New calamari route for St Francis

The village of St Francis in South Africa’s Eastern Cape province is establishing a new calamari route to celebrate the formative role of seafood in the town’s economy.

The calamari route will be officially launched on Saturday, September 21. It will include 14 local restaurants offering visitors and food enthusiasts the opportunity to enjoy locally caught calamari. It will be open throughout the year and will showcase the diversity of gastronomic experiences in the area with calamari as a standard item on the menu.

In addition to culinary delights, the route includes a chokka (the local name for squid or calamari) trail – a four-day and three-night, 62km slackpack hiking trail with a Get Inked calamari boat trip and calamari tasting at Chokka Block Restaurant.

The route will be launched during the Calamari Festival showcasing St Francis as a desirable destination for culinary explorers and outdoor enthusiasts. Considering the village’s long association with chokka, and the role of calamari in making the region what it is today, no doubt, St Francis has earned the right to be recognised as the calamari capital of South Africa.

St Francis Tourism has organised the Calamari Festival since 2017 with wine and calamari tastings, a cook-off and other activities over a weekend.

This year, the festivities are going a step further over a week from Friday, September 20 to Saturday, September 28. Regular features on the programme will include greater focus on celebrating the rich heritage and culture of the region with live music performances, an art expo, wildflower and shipwreck experiences, whale watching safaris, family fishing, calamari cook-off with celebrity chef Justin Bonello, dune walks and the town’s 70^th anniversary celebration.

Chokka was mainly used as bait until European markets realised it was very similar to squid caught in the Mediterranean. With the value of the rand declining in the mid-1980s, demand increased and chokka became a competitive product in international markets.

This led to the development of Port St Francis in 1997 – one of the few privately owned commercial harbours in South Africa and a base for chokka fleets, hake and pilchard vessels as well as recreational craft. The commercial fishing industries based at Port St Francis contribute significantly to the local economy by creating employment opportunities for at least 3 000 people with chokka revered as “white gold”.

Dionne Collett, St Francis Tourism Chair, says: “A significant part of the charm of the area includes the architectural guidelines applied to certain areas. Despite a surge in development, the ethos is fiercely guarded with a view to maintaining the village feel whether you are in The Bay, Santareme or Cape St Francis. Add to that the Light House at Seal Point – a structure that remains the tallest masonry building on the South African coast – two great golf courses and a host of hospitable people and you have all the ingredients for a sought-after tourist destination!”