ANEGADA – The British Virgin Islands held its 12th annual Lobster Fest on Anegada last weekend, where restaurants put their lobster dishes to the test with the hope of winning the inaugural Alffy Award for best lobster sampler.
The two-day festival brought visitors from neighboring islands as well as around the world to the 10-mile-long and 2.5-mile-wide island, where they traveled between the 13 participating restaurants – the most in the history of Lobster Fest – sampling what each had to offer.
“I saw the map, and it’s great that there are so many stops this year,” Tina Comissiong, who came from St. Thomas for the weekend with her family, said. “This is my third Lobster Fest, actually. Every time I come, I have a great time. The people are so warm and welcoming, and the food is delicious.”
Comissiong, who is the chief executive officer of Schneider Regional Medical Center on St. Thomas, started her tasting tour on the west end of the island at Cow Wreck, where lobster salad was served as a sampler.
“It’s been a great stop,” Comissiong, who planned to visit several more restaurants before calling it a day, said. “I’m really looking forward to some lobster and butter sauce, so we'll see where we find some of that.”
One of the busier stops of the day was Tipsy Beach Bar, located right next to Cow Wreck, where they were serving up lobster fritters as their sampler.
“Lobster Fest is always a bit stressful because we always have a lot of people coming,” Ann Creque, owner of Tipsy Beach Bar, said. “But its enjoyable because we’re able to share Anegada with everyone.”
Jose Belcher was one of the people sharing in the beauty of Anegada last weekend. Belcher, who called Anegada “the best place on the planet,” said he had traveled from St. Thomas to support his friend Sidney Wheatley, owner of Sid’s Pomato Point Restaurant.
“We went to Anegada Beach Club and Cow Wreck and Tipsy, and all their lobster stuff was really good, but the one at Pomato Point is the dope lobster,” Belcher said. “It’s a giant piece of lobster, and they fry it in like a corn dog-style batter that goes on the outside. They put some little veggies, shredded up, just for looks. And then they put two different kinds of aiolis on there, and it’s really fabulous.”
Chef Shane Huggins agreed. The 29-year-old chef from French St. Maarten was invited to judge this year’s Lobster Fest, evaluating the samplers based on presentation, taste and flavor, texture, originality, and overall impression. After tasting all 13 samplers, Huggins named Sid’s Pomato Point Restaurant the winner of the 2024 Lobster Fest.
“One sampler stood out to me, and it wasn’t just for creativity and originality, but it was definitely love,” Huggins said. “I tasted love in every bite. This chef didn’t just use ingredients, they used passion and care.”
Wheatley, owner of Sid’s Pomato Point Restaurant, said the winning lobster corn dog would now be added to their permanent menu.
“There was a huge sense of achievement from the entire Pomato Point team,” he said. “I think the greatest prize was, and is, the feedback we continue to get from guests.”
The team from Sid’s was presented with the Alffy Award for Best Sampler, a lobster trophy made from recycled copper collected around the British Virgin Islands. Despite this being the 12th annual Lobster Fest, this was the first year for the Alffy Award, which will now be passed from winner to winner in the following years.
Second place went to Anegada Beach Club, which had three options: a lobster deviled egg, a lobster kebab, and a brochette – grilled bread topped with lobster. Anegada Reef Hotel took home third place for their lobster kebab.
