Thousands of Vancouverites went home with bags of freshly caught Spot prawns from B.C.’s 6th annual Spot Prawn Festival on Saturday, May 5, 2012. The festival featured fresh-off-the-boat prawns and a handful of Vancouver’s top chefs. For just $12, hungry, seafood-loving Vancouverites were served dishfuls of Spot prawns, wine and Mogiana coffee.
The neverending lineup for freshly caught Spot prawns off the Organic Ocean.
This year’s Spot Prawn festival included demonstrations by Vikkram Vij (Vij’s), Darren Brown (Oru), Hidekazu Tojo (Tojo’s), Allesandra Quaglia (Provence), Ned Bell (Yew), and Scott Jaeger (Pear Tree). A variety of different prawn recipes were whipped by the chefs including masala prawns and even a surprise sample of buttered prawns infused with Jack Daniels.
Chef Allesandra Quaglia's Spot prawn demonstration.
Hundreds lined up along the False Creek Fisherman’s Wharf to grab bagfuls of wild B.C. Spot prawns straight from the boats. These delicious, juicy crustaceans have a sweet taste, firm, tender texture and are named for the little white spots on their tails. When cooked, spot prawns turn a bright, reddish-orange hue.
Dunn's Famous pickles.
If you missed last Saturday’s Spot Prawn Festival, don’t worry, the Spot prawn season continues for another six to eight weeks (May to July) so you can pick up a bag of local, sustainable and fresh prawns from the wharf starting at 1 p.m. These super-fresh prawns are just $12 per pound.
The Spot Prawn Festival benefits the Chefs’ Table Society of British Columbia.
