Seafood festival returns to coast for 2023

APOLLO Bay Seafood Festival (ABSF) organisers are making up for two years of cancelled events with three days of packed programming, showcasing the region’s best food and the people who are most passionate about it.

The festival starts on February 17 with a series of dinners at five favourite local restaurants that will each feature set menus that focus on local seafood and produce, including The Perch in Lavers Hill and Graze, Birdhouse, Sandy Feet and Casalingo in Apollo Bay.

“The Friday night local dinners is a great way to showcase the produce of Apollo Bay by the people who know it best, our local chefs,” ABSF organiser Bill Hurley Fraser said.

On February 18, the town’s harbour will be filled with pop-up restaurants, cooking demonstrations and a seafood market where delights including southern rock lobster, abalone sashimi and the Apollo Bay bakery’s famous scallop pies will be on offer.

The newly introduced cooking tutorials will focus on underused seafood under the guidance of renowned chefs Peter Hilcke and Rosa Mitchell.

There are plenty of hands-on activities to keep children amused during sailing lessons, casting competitions and harbour expeditions.

Providing musical accompaniment over two stages into the evening will be Fenn Wilson, Hobson Bay Coast Guard, Go Dog Go, The Beachniks and recent local ARIA award winner Matt Orchard.

“It’s the most relaxed, joyful and delicious festival but I also love that there’s a serious side to it that we get to jump into with ‘Conversations on the Edge’ on Sunday,” event MC Hilary McNevin said. The founder of Turnip Media will join fellow food writer and author Richard Cornish to delve into the issues that impact the health of the ocean and the land with a with a range of speakers including fishers, scientists, conservationists, marine biologists, chefs and Indigenous knowledge holders.

The Otway Climate Emergency Action Network will provide a report about the group’s protest actions over seismic testing in the Otway Basin; senior park manager Andy Warmbrunn will discuss his collaboration with Southern Parks Australia and Deakin University that’s exploring the Apollo Marine Park habitat mapping, biodiversity assessment, and capacity building in Indigenous Sea Country management; and people can learn more from the Australian Seaweed Company’s Mike Houghton about wakame cultivation.

The chef’s panel features Brae’s Dan Hunter, River Cottage Australia’s Paul West, Pho Nom’s Jerry Mai and Lucy Liu’s Jenna North discussing sea urchins, seaweed, eels and wild caught venison.

For more information, head to apollobayseafoodfestival.com