Crack the Competition
Don’t miss the seafood cooking contest, where amateur chefs prepare and plate mouth-watering dishes right before your eyes. At 9 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 2 in the North Entertainment Tent, local cooks show off their seafood skills in a competition sponsored by Fiore Artisan Olive Oils and Vinegars, which has a lovely tasting room and store right on Rockland’s Main Street.
The lucky audience members get to watch the show, like a live version of your favorite food television program, with fast chopping, last-minute dashes across the makeshift kitchen, quick thinking, and judging. You will watch as the local celebrity judges taste-test and confer, and then you are rewarded with samples of all the delicious delicacies. Lobster is, of course, a prominently featured ingredient in most every dish.
Last year we enjoyed a Thai-inspired fresh and herby lobster salad, a rich lobster mac and cheese, and a savory scone heaped with lobster and creme fraiche. But the biggest surprise of the day was that the winning dish wasn’t made with lobster. It is a seafood competition after all, not strictly celebrating our beloved main crustacean. The 2018 plate of the day was a strikingly good clams casino. We can’t wait to eat what the chefs have cooked up for us this year. Arrive early to get a front row seat to the foodie festivities!
Belly Up Under the Big Top
The Maine Lobster Festival boasts a lot of fun, from music and rides to games and crate races for the kids. But at the heart of our annual event is the lobster tent, under which thousands of visitors from near and far sit together at long tables to feast on the very best lobster in the world.
From 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day of the Festival, friendly volunteers are serving up your favorites under the main tent overlooking Rockland’s sparkling harbor. Your toughest decision of the day is whether to indulge in a single, double, or triple lobster dinner, all 1 1/4 pounds and perfectly steamed in our epic cooker. It’s served with a buttery New England dinner roll and the sweetest summer corn on the cob. You will be cracking into the shells and savoring the succulent delight, dipping the tender claws in warm drawn butter and sucking the legs for the sweetest meat.
Under the tent you will also find steamed clams, mussels done with wine, butter, and garlic, a decadent lobster bisque, unique lobster won-tons, strawberry shortcake, and blueberry cobbler, all made with love by locals. Get your bib on, and don’t forget the wet naps!
If you are looking for the foodie experience of a blissful Maine summer, this is the ultimate destination. Not only do we serve you expertly cooked, luscious local lobster so recently plucked from the sea, we introduce you to other beautiful seafood from our cold coastal waters. Because the catch is so fresh, it doesn’t require much embellishment. Fish this perfect, prepared simply, needs not much more than a little good butter and a side of salt air. Join us this summer for a feast you will dream about all year.
About the Maine Lobster Festival
Five days of fun and feasting on the fabulous coast of Maine, the Maine Lobster Festival attracts thousands of people to the Midcoast region and has a long tradition of giving back to the local community. In recent years, the festival committee has given more than $500,000 to Midcoast Regional Child Development Services, Trekkers, Meals on Wheels, and many other organizations. The 2019 Festival will be held July 31-Aug. 4.
For more information about the Maine Lobster Festival, visit the website at www.mainelobsterfestival.com and “like” them on Facebook, or follow them on Twitter at @MELobsterFest.
