Imagine an invitation only party that attracts the who’s who of Ketchikan to eat sea cucumbers, geoducks, clams and oysters. In this annual October event (scheduled when the geoduck harvest is hopping) restaurants compete to provide the most interesting culinary twist on cooking local shellfish.
We’re talking sea cucumbers poached in green tea with Japanese seawood, sliced geoduck with soy sauce and lemon, crab quiche with large chunks of Dungeness crab and shrimp ceviche with tequila.
Put on by the Southeast Alaska Regional Divers Association (SARDFA), this festival attracts shellfish growers from around the state, including the Homer mollusk fishery, Cordova scallop fishery and several oyster fisheries.
If you’re planning on a late-October visit to Ketchikan, try to finagle an invite from Barbara Morgan (our local mad scientist/biologist) or Phil Doherty (the guru of the Ketchikan shellfish industry). And be sure to bring your discriminating appetite along with some fancy duds paired with your XtraTufs.
