s champions Greg Carton of Broadwater Oysters and Sally McLean of Jim Wild’s, and Tasmanian champion Zoe Jacobson.
Shuckers must be both fast and tidy. It isn’t just the Australian titles at stake. The winner is invited to compete at the World Oyster Opening Championships in September.
Chef and presenter of Farm to Fork Courtney Roulston will host the hugely popular Betta Cooking Demonstrations for the fifth year running.
Seafood and oyster recipes are all set, with Canberra-based Filipino chef Ade De Jesus-Davo (@flipchef) joined by South Australia’s Duxton Pubs Brendan Boothroyd, Matteo Ponti from Mimosa Wines Restaurant in Bermagui and Batemans Bay resident Jeff Razon of the Oyster Cove Cocktail Bar.
All up 25 brewers, vintners and distillers will be showcasing their finest beverages, including some intriguing collaborations with oyster farmers.
Narooma’s Breakwall Brewing Co has made a red ale using oysters from Montague Oysters and there are two stouts, one by Stoic Brewing and Jim Wild’s Oysters and another by Frogs Hollow and Broadwater Oysters. Based on old recipes, the oysters are made into a giant teabag that goes into the beer tank. The resulting ales have minerality, saltiness and umami flavours.
Oyster Farmers Alley showcases NSW South Coast Rock Oysters from Wonboyn to Greenwell Point, along with Angasi and Pacific. Photo: David Rogers Photography.
Headlining the live music acts is Sarah McLeod, who fronts rock group The Superjesus. She will be performing just before the Whale Coast Realty fireworks go off on Friday evening. She will also hit the stage at 5 pm on Saturday after the shucking championships, extending the day’s festivities by an hour.
Ms McLeod will be supported by Spindrift Saga, Sunday Lemonade, Waikama and the Narooma High School Band on Friday.
There will be music throughout Saturday from Jack Biilmann, Val Moogz, Howlin’ Mitch Trio, Chelsey Atkins, Jakob Poyner and Piper Allen.
Narooma Oyster Festival really involves the community – from an amazing team of around 100 volunteers, the local Indigenous people who open the festival with a Welcome to Country, smoking ceremony and welcome dances through to the Narooma High School students who do their bush tucker cook-up on Saturday.
On Sunday morning, Bodalla Public School, Central Tilba Public School, Sea Stars Drama, The Deadly Runners and the Narooma Devils will be cooking up Narooma’s Biggest Breakfast. Tickets cost $10, half of which will go to those community groups.
Organisers say the 19th festival is set to be something really special. At the heart of it all is a fantastic selection of rock oyster merroir, unlike anything else found in Australia.
There will be festival coaches servicing residents and visitors in Merimbula, Bermagui and Batemans Bay. Ticket sales for the coaches close at 7 pm on Wednesday 30 April.
The Narooma Oyster Festival runs from 1-3 May on the shores of Narooma’s Wagonga Inlet. The festival is free to those aged 17 and under when accompanied by an adult. Find out more via their website, Facebook page and Instagram.
