From the couch to the kitchen and under the wonderful backdrop of Venus Bay, A Taste of the Bay has become a hit event.
On a winter’s afternoon in 2023, out front of the Venus Bay General Store, savouring a coffee after a busy lunch service, kicked back on what is known as the ideas couch, owner Nicole Elliot had just that – a brilliant idea.
The inspiration – to host an event showcasing the bay’s very best and most well-prepared local seafood – would ring true just months later on the October long weekend, now the date when A Taste of the Bay is annually held.
As things tend to when Nicole gets her hands on them, the initial vision grew from its first incarnation on the ideas couch, eventually swelling into a day-long celebration of Venus Bay-caught seafood, fuelled by live music, bar facilities, large crowds and sold-out tables.
“We have the couch out the front of the shop, a lot of our locals know it as the ideas couch, but I actually call it the going broke couch,” Nicole laughed, in a chat between the general store’s lunch and dinner service, which in recent years has developed a reputation for quality seafood dining.
“Every time I sit on that couch and come up with an idea, I’m spending money to do something… we are always changing things up, wondering what else we can do to align with the dynamics of people that are travelling through the town.”
After moving to Venus in 2021 and taking ownership of the store, Nicole noted most October long weekend visitors tended to stay local, rather than head up the coast.
“Our reasoning was not everyone goes to Ceduna for Oysterfest that weekend, it’s a long way away, our caravan park was always full, the holiday homes I manage were always full,” she said.
“I had already started introducing live music here at the shop a couple of years beforehand.
“I thought, let’s introduce more live music on the October long weekend, and we’ll whack some recipes together, food that’s caught in this local bay, and focus on the seafood, that’s how it all started.”
Now entering its third year, Nicole explained why the small fishing and tourist town of Venus is an idyllic location for a celebration of seafood type event.
“Venus Bay is a destination not just a location, it’s a very safe swimming and fishing bay, it’s sheltered, the views of the actual water from Venus are just amazing,” she said.
“It’s peaceful, it’s family friendly, the kids are safe, everybody looks out for everybody here, it’s just a really cool, relaxed place to be.”
On the menu at last year’s Taste of the Bay, straight from the waters in view of the general store, was calamari, baby octopus, flake and sand crab, plus the town’s most famous seafood item, the prawn.
“It is all caught inside the bay by our local professional fisherman,” Nicole said.
“The only tasting we serve up that’s caught outside of the bay is our Venus Bay prawns, which obviously the town is famous for, so we simply had to have them on the menu.
“Terry Paul, our local prawn fisherman, he’s done up a couple of excellent prawn dishes the last couple of years.”
The plan is to increase the scope of seafood on offer when the 2025 October long weekend rolls around.
“This year we’re focusing on other seafood as well, but we don’t reveal any of our recipes until the day,” Nicole said.
“They’re all little entrée size tasting plates, it’s great, food is available from one o’clock until we sell out.
“We’ve managed to supply and do up enough recipes, sauces and bases and get enough seafood to last us for around seven hours each year.”
With live tunes abuzz for the day’s entirety, and a number of wineries expressing interest in getting on board this year, tables are already being booked out.
“It’s totally overwhelming how well it has been supported, especially by our return visitors,” Nicole said.
“We’ve done two Taste of the Bay’s now, and people just keep booking for the next year, they book their tables now because that’s how big it’s getting.
“People seem to hang around all day long, they have a couple of tastings early, a couple later in the afternoon, and a lot from the caravan park come up for the live music.”
Since taking over the general store back in 2021, Nicole and her team have worked to turn it, like Venus itself, into a destination, not just a location.
“The store is so much more than just a shop nowadays and we have our restaurant licence, so that allows people to have a drink with their tastings,” Nicole said.
“I bought the shop while in lockdown in NSW – I couldn’t cross the border, so my best mate ‘Seagull’, he kept the doors open here at the shop, while I managed his pub in NSW.
“When the borders opened, we crossed paths on the highway, exchanged credit cards, and away we went.
“It has been beautiful, I love it.”
