Scallops and lobster took center stage at the 26th Chef’s Seafood Symposium held recently at the Virginia Marine Institute at Gloucester Point.

The morning sessions included How Oysters are Turning the Tide on Their Parasites, Harmful Algal Blooms and Shellfish, Restoring Seagrass and Bay Scallops to the Seaside Bays of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, and Lobsters Great and Small, given by VIMS staff members.

Lunch followed at noon. The menu of salad, breads, scallop chowder and beef stew was made and served by Custom Culinary Connections and Kingsmill resort.

At the afternoon program, “Mystery Basket,” a student cooking competition, began. Two teams of Colonial Williamsburg apprentices (Team A, Mary Ammons and Tylor Morton; Team B, Pete Skofotos and Mat Boone) not knowing what ingredients awaited them on stage, began creating in their minds what to do. Then they put their plans into action. Scallops were the main ingredient and the team’s creation had to b...