Celebrity chefs will once again cluster on Scotland’s south-westerly tip this autumn, where the annual Stranraer Oyster Festival has become a major draw for fans of local food and drink.
The festival, taking place this year from Friday 11th to Sunday 13th September, centres on the ‘ecological treasure’ that lies beneath Loch Ryan’s waters – an estimated 23 million native oysters that represent one of Europe’s most important, sustainably managed, oyster beds.
Since its foundation in 2017, the Stranraer Oyster Festival has grown from a ‘community dream’ into one of Scotland’s most successful foodie events, generating more than £12 million in economic impact, and bringing visitors from across the UK and beyond to this often-overlooked corner of Galloway.
The stellar culinary line-up for this year’s mollusc-based merriment is testament to the festival’s runaway popularity, with last year’s roster of kitchen celebrities returning in full, alongside the added star-power of ‘Outlander’ actor and local boy Sam Heughan.
Tony Singh, the festival’s Chef Ambassador, comes back for his sixth appearance, joined by BBC Saturday Kitchen’s Matt Tebbutt, ‘national treasure’ Rosemary Shrager, and Scottish Malaysian chef and TV presenter Julie Lin.
Also returning this year are Stranraer’s own Ryan McCutcheon, David Alexander, Helen Cross and Douglas and Massimo Lisi.
Heughan, a self-professed proud champion of Galloway, will host Spirit of Galloway, a two-hour Sunday afternoon session combining conversation, signature cocktails and dishes from chefs Shrager and Lin, inspired by the produce of the region’s landscape and coastline.
Joining them will be Tony Pierce, recently retired from Knockinaam Lodge after more than 25 years, and Noby Leong, a scientist and rising podcast star who came to the 2025 festival as a visitor and reportedly fell in love with it.
Chair of festival organisers the Stranraer Development Trust, Romano Petrucci, said: “We are of course thrilled to be welcoming Sam Heughan to Stranraer for an event that is designed to showcase the very best of Galloway, our shared home region.
“And the fact that every single celebrity chef from last year wanted to return tells you something profound about the festival Stranraer has created.
“These are people at the very top of their profession, several of them household names, they could be anywhere in the world, and they’re choosing to be in Stranraer to celebrate our community and our very special Loch Ryan oysters.”
Petrucci said that the Trust was announcing the celebrity chef line-up early this year so that festival-goers could plan well in advance.
An expanded wider festival programme, covering all the events, activities and live music that are included as part of the festival admission, will be announced in June.
Ahead of that, the Scottish Oyster Shucking Championship is now open for entries.
This Stranraer ‘Shuck Off’ pits chefs, oyster growers, producers, fishermen and industry professionals against each other for the title of Scottish Oyster Shucking Champion. The winner will go on to represent Scotland at the World Oyster Opening Championships in Galway, Ireland.
Applications from food, drink and craft traders to take part in the 2026 festival market are also open. Stranraer Oyster Festival’s market is claimed to be one of the largest of its kind in southwest Scotland and a major destination for visitors across the weekend.
Stranraer Oyster Festival 2026 is supported by headline sponsor Lactalis UK & Ireland, alongside Rock Island whisky from Douglas Laing, Stranraer Skills Station and the Loch Ryan Oyster Fishery Company.
The festival is also supported by Dumfries and Galloway Council’s Signature Events programme, and the work of Stranraer Development Trust is also supported by South of Scotland Enterprise.
