Come join us for a fun seafood Cooking competition between restaurant teams from the Willow Rest of Gloucester and Prides Osteria from Beverly.


Come join us for a fun seafood Cooking competition between restaurant teams from the Willow Rest of Gloucester and Prides Osteria from Beverly.
The chefs will be using mystery seafood locally caught and donated by Cape Ann Fresh Catch, along with the produce from the farmers market to create an aromatic, tasty dish for the judges pallet. Once the judging has taken place the chefs will dish out tastings for the audience. Please come and join in the Cape Ann Seafood Throwdown, learn more about your local fishermen and why it is important to advocate for a diverse, local fishing fleet in the face of current policies that endanger the fishing industry. This event is free and open to the public. Bring dinner, or buy it at the Farmer’s Market for a community picnic to follow at 6 pm.

Chefs Melissa Donati & Glen Manfra of Gloucester’s Willow Rest were the winners of the 2012 Rockport HarvestFest Seafood Throwdown and are back by popular demand.

They will face off against chef Paolo Laboa Paolo of Prides Osteria in Beverly. Paolo was the 2008 winner of the Genova World Pesto Championship and was recently featured in “Cuchina Italiana” magazine for his previous work in at Farina restaurant in San Francisco.

Peter Van Ness from gimmeesounds.com will be the emcee for the event.

The Judges are:

Kat Brown – You’ve probably seen her Cottage Gardening trucks zipping around Cape Ann. Kat’s other half is a 2nd generation commercial fisherman.

Antonio Bigatello (surprise, Antonio!) – When not lobstering or fishing off Rockport, Antonio is finishing his degree in environmental education at UMASS Lowell. He’s been NAMA’s intern this summer and having him judge is part of our thank you package to him.

Third judge – we’re going to number the tasting tickets and then pick someone from the audience without a ticket at random to pick a number. That ticket holder will be the third judge. Would that work?

Steve Parkes is all set for fillet demo.

Jen Perry of The Open Door will be on hand to talk about the health benefits of seafood.

A community picnic will follow the event. Bring a picnic dinner to enjoy at beautiful Stage Fort Park overlooking the harbor, or purchase food at the farmer’s market. Grills are available, and there is a beach and playground for the children. Live music will be performed by Happy Accidents.