Fans of seafood chowder will be happy to know that Chef Bell and the Naramata Inn team in the South Okanagan will be doing their part to raise money for Ocean Wise sustainable seafood programs, by taking part in the inaugural National Chowder Chowdown Festival this February.
The seafood chowder at the Restaurant at Naramata Inn achieved celebrated status when it hit the menu this fall — no surprise since Chef Ned Bell knows his way around sustainable seafood.
From February 1 through 28, Naramata Inn will join 36 restaurants across the country by offering a delicious seafood chowder for the duration of the festival. Chef Bell’s Road 17 Char Chowder with organic potatoes and foraged Naramata sumac will be available for $25 for a one-litre container serving four, with $5 going to Ocean Wise.
With the Inn currently closed for dining and lodging, the pre-frozen containers of chowder will be available for pick up from the Inn on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout the month from 3:30 pm to 4:30 pm, starting Monday, February 8.
The chowder can be ordered online by choosing the day for pick up. For multiple containers of the chowder, just buy extra tickets. https://www.exploretock.com/naramatainn
Coolshanagh Chardonnay from the Naramata Bench is available to pair perfectly with the chowder.
Coolshanagh Vineyard sits seven kilometres north of Naramata, with primary Chardonnay planted on the calcium carbonate-loaded soil, made up of fractured glacial bedrock. in 2012 owners and grape growers Skip and Judy Stothert launched their own wine made exclusively from grapes grown on their unique property. Made at Okanagan Crush Pad in Summerland by the skilled winemaker Matt Dumayne, the Coolshanagh Chardonnay beautifully expresses its north-Naramata terroir.
“Coolshanagh”” is a Gaelic word that means a “meeting place of friends.”
Patrons can also get into the spirit of supporting sustainable seafood by purchasing a signed copy of Chef Bell’s own cookbook, Lure — perfect for flipping through while enjoying the soup. Take it all home in a Naramata Inn signature thermal bag.
Chowder and chef photos by John Hollands
LURE: Sustainably seafood recipes from the West Coast — Ned Bell
While this 240-page cookbook offers a fish option for every course, your most thumb marked page will be Chef Bell’s naked fish meal planning guide with his personal arsenal of vinaigrettes, compound butters and mayos. Twenty-two species are profiled in-depth with a calendar of seafood seasonality — a necessity for sustainability. Nothing has been missed.
