2018 Abalone Cook Festival & Cookoff Moved back to South Noyo Harbor!

2018 Abalone Cook Festival & Cookoff, August 11th at 11am to 2:30pm at the South Noyo Harbor .

A record number of seasoned abalone cooks from around the globe compete for your vote for best taste to win over judges..the purchase of this ticket qualifies you as a judge.  The venue was going to change to Mendocino Island, although that plan has been scrapped and it will be held at South Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg

Abalone will be provided by Ocean Rose Abalone Farm located in Cayucos CA. Grown and harvested in perfect conditions. Thier sustainable Abalone product is fed on wild and farm raised kelp making them tender and delicious. Each ticket purchased gives you 10 tastings from one of two groups of ten chefs. In addition to tasting your group, 7 random tickets are marked to make the recipient a finalist judge. The final round of cooks consists of the two winners from their perspective color group. Also served will be Mendocino County Wines and Beer, and Music from Mendocino’s own Mixology Rock Band. Proceeds go to the Northern California Sea Urchin Eradication and Kelp Reforestation effort through the Waterman’s Alliance. Vendors are also welcome at $50 per 10 x 10 booth site. This event was formerly promoted by Mendocino Area Parks Association who is doing the Mendocino Ocean and Seafood Fair this year. We are working with MAPA and support their new event. Tickets at BrownPaperTickets.com

There is a lot of fear & confusion about this festival, but those are all based on assumptions & mis-information, so hopefully this  will answer all of your questions & calm all of your fears.

1. What is the date & time of this event? Saturday, August 11th from 10:30-5:00
2. What is the location of this event? At a Private Residence on Mendocino Island in Caspar, CA
3. Is this part of MAPA? NO it is not. When MAPA decided to have a Seafood Fest instead of an Abalone Cook Off this year because of the price of Farm Raised Abalone, many of the Abalone Cooks that have been cooking in the Event for the last 27 years asked Erin McBride if he would hold the event to continue the tradition.
4. Where is the money going? The money will go to The Waterman’s Alliance, which is already removing the Purple Urchin in Caspar Cove. Proceeds will go to the Northern California Sea Urchin eradication & Kelp reforestation effort. This is going to benefit our entire community! We’ve already lost millions of dollars because of Abalone Season being shut down. It is forcast that there will be a 43 million dollar loss in Sonoma & Mendocino County due to the closing of Abalone Fishery. This event is geared to help the local communities recover.
5. How are you having Abalone when the season has been shut down? We are using Farm Raised Abalone from Ocean Rose Abalone Farm in Cayucos, CA
6. This is a huge public/commercial event being held in a quiet neighborhood – NOT the case. This is a PRIVATE event just for ticket holders in a PRIVATE residence. There should be very little impact on the neighborhood. We have parking & Security so people will not have to park on the street or in people’s yards. Also – the reason we were not disclosing the address to just anyone – just ticket holder’s – is to try to prevent looky-loos. Again – we are very respectful of the neighbors & intend to do everything possible to make sure of that.
7. Is this an Illegal/Shady Event? No it is not! Every thing is being done Legally & Respectfully! We have permits in place & they will be posted at the Event.
8. Will people be wandering around trespassing in people’s yards? NO! Again we will have Security in place.
9. Will noise be blaring from the Live Band? NO! We are going to be very respectful! We are not going to be IN the neighborhood. It is an Island that is quite a distance away. We will be aware of the volume & the direction that the speakers are turned to eliminate any blaring noise.
10. Will there by stinky portable toilets? We will have a couple of Port-a-potty’s, but the neighbors will not be able to see or smell them.
11. Will visitor’s be making liquid deposits next to our homes? NO! The tickets to this event are not cheap. The people attending this event are high end, classy & wouldn’t be caught dead peeing in someone’s yard. Security will also be on premises.
12. This event doesn’t benefit the South Caspar neighborhood: This event benefits the ENTIRE community – not just one neighborhood.
13. Where can I find more information on the event, the farm raised abalone, the Waterman’s Alliance, the Purple Urchin Removal & the Kelp reforestation? We have put alot of time & effort into posting numerous articles, videos, etc..on our Abalone Cook Festival Facebook Page to keep people educated & informed. There are also numerous You-Tube videos that are available. Many of them were taken right off the Caspar Coastline in Caspar Cove.
14. Who can we speak to if we have any more questions or concerns? You may contact Erin McBride @ Erin.mcbride@live.com
15. Who is Erin McBride? Erin McBride has been diving for Abalone in this community since 1969 & used to be the MAPA Cook Off Coordinator. He was also MAPA’s Volunteer of the Year for 3 years in a row. He has been working very hard to help the local community recover from the Urchin crisis.

Because of the fears caused by assumptions, mis-information & confusion, this has gotten unnecessarily blown way out of proportion. Hopefully we have answered most of your questions & calmed most of your fears. There is nothing to be scared about! This is a good thing!

There is already so much division going on this country! It feels as if everyone is divided on this too, when in reality, everyone should be united for the benefit of our entire community.

Anyone with additional concerns or questions are encouraged to contact Erin. We want to do everything we can to make you feel comfortable about it by answering all of your questions & giving whatever information you need.