If you love oysters, there’s only one place to be in Australia this weekend and it’s not at an election party – it’s at the 18th Narooma Oyster Festival on the NSW South Coast.
The shellabration has been going on all week with Rock Oyster Week, culminating in this weekend’s event which features Australia’s Oyster Shucking Championships, Australia’s Biggest Oyster competition, live entertainment, tastings, cooking demonstrations and masterclasses.
Join growers, chefs and shuckers on the shores of Wagonga Inlet in Narooma to celebrate the rock oyster which thrives in the region. The festival promises to invigorate your senses and deepen your appreciation for the rock oyster and its growers.
Friday night’s warm-up offers live music, fireworks — and oysters, of course. The Narooma Rocks Oyster Bar will serve them natural and Kilpatrick, along with prawns and seafood chowder, while the Champagne Oyster Bar takes it to another level with premium oysters, Champagne and Borrowed Cuttings Picpoul Blanc.
On Saturday, the oyster bars will be operating again, along with craft beers, wine and spirits. The Saturday festivities kick off at 10am and continue until 5.30pm.
Oyster Farmers Alley will have tastings from the following South Coast estuaries and growers: Wallis Lakes, Shoalhaven, Clyde River, Tuross Lake, Wagonga Inlet, Wapengo Lake, Merimbula Lake, and Pambula Lake.
Shucking championships
The shucking championships will take place from 3.15pm in the cooking demonstration marquee. The John Susman Medal will be presented to the overall winner, who becomes the Australian 2025 World Championship contender.
Courtney Roulston from Farm to Fork will host the cooking demonstration program, which will feature a great line-up of chefs including Clayton Wells from Merivale, Al Newbold from Mr Bold Catering Co, Analiese Gregory from Girls Guide to Hunting Fishing & Cooking Wild (Tasmania), Nornie Bero from SBS’s Island Echoes TV Show, and Al Brown from Depot Eatery (New Zealand).
Among the premium experiences on Saturday are a Gin Lovers Masterclass with Rock Oysters; Crafty Brews Masterclass with Rock Oysters; Cruising the Wagonga Inlet with Champagne and oysters; a Rock Oyster Lounge; and the Sydney Royal Ultimate Oyster Experiences with a tasting of the best oysters from the South Coast and the Sydney Royal Fine Food Aquaculture Competition.
And if you still haven’t had your fill, on Sunday morning there’ll be a picnic breakfast with oysters.
Supported by Destination NSW, the Narooma Oyster Festival attracts thousands of visitors to the region, many from Sydney, Canberra and the Illawarra. Around 65,000 oysters are expected to be harvested, shucked and consumed throughout the weekend.