The village of Cape 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.
