Be sure to bring your taste buds to the Got To Be NC Seafood Cooking Stage during the 37th Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival! Watch as highly renowned NC chefs prepare NC seafood delicacies for you to enjoy.
Morehead City Waterfront on 5th Street (5th Street and Evans to be exact)
Demonstrations open to all, FREE admission and FREE samples provided.
Saturday, October 7 (10:00 - 6:00)
Tent opens at 9:45; presentations start on every hour
10:00 – 10:45: Sautéed NC Shrimp and Stone Ground Grits
featuring Chef Caroline Basnight (Basnight's Lone Cedar Café)
11:00 – 11:45: Outer Banks Shrimp Salad
featuring Chef Clarke Merrell (Prime Bistro and Wine Bar) with an introduction by Taylor Lord, Miss North Carolina 2023
12:00 – 12:45: NC Seafood and Green Chile Sausage with Cilantro Rice
featuring Chef Chad Blackwelder (NC Department of Agriculture) joined by Chuck Hall (Tidewater Grain Company)
1:00 – 1:45: Super Grouper Bangin' Bacon Cake
featuring Chef Dawn Freeman (former NC Seafood Festival Queen)
2:00 – 2:45: Cajun Flounder with Vegetable Risotto
featuring Chefs Red Harrell and Ashley Harrell (Gaffer's Restaurant - Emerald Isle) with an introduction by Taylor Lord, Miss North Carolina 2023
3:00 – 3:45: Signature Seafood Boil
featuring Chef Wilson Gregory (Outer Banks Boil Company)
4:00 – 4:45: Sautéed Striped Bass with Garlic-Basil Butter
featuring Chef Caroline Dominguez (Carteret Local Food Network, NC Sea Grant, & StriperHub)
5:00 – 5:45: Southern Swordfish Slider
featuring Captain John Mallette (Southern Breeze Seafood)
Sunday, October 8 (11:00 - 4:00)
Tent opens at 10:45; presentations start on every hour
11:00 – 11:45: Southern Tea Brined Catfish, Housemaid Pickles, and Sweet Potato Cornbread Molasses Honey Glaze
featuring Chef Greg Owens (Carolina Classics Catfish)
12:00 – 12:45: NC Lump Crab Cakes, Apple Tarragon Slaw, and Tomato Butter
featuring Chef Jamie Davis (The Hackney Distillery)
1:00 – 1:45: Indulgent BBQ Redfish
featuring Chef Queen Precious-Jewel Zabriskie and Jay White ((Indulgent Essential Spices & Indulge Catering, LLC)
2:00 – 2:45: Caribbean Seafood Stew
featuring Chef Keith Rhodes (Catch Restaurant – Wilmington)
3:00 – 3:45: Sautéed Striped Bass with Garlic-Basil Butter
featuring Chef Caroline Dominguez (Carteret Local Food Network, NC Sea Grant, & StriperHub)