There's a Secret Dinner Party on Prince Edward Island You Need to Know About

Savor Prince Edward Island’s bounty through this nightly summer celebration.

Chef Michael Smith and his wife, Chastity, want to invite you over for dinner. Just make sure to bring a sense of adventure (and wear your stretchiest pants for the occasion).

In 2015, the Smiths launched the very first FireWorks Feast, held at their quaint accommodation, The Inn at Bay Fortune on Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province. What began as a 50-person, one-time meal where visitors gathered at long tables to enjoy open-flame cooking and PEI produce has snowballed into an 80-person meal every night of the week from May through October.

It’s a culinary journey that includes all the oysters you can eat, harvested from just down the block; small bites of smoked salmon served on a Gouda crisp and topped with black-apple emulsion; and even a taco bar with housemade hot sauce. And that’s just for starters. There’s a six-course meal afterward, which might include dishes like chowder, lobster with potato gnocchi and spring nettles, and smoked brisket, plus spruce and lemon-balm mousse for dessert. The menu changes daily, though there are some mainstays, like the chowder.

And while the menu may seem immense, it all stemmed from Michael’s personal goal to reconnect with others through food. After spending years as a television personality on food shows, he says, “There came a point when I was the only person in the room seeing food. Everyone else was looking at it like a prop.”

To make that connection between people and food as strong as possible, the chef not only serves dishes made from his farm’s produce, but he also allows guests to wander the property on a tour, weaving their way across the eight verdant acres, through five greenhouses and a small orchard. The team grows more than 200 varieties of fruits and vegetables, and there’s even a salad course dedicated to sampling as many of them as possible. “We’ve come to understand that we are a living, breathing, learning laboratory,” Michael says.

But before any of the plated dishes are served, guests indulge in “Oyster Hour,” where both roasted and raw oysters are on offer — last year, they shucked 65 distinct varieties. “We’re going to keep going this year with 70 or 80 different kinds of oysters,” he says. In just one night’s service, the staff can shuck upward of 500.

And where would FireWorks Feast be without a little fire? At the event, guests can peruse what’s available across three fire stations, where chefs cook hors d’oeuvres highlighting PEI flavors, including vegetable-forward tacos — think parsnip confit and pickled carrot relish topping a smear of red lentils, adorned with the house hot sauce. “Our chiles grown last year are fermented over the winter and turned into unique hot sauces in what we call our ‘skunkworks,’ or fermentation lab,” Michael explains.

After two hours taking in the late afternoon sun on a tour, guests spill into the dining room for the main act. Diners all have a view of the kitchen — complete with roaring open flame — and the Fire Brigade, as the staff is called.

The entire affair feels like an intimate party that the Smiths personally invited you to join. They shower their guests with what they love — fresh food and warm hospitality. The result is an incredible PEI welcome and an exploration of all the province has to offer.

As Michael says, “The best part of the day — the best part of life — is right here.”

Oyster obsession

Oyster production has been part of Prince Edward Island’s farming history since 1865. Each year, roughly 6.5 million pounds are exported throughout Canada and as tiny culinary ambassadors to the rest of the world.

Jeff Noye, who helps organize the annual Tyne Valley Oyster Festival and runs Valley Pearl Oysters, cites the island’s clean, cold water and salinity levels in its bays and estuaries as perfect conditions for oysters.

Dalvay by the Sea

This historic boutique hotel sits in Prince Edward Island National Park. Enjoy a sampling of oysters in the MacMillan Dining Room; owner Danny Murphy likes a simple garnish of black pepper.

The Table Culinary Studio

Executive chef Hunter Guindon creates an original seven-course menu every week at The Table. Oysters often make an appearance, though he never repeats a topping. One week you may find a gin-and-tonic granita with rose jam and fresh rose petals, and another a drop of whiskey, a drop of bitters, and a squeeze of orange—his spin on an old-fashioned.

The Malpeque Oyster Barn

Malpeque oysters are some of the island’s most famous. Enjoy them here straight at the source, unadorned, washed down with a cold beer or sparkling wine.

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