The Lobster Capital of the World. The edu­ca­tio­nal jour­ney first takes Luca Bianchi to the lob­ster capi­tal of the world, Shediac in New Brunswick. Here, lob­ster is not sim­ply a pro­duct; it is cul­tu­re, iden­ti­ty, and a way of life all at once. The strait off Shediac is among the pre­mier fishing grounds world­wi­de. „This is due to the ide­al con­di­ti­ons: war­mer, nut­ri­ent-rich water, sta­ble curr­ents, and a mari­ne bio­lo­gy that ensu­res par­ti­cu­lar­ly fine-fibe­red, sweet meat,“ explains Luca Bianchi. This is the home of the American lob­ster, „Homarus ame­ri­ca­nus.“ The qua­li­ty is super­la­ti­ve, which is pre­cis­e­ly why this lob­ster is a cove­ted deli­ca­cy for chefs across the globe.

Lobster tails & leg meat. Bianchi and his entou­ra­ge also visit our long-stan­ding sup­plier, Pittman Seafoods, and are invi­ted to look behind the sce­nes. In just 50 minu­tes, around 150 employees pro­cess the lob­sters with the utmost care: from the live ani­mal to the kit­chen-rea­dy pro­duct. Luca Bianchi reco­gni­zes many pro­ducts that are deli­ver­ed dai­ly by our Bianchi deli­very vans in Switzerland. Naturally, the lob­ster tails: „The lob­ster tails are our main pro­duct. They pro­vi­de firm, aro­ma­tic meat and are sui­ta­ble for both clas­sic and modern dis­hes.“ Of cour­se, one can also obtain just the shel­led meat—the „Naked Lobster“—or the crun­chy leg meat, which is ide­al for frying.

Loss-free shel­ling pro­cess. The sup­plier also shows Luca Bianchi a pro­cess that allo­ws lob­ster meat to be shel­led using high pres­su­re, but wit­hout heat or addi­ti­ves. „The pro­cess is cal­led Ultra High Pressure—UHP for short. The fla­vor remains pure and aro­ma­tic, the meat does not dry out, and you get the hig­hest yield with prac­ti­cal­ly no loss.“ To ensu­re the curious fish experts do not fal­ter during this inten­si­ve know­ledge-gathe­ring, they are sup­plied with the fres­hest lob­ster rolls ima­gi­nable by Suzanne, the in-hou­se chef.

A blue lob­ster! Freshly for­ti­fi­ed, the group heads to the har­bor, whe­re a lob­ster fisher’s boat is just arri­ving. Everything hap­pens at light­ning speed: the sail­ors unload the full cra­tes and bring new cra­tes and bait onto the boat. Every move­ment is pre­cise; the enti­re pro­cess takes only a few minu­tes. „The soo­ner we go, the soo­ner we get back,“ shouts one of the sail­ors. As the boat sets sail again, the next high­light awaits. „Robbie, the har­bor master, show­ed us a spe­cial find. A blue lob­ster! This is an incre­di­ble rari­ty that occurs in about one in two mil­li­on lob­sters. The colo­ring is cau­sed by a gene­tic muta­ti­on,“ Luca Bianchi notes.

Dealing with chal­lenges. However, lob­ster fishing also pres­ents signi­fi­cant chal­lenges. Ocean tem­pe­ra­tures are rising, which in turn chan­ges the beha­vi­or of the lob­sters. The Homarus Centre acts as a media­tor bet­ween the fishe­ries and the sta­te, con­duc­ting rese­arch and sha­ring know­ledge. Fishing in Canada fol­lows the stric­test regu­la­ti­ons and is con­side­red an inter­na­tio­nal model of excel­lence. „Each fishing zone has its own season—usually in spring or autumn. This rota­ti­on stra­tegy allo­ws the stock to rege­ne­ra­te wit­hout crea­ting eco­no­mic pres­su­re,“ Bianchi learned.

Difficult pri­ce situa­ti­on. Lobsters are caught using tra­di­tio­nal lob­ster pots, known as lob­ster traps. This method allo­ws small ani­mals or pregnant fema­les to be retur­ned to the sea. „This makes the fishery sus­tainable and not only eco­no­mic­al­ly via­ble but also eco­lo­gi­cal­ly sound. Certifications, such as tho­se from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), con­firm this inter­na­tio­nal­ly,“ says Luca Bianchi. He also addres­ses the cur­rent dif­fi­cult pri­ce situation—meaning lob­ster is beco­ming incre­a­sing­ly expen­si­ve. „There are many rea­sons for this: wea­ther-rela­ted fluc­tua­tions, rising ope­ra­ting costs, and increa­sed demand—particularly in the USA, Europe, and Asia.“ Those who can and wish to afford lob­ster can rely on the Canadian varie­ty. „It is con­sist­ent­ly available, pro­ces­sed to a high stan­dard, and of the hig­hest qua­li­ty. For chefs who prio­ri­ti­ze trans­pa­ren­cy, ori­gin, and sus­taina­bi­li­ty, Canadian lob­ster is a relia­ble choice.“

From the pier to the kit­chen. The busi­ness trip to Canada would be incom­ple­te wit­hout visi­ting a restau­rant to taste the afo­re­men­tio­ned lob­ster. „We were at the Mystic in Halifax. The fishing boats dock not far from the restau­rant, and the catch comes—still twitching—from the pier into the kit­chen. Guests can watch as a who­le bluef­in tuna or fresh lob­sters are bro­ken down, pro­ces­sed, and ser­ved,“ Bianchi reports. „This is not a staged per­for­mance, but lived freshness!“