Wendell McKay and Victoria Hopkins of Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack in Barrington Passage display their winning lobster roll on Sunday. (Rick Conrad)

Simplicity and consistency were the secret ingredients for Capt. Kat’s Lobster Shack on Sunday as it grabbed the title of best lobster roll on the South Shore.

It’s the third time the Barrington Passage restaurant has topped the competition in the annual Lobster Roll-Off as part of the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl. They won the first roll-off in 2018. And it’s always the same recipe, said Wendell McKay, the kitchen manager at Capt. Kat’s. 

“This is the same cold lobster roll that we’ve been making since before I was at Capt. Kat’s,” he said.

“It feels good to be back in the winner’s seat for sure. We don’t want to stray from what works. And we like to focus on the lobster and not adding too many bells and whistles. Sometimes the lobster gets left in the back of the palate that way.” 

The winning entry featured lobster meat, green onions, celery, mayonnaise, a bit of spinach on a buttered toasted bun.

Victoria Hopkins made the winning lobster roll.

“I am the cold roll mama,” she said. “And I am the one that makes the cold roll with lots of love.”

Eleven restaurants from around the South Shore competed Sunday afternoon in a blind tasting for the title of best lobster roll. They ranged from the traditional, like Capt. Kat’s, to the elaborate. 

Some rolls included Nova Scotia smoked salmon and pepperoni, or deep fried lobster macaroni and cheese in addition to lobster meat.

Four travel writers from outside Nova Scotia served as judges.

Stephanie Miller Vincent, the co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Cooperative which organizes the lobster crawl, said they bring in a new group of judges every year. And none of them eats a lobster roll at any of the competing restaurants before the big day.

“The judges come in through Tourism Nova Scotia. They’re completely different every single year. So it’s pretty unique that one restaurant’s won three times honestly.”

Second place went to the Quarterdeck Resort, which hosted the event this year. And Osprey’s Nest Public House in Petite Riviere finished in third.

Lobster lovers can vote for their favourite lobster roll for the whole month of February. Details, including the 11 participating restaurants, are on the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl website. 

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Lucy the Lobster will once again use her canny crustacean conjecturing on Sunday to predict whether we’ll see six more weeks of winter. (Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl photo)

Organizers call it a shellebration, while lobster lovers think of it as the most delicious time of year.

The eighth annual Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl is set to crack open on Saturday at businesses, galleries and community centres along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. 

Each February, the month-long festival highlights the South Shore’s most famous and lucrative export.

Stephanie Miller Vincent is the co-ordinator of the South Shore Tourism Co-operative, which organizes the event.

“It’s one of the reasons that the lobster crawl happens in February. It’s peak lobster season, yes. But we all know that we get into that spot where we need a little nudge, maybe a little nip with a claw to get us going.”

More than 70 events are scheduled, with more being added as Feb. 1 gets closer.

Two of the biggest events are coming up on Sunday, or Groundhog Day. In Barrington, people will wait to see if Lucy the Lobster sees her shadow, predicting six more weeks of winter. 

And at the Quarterdeck Resort at Summerville Beach, near Liverpool, a dozen restaurants from around the South Shore will compete for the title of best lobster roll. 

Local author Pam Wamback has written a children’s book called Lucy the Lob-Star, about Lucy’s rise from the depths to become a famous weather forecaster.

Lots of food events are scheduled, like a chowder showdown. And many restaurants and bars will be featuring additional lobster dishes on their menus. But the month also features arts events around the South Shore, including local artisan markets.

• Go here for a complete list of Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl events

Liverpool’s Queens Coast Trading Company has even created a special tea blend dedicated to Lucy the Lobster. 

Miller Vincent says the lobster crawl is especially important for local fishermen and businesses in light of the tariff threat from the United States.

“And certainly the events that are happening in the U.S. and the conversations that are being spoken about makes us remember that … we should be looking at home first and shopping. And listen, the South Shore’s got some amazing products and amazing shops, restaurants, marketers, whatever it might be. There’s no better time to go see them than it is in February.”

As for Lucy’s prediction on Sunday?

“Lucy has been right every single year, and I don’t want to jinx her. Last year she was the opposite of Punxsutawney Phil and Shubenacadie Sam. And in the long run, she was absolutely right.

“You know, we did end up with the weather that she predicted. So she’s going to be right, no matter what that is. And the best thing is, no matter what she predicts, we still have at least six more weeks of lobster season.”

For more information on the Nova Scotia Lobster Crawl, visit their website at lobstercrawl.ca or follow them on Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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Kim Thorbourne-Whalen is the vice-chair of the Liverpool Championship Host Society. (Rick Conrad)

As fans rallied behind their favourite curlers in Liverpool last week, local businesses were also cheering for the post-holiday bump in sales.

Restaurants, bars and other food-based businesses in downtown Liverpool stayed open to try to capitalize on the influx of fans and curlers in town for the Canadian mixed doubles curling trials at Queens Place Emera Centre.

Some businesses traditionally close during the week between Christmas and New Year’s to give owners and staff a break after a busy holiday season.

FULL COVERAGE: More from the 2025 Canadian Mixed Doubles Curling Trials

At Main and Mersey Dining Room and Coffee Bar, co-owner Shani Beadle said the event helped perk up a slower time of year.

“I think when Christmas is winding down, it really helped bring more people into town and and lengthen the Christmas season, which is always helpful,” she said. “We had a lot of people from the curling here to lunch, for coffee, staying in our accommodation. So, everything’s helpful.”

Melanie Perron, co-owner of Hell Bay Brewing Company, said they saw more customers as soon as the curling event began on Monday.

“The week’s been great,” she said.

“We’ve definitely seen some new faces that we haven’t seen before come through the brewery and it’s just nice to see us in the bar as well at the Emera Centre, because it’s been a while since we’ve had our product for sale there directly through us. So the region has been definitely pushing local this time, which is great.

“It’s wonderful, especially this time of year because so many people are going into ‘Dry January’, so any beer sales that I can get any way is definitely a bonus for us.”

At Five Girls Baking, co-owner Leanne Arnott said they had planned to close from Dec. 25 until Jan. 2, but decided to reopen on Dec. 30. 

“We were going to be closed and and get a few more days of rest and when we found out about the curling event, we thought, oh no, we better open. And we’re really glad we did.”

They baked special cookies decorated like the red and blue curling rings to celebrate. And Canadian curling legend Colleen Jones even dropped in to sample them. She had also visited the bakery in 2019 when Liverpool hosted the World Junior Curling Championships.

“I was hoping she would show up. She showed up (Friday) and I was tickled pink.” 

Other businesses also stayed open or extended their hours, like Memories Cafe and Eatery and Route 3 Cellar Taproom and Grill.

Kim Thorbourne-Whalen of the local organizing committee said she believes the curling event helped inject $1.5 to $2 million in spinoff business for hotels, restaurants and bars in the Liverpool area. It’s also been a boon for the local Kiwanis Club, which provided canteen services at Queens Place for the whole week.

“The restaurants have been full, like the Cellar, Memories, they’ve had curling teams in there and curling families in there all week,” Thorbourne-Whalen said. “So it’s been felt throughout the community, not just with the hotels, it’s been all over.” 

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian said he’d like to see more big events like the curling trials come to Liverpool.

“I think everybody’s blown away by how many people have been out for it. Main Street’s been busy. … I think that it should generate some good momentum to try to attract events like this in the future. 

“I know this council has got big plans for Queens Place, doing some revitalization work and to make sure that we make best use of these facilities here. We’re looking at how can we make sure that we make use of this beautiful facility because you can see we can host top-notch events here.”

Main and Mersey’s Shani Beadle and other business owners say that bringing more events to town in the slower winter months would be a boost for businesses.

“I think that would be brilliant, because the summer is already quite busy, so having events like the Lobster Crawl, like curling, hockey, et cetera, is always really helpful.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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