THE Narooma Oyster Festival is set to take place from May 3-4 and Clyde River Oyster Farmer Bernie Connell is thinking big.
The festival will crown Australia's Biggest Oyster on the Saturday and after his Oyster Jack narrowly missed out on the title last year, Bernie has his eyes on the prize.
Jack became a big celebrity last year during his quest to win the Guinness Book of Records' World's Biggest Oyster title.
He narrowly missed out on the title despite being the heaviest competitor because it was determined by length.
Jack is one of a number of Bernie's oysters which will compete for the title and all have been placed on a strict regimen of eating plenty of algae and not being handled by those wanting a photo.
"With all the handling in the two weeks leading up to it (last year's competition), Jack lost over 300g," Bernie said.
In addition to the competition, visitors will also have the chance to watch some of Australia's finest chefs in action including Mark Olive, Paul Farag, Peter Hilcke and Stephen Hodges.
The chefs will give live cooking demonstrations from 10.15am-3pm alongside host Kelly Eastwood from Eastwood's Deli and Cooking School and her colleague Aidan Barry.
The festival will launch on Friday evening with live entertainment, food stalls, fireworks and a long table dinner.
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