The Montreal Oysterfest Is Just Around The Corner

Our favorite local summer foodie event, Montreal Oysterfest, is creeping up on us.

And we know you have a lot of questions.

So we thought we’d go ahead and get Montreal’s oyster king himself, Daniel Notkin, to answer all of your shell-based queries for you.

‘Cause going anywhere other than the source is just a waste of time. 

When is Oysterfest this year?

Oysterfest 2014 will be held Sept 6th and 7th. The 6th will be a half-day and will host the Montreal Open Amateur Shucking Competition. Sunday will be our main day as always with just an incredible amount of stuff to do… 

How much are tickets?

Tickets are as they always have been – $35 and $65

What do tickets include and how do they work?

So, the $35 ticket gets you general admission and 2 x $5 Oysterfest Dollars. $65 tickets get you general admission and 10 x $5 Oysterfest dollars. Everything on site is valued in variables of $5 Oysterfest Dollars.

Do any proceeds go to charity?

All proceeds go to our associated charities. Oysterfest is a very expensive event because we’ve kept it outdoors and without any commercialism, which is a lot of risk and no easy task! It’s all our friends and associates and companies that are passionate about food, oysters and the environment. Having said that, all our profits do go to our sponsoring charities: the World Wildlife Fund of Canada and Environmental Defence – both protecting Canadian water health and the environment. Over the past 2 years we’ve been able to donate over $40,000…We look forward to doing much more this year! As an interesting Oysterfest donation fact, over the course of the previous 5 years of Oysterfest, only .014% has gone to our staff and board members.

What can we expect at Oysterfest this year?

Whew! What can’t you expect?! Oyster shucking competitions, amazing food, perfect weather, great people, live music, amazing drinks and cocktails, seafood platter competitions, drinking games – whew…too much.

Any new vendors?

So many. This year we have close to 40 restaurants – which means 20 more than last year, including Joverse and Rosewood, L’Autre Version, Richmond, S Bar, Sel Gras, the Sofitel Hotel, Maison Christian Faure, Le Slang, Bar Anabel, and more to confirm! Add to that possibly a new clothing vendor and some other fun news to come!

Any new attractions?

Oh boy – this is the fun part: How about on Saturday Sept 6th the Montreal Amateur Oyster Shucking Open where the best of the non-pros duel it out to see who’s Montreal’s best shucker. Then on Sunday we have the Canadian National Qualifiers with the best oyster shuckers in Canada vying for the only two spots to go on to the Oyster Opening World Cup where we will be hosting 14 of the best shuckers in the world – from the US, Europe, Canada, and hopefully even from Shanghai and Japan – blistering speed and beautiful oysters! Add to that the Montreal Seafood Platter competition with 5 of Montreal’s best chefs creating the perfect most beautiful seafood platter – who will take home the plating champion prize?! And the best part?! All plates will be auctioned off for charity! Amazing. Other news to come as well and you’ll be able to learn everything about Oysterfest from our website and when our mobile app comes out!

What will be the highlights?

For me, the continual opportunity to engage with Montreal Oysterfest and all we offer is the highlight of our fest. At every turn there will be a different restaurant, something different to savour – after every hour another experience or competition to be seen or involved in. Time and drinks and food will fly…and then after the perfect thrill and rush of the day and all the memories and pictures, we’ll stumble away into the endless possibilities of the dark night, smiling to ourselves and waiting again for another year to pass…and Oysterfest soon to be here again….

Click here for extra info and to purchase tickets as of tomorrow!

All images by: Riccardo Cellere