Narooma Rocks wins excellence award ahead of their popular oyster festival

Onboard a luxury yacht on Sydney Harbour, a prestigious awards night celebrating the seafood industry's best retailers, suppliers, restaurateurs, and businesses was held.

Cath Peachey, chairperson for Narooma Rocks, said she was feeling pretty excited after the unexpected yet thrilling result, taking home a win for the promotion of oysters.

"The festival last year had a media reach of about four billion and we just consistently promoted the Rock Oyster in particular, and we were, I guess, awarded for our excellence in doing that," Ms Peachey said.

She shared how there was a lot of interest in their humble rock oysters with media outlets showcasing the festival overseas in Korea and London, with last year's Australian Shucking Championships catching the attention of audiences.

On Friday, May 3, the Narooma Rocks Oyster Festival returns with a 'Warm Up' from 4pm, with performances on the main stage from musical artists like Robyn Martin Band and Benji and Saltwater Sound System, before Whale Coast Realty Fireworks are launched at 8.30pm.

There will also be festival bars including Narooma Rocks Oyster Bar with natural and Kilpatrick oysters and seafood chowder, Borrowed Cuttings Liquor Bar with beer, wine, ciders and soft drinks, and Narooma Rocks Champagne and Oyster Van.

"It's always a really good way to start the weekend, but Saturday's the big day, and it's a really full program. We've got some amazing chefs cooking up a storm with Courtney Roulston [from Farm to Fork], Oyster Farmer's Alley with at least a dozen oyster farmers from different estuaries, and Australia's Biggest Oyster competition," she said.

There will be Goodnight Oysters, Farm Gate on Wray Street, Batemans Bay Oysters, Pinnacle Oysters, Out of the Blue Oysters, Oyster Pro, Brian's Oysters, Merimbula Gourmet Oysters, The Oyster Barn, and Broadwater Oysters.

"There's two live music stages, there's the shucking competition which is the Melbourne Cup of Narooma, it's just amazing, and we've had to put in big screens because we can't get everyone in the marquee," she said.

"It's a real regional event now, from Shoalhaven to the Victorian Border, all those farmers are involved, and we have shucking competitors coming from Tasmania and Queensland. It's high stakes now.

"It's grown from a tiny, little event to something that's probably the biggest food and wine event, certainly, in Southern NSW, it really is a great credit to the community."

Ms Peachey said The Australia's Book of Records had alerted them how they potentially had the heaviest oyster in the world, so plans to formally register that, this year, were in place for the main stage event."

There will be food markets, a picnic zone, winemakers, brewers and distillers, festival bars, Street Theatre, Narooma Plaza Community Stage, performances on the main stage, Betta Home Living Cooking Demonstration Programs throughout the day, including lessons on shucking oysters.

"You don't have to love oysters to come to the Oyster Festival. There's a lot going on," Ms Peachey said.

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