If you’re heading to Morehead City this weekend (Oct. 2-4) for the 23rd annual North Carolina Seafood Festival, be sure to check out the “Cooking with Chefs” tent. The NCDA&CS seafood marketing program is one of the sponsors of the tent.
Chefs from Raleigh and the coast will be preparing seafood dishes using fish and shellfish from North Carolina waters. Experts also will be on hand to discuss new online resources where people can learn more about locally caught seafood. Admission is free.
Barry Nash, seafood technology and marketing specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant, says surveys have shown that more people are interested in buying local seafood and cooking it at home. “This year, the theme is ‘learn more and do it yourself,'” he says. “We want to introduce people to the best resources out there for learning about seafood recipes, safe handling and local species.”
In addition to the recipes, “Cooking with the Chefs” will highlight local seafood initiatives from across North Carolina, including Walking Fish, a “community-supported fisheries” that is bringing fresh catch to a market on the Duke University campus in Durham each week. The program is a partnership between Duke’s student chapter of the American Fisheries Society and Carteret Catch.
Find out about the chefs, their recipes and what time they’ll be cooking here. And when you’re looking for local seafood, use our N.C. Seafood Directory.