Above photo credit: Tourism PEI/Paul Baglole
Foodies’ favourite time to travel throughout Prince Edward Island is in the fall when festivals and experiences are happening all over the island. Be sure to pay a visit to this amazing province chock full of culinary experiences! https://www.tourismpei.com/what-to-do/culinary
From May 1st to October 31st, join Orwell Corner Historic Village (98 MacPhail Park Rd, Orwell) in their Bread & Butter experience. Collect the fresh ingredients from the village to make your sour dough bread and the butter to spread on it. Grind the grain into flour and milk the goats to make your butter. Eat one of your loaves on site and take a loaf home with you. A great experience for everyone in the family! https://orwellcorner.wpcomstaging.com/experiences/
Your visit to the Island would not be complete without experiencing a true PEI Lobster Supper. Renowned around the island, you’ll want to head to North Rustico between mid-May to mid-October and get a seat at Fisherman’s Wharf’s supper table. Here you’ll start with a “main” of the seafood of choice and then head to the 60-foot salad bar to round out your meal. Complimentary bibs provided! https://fishermanswharf.ca/lobster-supper/
Join retired fisherman Jim Conohan as he pulls mussels from the river and explains how PEI is the largest producer of mussels in North America. Help to clean the mussels from the ‘sock’ before cooking the mussels to be served with a fresh PEI lobster. The Mussel & Lobster Shore Boil experience is available from June 1 to October 30. Located at 144 Dockendorf Lane, Cardigan. https://www.experiencepei.ca/tour/mussel-lobster-shore-boil/
Do you like exploring local artists’ work while enjoying an unforgettable culinary experience. Then you’ll want to stop in at The Dunes Studio Gallery & Café in Brackley Beach. From June 3 to October 16, visit their two-level restaurant overlooking beautiful gardens, fountains and water ponds. A truly zen experience. http://dunesgallery.ca/
Make your way to Lennox Island First Nation to participate in preparing your own Bannock and Clams. Your Bannock will be cooked in the sand while you smoke fresh oysters harvested from the Malpeque Bay with the guidance of traditional teachers and storytellers. While everything is cooking, you will be treated to stories of traditional life on Lennox Island and maybe learn a little Mi’kmaq while you are there. When you leave this wonderful experience, your heart will be happy, and your belly will be full. Runs from June 14 to September 23. https://experiencelennoxisland.com/bannock-and-clams-in-the-sand/
PEI is known for its potatoes and of course you’ll find a museum educating the public on this island resource at Canadian Potato Museum (1 Dewar Lane, O’Leary). From June 15 to September 10, visit a local potato farm and learn from an experienced farmer about the industry. Enjoy a visit to the Canadian Potato Museum, make your own potato fudge and taste a delicious potato-based lunch featuring world-famous PEI potatoes. You will leave with your head full of fun potato facts and a full stomach from a yummy potato lunch including the famous potato fudge recipe. https://canadianpotatomuseum.com/tours/
From July 1 to September 30 visit the Farmers Bank of Rustico & Doucet House Museums (2188 Church Rd, Rustico) for an Experiential Traditional Acadian Meal. Make a traditional Acadian meal in the 250-year-old Doucet log house kitchen, open-hearth fireplace and outdoor sandstone bread oven. Make butter, Bannock, Chicken Fricot, and ice cream, to enjoy with mussels, rapture, Rustico Meat Pie and dessert. https://farmersbank.ca/en/experiences
For an all-season gouda experience, make your way to Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow where you can watch cheese, pizza and cinnamon rolls being made and then enjoy the end products. While the weather cooperates, you can enjoy your meal on the grass or at a picnic table and take in all the pastoral surroundings. https://glasgowglenfarm.ca/experience-glasgow-glen-farm/
Join PEI Fall Flavours Festival from September 8th to October 8th. Mountains of fresh PEI shellfish and a giant kitchen party to boot. Traditional Bannock cooked in the sand. An all-inclusive weekend of feasting and authentic PEI experiences. Succulent cuts of Island beef paired with bluesy tunes. A deep-sea fishing excursion, complete with lobster dinner onboard. https://fallflavours.ca/
A joint project of The PEI Shellfish Association and The PEI Aquaculture Alliance, The PEI International Shellfish Festival takes place September 15th to 18th in Charlottetown. The weekend features a packed itinerary of culinary demos, industry competitions, and local entertainment throughout each day. High-energy, East Coast entertainers headline the festival’s Friday and Saturday evenings, creating an incredible kitchen party in the festival’s big tent. An on-site food pavilion also features several local chefs serving up shellfish-centric dishes throughout the festival. https://peishellfish.com/en/
Blending the two iconic food products from PEI, comes a delicious Stuffed Baked Potato with Lobster dish – check it out in our Recipe section or at Tourism PEI: https://www.tourismpei.com/recipes/potato-recipes/stuffed-baked-pei-potatoes-with-pei-lobster
And since we’re talking about shellfish, we’d like you to meet Patrick McMurray who knows his oysters! All his experience with this shellfish and the extensive research into his beloved mollusk, provides you with the information and guidance to produce a wonderful taste experience. If you’re like me and enjoy these morsels but aren’t confident to make and serve oysters, The Oyster Companion will hold your hand every step of the way. https://shuckerpaddy.ca/
From the history of oysters, to sourcing them from different parts of the world, to recipes and, especially for me, how to shuck an oyster without doing a lot of damage to your appendages, Patrick provides a ton of detail. Along with his handy dandy Shucker knife, Patrick shows us how to properly treat our oysters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ndg1rX8wKpA
For this year’s Thanksgiving dinner, I’m going to insert some shellfish to bring the meal up a notch. Along with the Baked Potato and Lobster recipe, Patrick’s OysterStuffing will be a great side dish. Check out both in our Recipe section – you can also use this stuffing as a main along with a salad and voila, lunch is served! Patrick’s favourite dish is “anything off of the charcoal BBQ – fish, vegetables, meats – Oysters, Mussels and Lobster”. We’re coming over, Paddy!
You’ll want to win this book in our Giveaway section or to purchase your own keepsake copy, go to https://shuckerpaddy.ca/the-oyster-companion
Content and images used with permission from Firefly Books & Shucker Paddy. https://www.fireflybooks.com/catalogue/adult-books/cooking-food-drink/product/13797-the-oyster-companion-a-field-guide
