Some say that the best barbequed salmon is served right here at SeafoodFest. WE AGREE! And it's no wonder. We've been doing it for 38 years!

What's our secret? Well, we have a number of them. First, Trident Seafoods ships in the freshest of the fresh the day before the event. (And they donate all 2,000 pounds of it!) Then Ballard Transfer picks it up in a refrigerated truck and delivers it directly to the streets of Ballard.

Two weeks before the event, our Barbeque Chair finds a worthy alder tree, chops it down and splits the wood. (Or his able assistant Steve Horris does.) The Chamber orders the secret ingredients from its secret sources.

Next, our EXPERT chefs, Warren Aakervik, Doug Dixon and Cam Hardy get to work with their men from Ballard Oil, Pacific Fishermen, Camco Electric and the Ballard High School Football team. They have a simple, but time-honored recipe, which of course, we are not able to divulge.
 

Finally, the fillets go into the giant metal cookers, which were designed and fabricated right here in Ballard. And that's when the magic begins.

It's a fairly simple technique, but it's HOT and HARD work and requires lots of coordination. But these guys can handle it—they're from Ballard's industrial businesses. And with the addition of the BHS football players, the Salmon Barbecue is becoming a cultural tradition, something handed down from one generation to the next.

But tradition, hard work, and lots of smoke not withstanding, when you get right down to it, IT'S DELICIOUS!