With access to high quality seafood here in PEI, we consume a lot of seafood, including lobster, especially when it is in season and fished locally off the Island shores. I like developing recipes using lobster as the main ingredient and, today, I am sharing my recipe for Lobster Vol-au-Vent. Continue reading Lobster Vol-au-Vent
Living in Prince Edward Island on Canada’s east coast offers access to an abundance of fine seafood, not the least of which is lobster. The lobster fishery is a large economic driver for the province.
Having access to high quality locally-fished lobster is a real perk for a recipe developer like me! I have created and published a number of recipes that use lobster as the primary ingredient. This posting is a compilation of those fabulous lobster recipes. Continue reading Fabulous Lobster Recipes
Living in PEI, we have access to fresh locally-fished lobster during the Island’s two lobster fishing seasons, commonly known as the spring and fall fisheries.
The first season begins in late April/early May and goes until the end of June. The second season runs from August to October.
After a few good “feeds” of lobster straight from the shell, I am ready to incorporate lobster as an ingredient in other dishes such as in this tasty Lobster Macaroni and Cheese. This is not your usual weeknight Mac ‘n Cheese dish. Rather, I refer to it as a more extravagant grown-up version of an old family classic. Continue reading Lobster Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
When you live on an Island where fishing is one of the main industries, it means you have access to wonderful fresh seafood. Yes, we are spoiled! Here in Prince Edward Island, where I reside, I make good use of seafood in my diet and in my recipe creations as I have done here with my Seafood Bubbly Bake. Continue reading My Island Bistro Kitchen’s Seafood Bubbly Bake
I am often asked for my recipe for lobster rolls and, I have to say, mine is fairly basic. I don’t mess with a good thing by adding any wonky or unusual ingredients. I want the lobster to be the star and nothing to interfere with it. I go with the basics – lobster meat, celery, lemon juice, Dijon mustard, salad dressing or mayonnaise, and salt and pepper. Sometimes, I will add a finely chopped green onion to the filling but that’s about it.
Living where we do, here in PEI, we have access to fresh local lobster and we make the most of it! The lobster fishery plays a major part in PEI’s economy and many people work in one of the many facets of this industry.
We are blessed on the Island with great food from the waters that surround our Island and from the rich red soil of our fertile land.
Combining foods from the sea and land, my recipe for Lobster Chowder features fresh lobster and potatoes, both foods for which PEI is known. Some creamed corn, milk, cream, and a flavorful lobster stock make this a rich, decadent, and delectable chowder. Follow the step-by-step preparation and cooking directions to create a lobster chowder feast. Continue reading PEI Lobster Chowder Recipe
People visit Prince Edward Island, Canada’s smallest province, for all kinds of reasons but many will tell you it’s for the beautiful beaches, stunning scenery, fine golf courses, and fabulous food – ahhhhh, yes, the food and, more specifically, the seafood. Most people, when PEI is mentioned, will immediately say that we are known for our high-quality seafood, including mussels, oysters, and lobster.
For many years, the Island has been known for its “lobster suppers”. That is to say, they are restaurant venues that specialize in serving meals where lobster tends to be the star. As anyone who has eaten at a traditional PEI lobster supper will attest, they are the full meal deal. For the most part, these lobster suppers are traditionally served in big community halls or large restaurant facilities. Over the years, there have been several lobster supper enterprises come and go but, at the time of writing, two have endured for decades and they are really only about a 10-15 minute drive from each other. With such a rich long history, I recently sat down with the general managers from both the New Glasgow Lobster Suppers and the Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers to find out how these suppers started and why they have enjoyed such enduring popularity.
Nestled in the heart of the rolling hills of rural New Glasgow along the scenic River Clyde and not far from North Rustico and Cavendish, the New Glasgow Lobster Suppers (NGLS) have been operating since 1958. This makes them the longest running lobster suppers on the Island. When I asked general manager, Carl Nicholson, to explain their long success, he said it’s due to their freshness of product (lobsters are cooked daily) with all rolls, pies, and salads made daily on the premises. He also said that, since the suppers began, they have only had two managers, including himself, so there is an element of consistency in operation. With decades of experience behind them, they’ve clearly found the secret to staying in business.
How New Glasgow Lobster Suppers happened to start is, itself, an interesting story. A group of young farmers in the area, known as the Junior Farmers Group, decided they wanted some kind of community centre. The group of young farmers in their twenties and thirties came together and bought a small canteen from the Covehead Racetrack for $210 and moved it to New Glasgow. In June, 1958, to pay for this building, they held a fundraising event that happened to have lobster for supper and a dance afterward. The princely sum of $1.50 got you supper and the dance. The building, small and primitive by any standards, had no kitchen facilities and only had make-shift tables made from saw horses with old doors on top and there were no chairs, just benches.
A kitchen and washrooms were added in 1962 and the group continued to serve one lobster supper per year until 1964 when they started serving the suppers once a week during July and August. They gradually increased service to two days a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays. By 1967, lobster suppers were served five days per week and a cook was hired. As business grew, they expanded the kitchen and hired their first manager in 1969. As their current manager, Carl, says, “it is a true testament to sustainability [of the lobster suppers], only growing and expanding as demand grew and they were able to pay for each expansion”.
By 1972, six local couples bought out the shares of the other Junior Farmers who had been part of the initial enterprise and, in 1973, they added on a big extension to the building to accommodate the growing lobster supper demand. The original building is still within the walls of the current structure. A grand opening was held in 1974 when then-PEI Premier Alex Campbell brought along Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau who happened to be on the Island at the time. Mrs. Trudeau cut the ribbon to officially open the newly-expanded New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.
Over the years, various changes have occurred and, since 1980, two of the original six families – the MacRaes and Nicholsons – have run the suppers, now making it a third generation run family business.
One thing that has not changed at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers is their deeply-rooted connection to the local community and their family-oriented work environment. The operation now sees members from the third generation of families working in the restaurant. Grandchildren are now working where their grandparents got their start in the working world. A seasonal employer of over 100 people, New Glasgow has provided summer employment for many local people over its long history with many funding their education through working summers at the lobster suppers. It is not uncommon to hear of judges, lawyers, and other professionals having had their first job washing dishes or waiting on tables at the New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.
Dinners are served in a large banquet style hall that has a seating capacity of 500.
Patrons order their entrée and pay for their dinners upon arrival and then are escorted to a table by a hostess. Lobster dinners are priced based on the size of the lobster (1 lb – 4 lb lobsters are available). Tables for different sized groups are available, starting with tables for two. Don’t expect a quiet, intimate romantic dining experience as these suppers are casual and are modeled after a church or community hall supper.
Primarily, the number one entrée will be lobster served in the shell, hot or cold, with lots of melted butter for dipping that succulent lobster.
However, if lobster is not your thing, a number of alternative entrée options, including chicken, steak, pasta, haddock, scallops, ham, and salmon, are available.
All meals include appetizers of chowder or soup, steamed PEI mussels, and large puffy homemade rolls and sliced bread; salad plate (coleslaw, potato salad, and green garden salad); desserts consisting mainly of homemade pies; and non-alcoholic beverages. The facility is licenced and there are additional charges for alcoholic beverages.
Dinner is a plated meal brought to the table by your server and the servers are very obliging to photograph you dressed in your plastic bib and all ready to tuck into an amazing meal. Gratuity is extra and at the patron’s discretion.
Several of the restaurant’s staff have worked with the organization for years, returning year after year, a testament to how grounded New Glasgow Lobster Suppers and their staff are in the local community. At time of writing, the same baker has been making all the pies onsite at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers since 1976, often arriving at 5am. Pastry is homemade onsite and the Suppers are well-known for their lemon pie with the mile-high meringue. It’s not uncommon for the baker to turn out 60 lemon pies on any given day….and that’s just one kind of pie available! They make a mighty fine coconut cream pie, too.
The restaurant accommodates special dietary restrictions such as gluten-free and vegan diets; however, it is always advisable to call ahead of your visit to discuss your particular dietary needs. A children’s menu is available making New Glasgow Lobster Suppers a family-friendly dining experience.
PEI has two lobster seasons with a break in between. The first season runs from May – June and the second from August – October. To ensure a continuous supply of fresh lobster, New Glasgow Lobster Suppers has a salt-water holding tank with capacity to hold 20,000 lbs of lobster onsite at a time and is replenished throughout the season. New Glasgow Lobster Suppers buys thousands of pounds of lobster when the spring lobster season opens. While different sizes of lobster are available, their most popular is the 1 lb lobster dinner. On average, they’ll crack open around 50,000 lbs of lobster a season. And, of course, there are the world-famous PEI mussels that are served as an appetizer and the suppers will go through about 70,000 pounds of those in a season!
When asked what, in his opinion, sets New Glasgow Lobster Suppers apart from other similar suppers, Carl says it’s a combination of their focus on quality and freshness of food, consistency of product, and the local, friendly wait staff and table service they provide. And, he says, at the heart of it, it’s about two of the original six families working in business alongside their employees and everybody working together. Everyone, regardless of their employment status, pitches in with the work that makes New Glasgow Lobster Suppers the experience it is to their patrons.
A visit to New Glasgow Lobster Suppers is a time-honored tradition for many Islanders and tourists alike. Carl tells me a man was recently paying for his meal and he informed Carl that this year’s annual visit was his 40th meal at New Glasgow Lobster Suppers. Operating seasonally from mid-May until early October, the restaurant is open seven days a week from 4pm until 8pm (8:30pm in July and August). When you go, keep an eye out for spotting celebrities. Prime ministers, famous hockey players, and movie filmmakers, actors, and directors are known to have dined at the New Glasgow Lobster Suppers.
New Glasgow Lobster Suppers is located at 605 Route 258, in New Glasgow, PEI. For more information, visit their website
There is something quaint and charming about a small rural PEI town that has a working fishing harbour. North Rustico, which also has a fine beach, has long been a treasured location for tourists, artists, and Islanders. In close proximity to the resort municipality of Cavendish, North Rustico swells in size with visitors in the summer. In the heart of the town is a large restaurant establishment known as “Fisherman’s Wharf” that sits just on the edge of the harbour. That’s where my stop today has found me chatting with general manager, Troy Howatt, and current owner, Amy MacPherson, who along with her husband, Forbes, now owns and operates the Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers.
These lobster suppers began operating in 1980 when the original owner, Albert Dow, purchased a small existing restaurant on the same location as Fisherman’s Wharf sits today. So the story goes, Mr. Dow would see the sightseeing buses from Charlottetown pass by and wondered where they were heading and, more to the point, where they would be dining on their excursion. It wasn’t long until those big red double-decker buses were stopping at Dow’s restaurant that began serving cafeteria-style lunches for the bus tour industry. Back in the early 1980s, the buffet lunch, including lobster, cost only $9.99.
Apart from the increase in price for the dinners, other changes have occurred at Fisherman’s Wharf over the years including an expansion of facilities to increase serving capacity. This, of course, requires a large staff which now numbers over 100 seasonal employees. The restaurant enjoys great staff loyalty as several staff members have worked at Fisherman’s Wharf for many years, including one server who has been with the restaurant since it began in 1980. Troy, himself, has worked at Fisherman’s Wharf since 1986, working his way up to become the general manager.
Dinners are served in a restaurant setting that has a seating capacity of 500 (two dining rooms). As with New Glasgow Lobster Suppers, patrons order and pay for their meal before eating and are then seated by a host(ess). The ambiance has a distinctive rustic, nautical theme in keeping with its close proximity to the harbour. Individuals are seated at wooden tables that seat four or six.
The suppers have maintained their self-serve buffet style that was in operation when the suppers first began serving the motor coach market which is still a major part of their clientele. It is not uncommon, as was the case during my visit, to see a large motor coach pull up to the door and unload a large group of tourists for a traditional Fisherman’s Wharf lobster supper. When you see a block of tables with bibs on the chair backs, it’s a sign that a bus tour is imminently expected.
Obviously, lobster is the most popular entrée.
It’s the customer’s choice to have the lobster served, in the shell, hot or cold, and, yes, there will be lots of melted butter for dipping the juicy, plump chunks of lobster.
There are plenty of alternative meal options available for those who are not lobster fans. Steak, scallops, breaded shrimp, snow crab, haddock, and rotisserie chicken are entrée options.
All meals include access to the 60-foot salad bar that, in addition to being comprised of some 30 salads, also includes seafood chowder, and mussels.
Yes, those tasty PEI steamed mussels are included, too!
Warm homemade rolls are delivered to your table by your server who will also serve the lobster or other entrée of choice.
Other than that, the meal is basically self-serve at your leisure.
A wide variety of homemade desserts is also available and non-alcoholic beverages are included in the meal price. The facility is licenced and there are additional charges for alcoholic beverages. Gratuity is not automatically included with the meal price and is at the patron’s discretion.
Fisherman’s Wharf accommodates special dietary restrictions such as gluten-free and vegan diets. To discuss specific dietary needs, it is always a good idea to call ahead of your visit. A children’s menu is available so the whole family can enjoy a meal together.
Lobsters are purchased through Island seafood wholesalers and are held until needed in the onsite lobster holding facility that is filled with sea water piped from the harbour. This allows the lobsters to maintain their fresh sea quality and taste. Various sizes of lobster are available and the most popular size is the 1½ pound lobster though they do get requests for lobsters as large as 3-4 pounds. On average, 650-750 lobsters will be cracked a day in peak tourism season and one guy cracks open every one of them, single-handedly. I have seen him at work and those hands just fly to make short of the work!
Troy says, in his opinion, what sets Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers apart from others is their state-of-the-art kitchen and their 60-foot long salad bar which has such a huge variety, there is something for everyone.
A visit to North Rustico would not be complete without a stop for a meal at Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers. Open daily from mid-May until early October, the restaurant serves meals from 12 noon until 8:30pm (note that hours may be reduced in the shoulder seasons). You never know who you will see at Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers. Several celebrities including those from the film industry, the hockey fame world, and politicians have been spotted dining at the restaurant.
Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers is located at 7230 Rustico Road in North Rustico, PEI. Visit their website for more information.
Tips for Dining at a PEI Lobster Supper
Dining at one of the Island’s Lobster Suppers is a unique experience. Here are my tips for making the most of it:
Food at an Island lobster supper is plain, downhome hearty fare that is simply prepared. The lobster is served straight from the shell with no additions or sauces added to it. This allows the pure authentic taste of the lobster to be enjoyed. The potato salads will be homemade and be just like most Islanders know potato salad to be and that they, themselves, make at home.
I always recommend visitors to PEI experience an authentic and traditional lobster supper during their visit – in fact, I suggest they visit both New Glasgow Lobster Suppers and Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers. While there are certainly similarities between them, there are some differences. The most notable is that New Glasgow Lobster Suppers offers a completely plated meal brought to your table and served to you by your server while Fisherman’s Wharf Lobster Suppers offers a 60-foot long salad-plus bar and patrons largely serve themselves with the exception of the main entrée itself. Fisherman’s Wharf serves their lobster suppers all day starting at 12 noon while New Glasgow starts their dinner service at 4:00pm.
No matter whether you choose one or both lobster suppers, one thing is for sure, you won’t leave hungry. Just make sure you arrive with a hearty appetite and elasticized waistbands are recommended! Then, don the plastic bib and tuck into a hearty and tasty authentic PEI lobster supper. It’s sure to be an unforgetable meal and a great memory of a PEI visit. Once you’ve had a meal at one of our Island lobster suppers, I think it will be quite apparent why they’ve stood the test of time and have been in business for decades.
Living in PEI, we are accustomed to high quality local seafood. When lobster is in season, I try to make the most of it, enjoying it steamed and fresh from the shell with the tender meat dipped in melted butter.
Once I have had a couple of good “feeds” of lobster with homemade potato salad and rolls, I start using the meat as an ingredient in other recipes like this easy-to-make oven-baked Lobster Frittata.
Frittata is an Italian dish that is a cross between a crustless quiche and an open-faced omelette, probably leaning more toward similarity with the quiche. The main difference between a frittata and an omelette is that, for a frittata, the filling ingredients are cooked with the egg mixture versus being added just before an omelette is folded in half to finish cooking.
Traditionally, frittatas are made on the stovetop, either completely or, sometimes, they are partially cooked on the stove and then finished in the oven. However, it is quite acceptable to completely bake the frittata in the oven which is the method I am using for the Lobster Frittata.
There are two main tips for making this frittata. First, use cream, blend, or whole milk but never fat-reduced milk as it makes the frittata’s custard too runny and watery. The second tip is to pre-cook the vegetables to get rid of some of their liquid and also to ensure that they are sufficiently cooked. If they were added raw with the egg custard, they would not be sufficiently cooked in the same amount of time it takes to properly bake the frittata and they would release too much liquid into the egg custard. Even with the pre-cooking, the vegetables will still have a lot of moisture in them. For this reason, I recommend transferring them from the sauté pan to a paper-towel lined bowl to sop up the excess moisture before they are added to the egg custard mixture.
Frittata is a great brunch, lunch, dinner, or picnic fare, making it very versatile. It can be eaten hot from the oven or at room temperature. Serve with a side of toast, salad, homefries, or fresh fruit.
I use individual small 6″x4″ baking, or gratin, dishes for this recipe. Oblong baking dishes that have 1½ – 1¾ cups capacity work well for this recipe as the egg mixture will puff up somewhat and room needs to be allotted for that. If you don’t have individual baking dishes that are approximately 6”x4” inches, you could use one baking dish that would be large enough to hold the entire amount of ingredients.
Bake the frittatas on the middle rack in a preheated oven. It is important not to overbake frittata as it will become somewhat tough and leathery. This Lobster Frittata takes between 18-22 minutes when baked in the dishes called for in the recipe. When the frittata is perfectly baked, the eggs should be set and no longer runny.
[Printable recipe follows at end of posting]
Ingredients:
4 large eggs
2½ tbsp cream
Salt and Pepper
¼ – ½ tsp Herbes de Provence
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp onion, chopped
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
5-6 slices zucchini, halved or quartered
5-6 button mushrooms, sliced
3 tbsp red bell pepper, chopped
4 oz cooked lobster, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp finely grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Method:
Place oven rack in center of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F.
Heat oil in small skillet. Sauté, over medium heat, the onions, garlic, zucchini, mushrooms, and red bell pepper for 4-6 minutes, until vegetables start to soften. Transfer to small bowl double lined with paper towel to absorb the moisture from the sautéed vegetables.
Whisk the eggs just enough to break them up and mix the whites with the yolks. Whisk in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and the Herbes de Provence.
Spray two 6”x4” baking dishes with cooking spray, each dish having 1½ – 1¾ cup capacity. Divide the vegetables and lobster equally between the two dishes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and first amount of cheddar cheese. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables, lobster, and cheese, dividing equally between the two dishes. Place on baking sheet and transfer to oven. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until frittatas are puffed up and just set in the center. Add the remaining cheese for the last 2-3 minutes of baking.
Serve with a side salad, toast, fresh fruit, or homefries.
Yield: 2 servings
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
Join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on “X” (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo found at the end of this post to your favorite Pinterest boards.
Lobster Cakes
Lobster and Asparagus Crepes
Lobster Club Sandwich
Lobster Macaroni and Cheese
PEI Lobster Rolls
PEI Lobster Chowder
Tucked away on the Graham’s Road (Route 8), in the picturesque rural community of New London, Prince Edward Island, you will find The Table Culinary Studio that offers short (between 3.5 and 4.5 hours) cooking classes that focus primarily on cooking with fresh, local Island foods. This experience is a great way to learn about the Island food culture.
The rural setting is quintessential PEI. Fields in shades of green contrasted with the Island’s iconic red soil take visitors to the heart of some of the Island’s most fertile farm land.
Just down the road is New London Harbour, home to a small lobster fishing fleet and the grounds for other seafood like oysters, quahogs, and mussels. Not far away, quality food can be sourced from dairy and beef farms, organic farmers, beekeepers, cheesemakers, and garlic growers. Could there be a more authentic location for a PEI culinary studio!
While it is no secret that PEI has lovely scenery to enjoy, spectacular beaches and golf courses, and many attractions to keep visitors busy exploring our Island, many come to the Island knowing that PEI offers great food from the land and sea.
Our potatoes, oysters, mussels, and lobster, in particular, are shipped all over the world and these Island products are well known, respected, and sought after for their high quality.
So, what better way to experience the Island foods first hand than to take a short cooking class to learn more about them and how they can be prepared.
The Table Culinary Studio (formerly Annie’s Table) has been in operation since 2012, offering an array of short cooking classes on a myriad of topics. Under new ownership in 2016, The Table, with owner/chef Derrick Hoare at the helm, continues with the tradition of engaging culinary aficionados in ways to prepare local Island foods such as lobster, oysters, mussels, scallops, beef, cheese, and so forth. The focus is very much on using fresh local ingredients that are in season and, by extension, acquainting participants with the rich Island food culture.
The Table offers a number of hands-on cooking classes that include (at the time of writing) Bounty of the Sea, Black Gold (cured garlic), Farm to Table, Marilla’s Table, Hive to Table, Let Them Eat Beef, Oyster Obsession, Say Cheese, Vivacious Vegan, Applelicious, Artisan Bread, Gluten Free Gourmet, and Helping Hands. The Table operates seasonally from May to October to coincide with the Island’s tourism season. Several of the cooking classes involve field trips to farms and other local food producers to see, first-hand, how food is grown or produced and to pick up some local ingredients to bring back to The Table to be used in the class that follows. This form of experiential tourism provides the opportunity for the learners to create wonderful memories of their vacation time in PEI, connect directly with PEI food producers, and to learn more about the Island’s food culture and the role that farming, fishing, and other food production play in the Island’s economy and way of life.
I recently participated in the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class at The Table which is located within walking distance to the house in which famed Island authoress Lucy Maud Montgomery was born and not far by vehicle to the resort municipality of Cavendish.
But, before I take you on the adventure with me, here is a brief description of the venue and what a cooking class is like at The Table.
What makes this culinary studio unique is its venue. It is located in a small white repurposed country church, very typical of so many seen in several Island communities. Inside the church, the pews have been removed and, in their place, is a large harvest table where, in a few hours time, class participants will gather to enjoy the lavish spread of the morning’s cooking. The church’s altar has been elevated to a loft setting and the building is tastefully furnished.
The original altar and choir loft locations have been transformed into an open teaching kitchen.
Class size is small and intimate – only a maximum of 10 participants per cooking class. This ensures that each person has a front row view as the culinary team teaches the cooking or baking techniques in the open-style kitchen. It also allows for participants to be actively engaged and participating in the cooking or baking activities.
The culinary team consists of owner/chef Derrick Hoare, Executive Chef Michael Bradley, and Events Coordinator Christine Morgan. The atmosphere is unhurried and very sociable. Strangers become friends over the commonality of food. With a growing hunger for knowledge about where one’s food comes from and how it is grown, produced, or harvested, cooking classes appeal to most age demographics and skill levels. No need to worry if you are not an experienced or accomplished cook – the classes offer something for everyone, including a scrumptious meal after the class in the beautifully appointed old country church.
So, now on to my adventure as a participant in The Table’s “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. After morning coffee upon arrival, everyone got suited up with their aprons and side towels.
The class began with Chef Derrick giving a brief talk on lobster fishing on PEI, recounting his own experiences going out on a fishing boat to learn, first-hand, about lobster fishing on the Island. Chef Michael then gave a short biology lesson on how to identify the gender of a lobster.
It’s a good thing those lobsters were banded because, if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a finger caught in the claws of one, you are likely to end up with a broken finger – they’re strong!
Everyone was given a lobster and instructed on how to carefully de-band them before placing them in hot water to be cooked.
Chef Derrick kept a watchful eye on the lobsters so they were removed from the pot at just the right time.
Next came the lesson on how to crack open a lobster.
Chef Michael capably gave instructions as each student cracked open a lobster to reveal the succulent meat inside.
Yes, a basic table knife will do the trick!
Having never made homemade pasta before, I was particularly interested in the procedure.
The Table is very accommodating to class participants who have dietary restrictions. On this day, there were two participants who were gluten-intolerant so a separate station on an adjacent workspace was set up for them to make the gluten-free pasta and Chef Michael alternated between the two groups giving information and instruction on pasta making.
Black garlic from nearby Eureka Garlic, not far from Kensington, was used in the pasta to give a unique flavour. If you have never tasted black garlic, it’s not nearly as garlicky as you might think – I personally think it tastes like a cross between a fig and a prune. You can check out my story here on Eureka Garlic. The chopped black garlic was kneaded into the pasta dough.
The pasta dough was cut and gathered into circles ready to be dropped into the cooking pot.
With the pasta made, we took a brief break from the food prep to listen to Christine explain how mussels are grown and harvested on PEI.
PEI mussels are world famous and they are shipped all over the world. Mussels are a common food to serve at many events, year-round, on PEI. They are easy to prepare and ever-so-tasty dipped in melted butter!
Chef Michael then guided the group in making Lobster Bisque. Once the Mirepoix started cooking, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was as it wafted through the old church building.
Ohhhh, that lobster is going to make a dandy lunch – can’t you just taste it!
The third seafood that we learned to cook was scallops, those tasty little morsels!
The morning went super fast and, before we knew it, it was time for lunch to be served by the culinary team.
The table was beautifully set (those of you who follow my food blog regularly know how I love well-set tables). The napkin at each place setting had either a small lobster trap or lobster napkin ring.
These napkin rings tied in well with the theme of the morning’s class – “Bounty of the Sea”.
How inviting does this look! Wouldn’t you love to sit in at this table!
Fresh homemade sourdough bread was on the table.
The landing at the top of the spiral staircase in the church provided a great vantage point for photography.
The group assembled at the big harvest table which is the focal point in the middle of the studio. This 12’ table was hand-crafted from old attic boards extracted from the house which The Table’s former owner restored just up the road at New London corner.
How great does this lobster bisque look with that succulent lobster claw! It tasted even better!
We were very anxious to taste the homemade pasta and it did not disappoint! The pasta in the photo below is gluten-free.
This was accompanied by big bowls of PEI mussels with squeaky cheese topping melting down through the mussels. If you are a mussel lover, these are hard to resist!
And as if we weren’t stuffed enough, out came dessert. The dessert in the photo below is a chocolate beet cake.
And, for the gluten-free dessert, it was a deconstructed blueberry pie which I can attest was simply yummy!
The Table is set with the right ingredients – small class size, fresh local Island foods, quality instruction, hands-on cooking, a shared meal, and a charming venue with a history of its own. If you are looking for an authentic and affordable cooking experience to allow you to more deeply engage with the local food scene and pick up some cooking tips and skills, check out course offerings at The Table. With the short half-day classes, visitors can have the best of both worlds – a cooking experience to learn more about local PEI foods in the morning followed by a delicious lunch and then the rest of the day free to explore other Island adventures and sights. For more information on cooking classes and prices, visit The Table Culinary Studio website at: http://www.thetablepei.ca/classes
The Table also offers fine dining in the evening (reservations required). Click here to read my recent story on The Table’s North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner.
Facebook – “My Island Bistro Kitchen”
Twitter – “PEIBistro”
Instagram – “peibistro”
My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class and for the fine hospitality. My participation in the class was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the “Bounty of the Sea” cooking class. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the class experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
At The Table Culinary Studio in New London, PEI
One of the things most of us enjoy about travel is the opportunity to sample foods local to a region. It’s part of the charm of a place and makes for great vacation memories. At one time, vacationers went to a destination, did some sightseeing, took in some typical tourist attractions (amusement parks, museums, beaches, etc.), and ate at whatever restaurant they happened upon at meal time. Today’s travelers, generally speaking, are more interested in diversified travel experiences than they are simply going to a place so they can check it off their bucket list of places they have been. Many seek out adventures that allow them to participate in activities, experience the uniqueness and authenticity of a place, mingle with the locals, and learn more about local foods and ways to prepare them.
One of the best ways to learn about a place and its culture is through its local food. In fact, many travelers choose destinations based on the local food scene, food festivals and events, unique dining experiences, and opportunities to participate in culinary classes. Many, therefore, seek out experiences that allow them to connect more fully with a region and what better way to do that than through food, especially if it is experiential cuisine where you learn something about the foods you are eating.
I was recently a guest at the North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner at The Table Culinary Studio which hosts themed communal-style dinners featuring Prince Edward Island foods throughout the summer months. Today, I am going to share my dining experience at The Table with you.
The Table Culinary Studio is the successor of Annie’s Table Culinary Studio which was started by Annie Leroux in 2012. You can click here for my story on Annie’s Table Culinary Studio. Current owner, Derrick Hoare (himself a trained chef), had been a long-time summer resident on PEI for many years, was retiring from his career in the health care profession, and was looking for his next adventure. He contemplated buying a traditional restaurant in PEI but decided that was not his style. When Annie’s Table became available for sale, Derrick liked the concept Annie had begun so he bought the business which he began operating in 2016. In addition to keeping the tradition of offering short culinary courses, he added themed evening dining to the menu and renamed the business to The Table Culinary Studio.
Set in the small rural community of New London, not far from the resort municipality of Cavendish (the hometown of the fictional Anne of Green Gables – you may have heard of her!), you will find The Table on Route 8 or, as the locals would simply say, the Grahams Road.
With a backdrop of green fertile rolling countryside, The Table is located in a repurposed former United Church that is tastefully furnished with quality antiques. Several of the elements of the decommissioned church have been incorporated into the décor, including the pulpit that now occupies a prominent position overlooking the dining hall.
The entire venue is open concept so diners can watch the culinary team prepare the meal. This unique dining experience will make you feel like you are more at an intimate dinner party with a private chef catering than at a restaurant.
Open seasonally, seven nights a week, for themed dinners that feature local Island foods that come from the land and the sea, The Table can accommodate up to 18 guests an evening, one seating only. Tickets for the dinner must be reserved in advance (by phone or email) and the menu for each evening is a set menu – you eat whatever is being prepared that night which takes the pressure off of studying a menu and trying to decide what to have. Drinks are at extra cost and are payable at the end of the evening along with the dinner.
The themed dinners range from the Traditional Island Feast to the Island Dinner Party to Isle and Fire to the North Shore Surf and Turf and all focus on fresh local foods harvested or fished nearby. Seating is at one long harvest table in the middle of the old church and food is served family style which is to say that the main meal, on large platters, arrives at the table and guests pass the platters around, serving themselves. There are no individual tables.
It seems only fitting that communal dining would be the style of dining at The Table given that it is in a decommissioned church. Communal dining dates back to biblical times – you know, the breaking of bread together. The concept of individual tables for dining did not start until a long time after these origins. Some may find it requires some stepping out of the comfort zone to attend a dinner with strangers all seated at the same table but, when you think about it, church and community potluck dinners have been around for ages and they are traditionally served at long communal tables where you don’t necessarily know the people seated around you. We do a lot of cruising and have never requested a table for two in the ship’s dining room simply because we like to meet new people and inject some new conversation into meal times when traveling. So, sitting down to a meal alongside people I have not met before is quite comfortable and familiar for me. After all, the chances are that they are all food enthusiasts, too!
One of the lovely parts of this type of experiential dining is that you get to interact with those preparing the meal. In contrast, if you go into a traditional style restaurant, you are seated, have limited contact with the wait staff, and most likely never see the chefs let alone have any direct contact with them. At The Table, there are lots of opportunities to communicate directly with the owner/chef Derrick, executive chef Michael Bradley, oyster shucker George Dowdle, and The Table’s event planner, Christine Morgan. Together, this is the culinary team at The Table.
The Table benefits from having a talented and enthusiastic young chef. With over ten years of experience in professional kitchens, Chef Michael Bradley is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of Canada in Charlottetown. Chef Michael has been at The Table from the beginning, starting as an intern and working his way up to become the executive chef.
I truly felt like I was at someone’s private dinner party. It was a perfect sunny summer evening as guests arrived for the event which started on the side lawn of the church. When I arrived, local aquaculturalist, George Dowdle, was busy shucking oysters that he had fished from the nearby Southwest River only hours before the dinner.
Guests soon became preoccupied with consuming the fresh raw oysters which were served with a choice of three sauces: Asian Thai, Lemon Herb, and Pomegranate Herb. It wasn’t long before everyone felt comfortable and at home with each other as the conversations quickly turned to discussions about the food.
Not quite into slurping raw oysters? Chef Michael also has a unique way of serving grilled oysters. He first puts the oysters on the open fire grill to warm them up, then shucks them and tops them with a black garlic cream sauce and bacon jam, then puts them back on the grill to re-heat them. Simply sublime!
While clams sometimes take a back seat in popularity to mussels and oysters, The Table includes them as part of the meal.
When we had our fill of oysters, out came the cheese and charcuterie trays.
On this evening, The Table served their own homemade black garlic crackers alongside an assortment of cheeses from Ferme Isle St Jean in Rustico and Glasgow Glen Farm in New Glasgow. This was rounded out by pickled beets, pickled carrots, pickled spruce tips, and rhubarb chutney (all made in-house at The Table).
While guests were busy noshing on the appetizers, Chef Michael was preparing the sirloin tip roast with a black garlic espresso rub. Cooked over an open fire, you can only imagine how tantalizing the scent was!
Then, Chef Michael demonstrated how they cook the mussels in a fire pit with seaweed and smoke. The mussels are placed in wet pillowcases which give the moisture the mussels need to open.
Guests leisurely made their way inside the church where the meal was served. The big 12-foot long handmade harvest table occupies much of the space that once would have been filled with church pews.
By this time, guests were very comfortable in the company of each other and, since there were three Islanders present, the conversation soon turned to various aspects of how local foods are produced and farming and fishing, in general. Food is such a commonality and ice breaker!
The meal began with a plated salad highlighted by the skirt steak from Atlantic Beef Products in Albany. The steak had been marinated in an onion garlic marinade.
The boards of housemade sourdough bread were served with a black garlic spread as well as honey butter.
Before each course was presented, Chef Michael came tableside to explain what the course consisted of and how it was prepared.
Next came huge platters of bountiful mixed seasonal vegetables with the fire-grilled sirloin tip roast.
The veggies (along with the salad greens) came from nearby Alexander Fresh Vegetables in Hope River. These were very attractively presented platters.
Then, the seafood platters arrived. All those mussels that had been cooking in the fire pit emerged from the pillowcases and formed the base for lobster claws and tails.
The lobster, fished from boats out of nearby French River Harbour, had been par-cooked with a garlic butter and then was finished on the grill outside.
The green sauce accompanying the mussels was a garden pesto cream sauce.
By this time, I was stuffed and thought I would just roll home but, wait, dessert was to come! Dessert was a blood orange infused carrot cake with orange cream cheese icing. I didn’t get a photo of it because I was too busy enjoying the gluten-free option that was a deconstructed strawberry pie made with a strawberry balsamic reduction and gluten-free pastry lattice, all topped with lactose-free ice cream.
The Table prides itself on using the best of what is fresh and local. Most foods for their themed dinners come from under 10 km away and are farmed and fished by friends and neighbours. So, you know that when you dine at The Table, food will not have traveled thousands of miles before it has reached your plate. In fact, you can seek out the same food suppliers to purchase high quality local PEI products.
I asked Christine if they ever get families for their dinners. She tells me, although 90% of their clientele are adults, parents are welcome to bring their children and they do often have families in attendance. Patrons should note, however, that there is no children’s menu offered so the wee folk eat the same food as the adults.
What I have described above is the meal for the Surf and Turf dinner. I inquired if the meal ingredients are identical for this particular dinner every night. Christine informs me that the appetizers, vegetables, and dessert do vary by what is seasonally available. So, if you are having the Surf and Turf dinner at The Table after having read this post, you’ll be aware that the meal ingredients may not be 100% identical to what I enjoyed in early July.
So, if you want to really immerse yourself in local PEI foods and have a totally relaxing evening in the beautiful countryside of Prince Edward Island while feasting on carefully prepared dishes in a unique setting, you should check out The Table Culinary Studio. If you have dietary restrictions, be sure to advise of that when making your reservation and, to the extent possible, the culinary team at The Table will do all they can to accommodate special dietary needs.
For more information on dining options at The Table, and to make reservations, check out their website at http://www.thetablepei.ca/dining .
My thanks to The Table Culinary Studio for the opportunity to experience their North Shore Surf and Turf Dinner and for the fine hospitality. My dinner at the The Table Culinary Studio was complimentary for the purpose of conducting a review of the North Shore Surf and Turf dinner. However, this in no way influenced my opinions of the dinner experience. All opinions expressed in this review are purely my own.
There is nothing better than lobster fresh from the sea and, living on Prince Edward Island, we are so fortunate to have ready access to this treat! The lobster fishery is one of PEI’s main fisheries. Continue reading On The Sandwich Board: Lobster Club Sandwich with a Twist
If there is one consolation to summer’s end on PEI, it’s the anticipation that September brings the annual PEI Fall Flavours Festival. The Island’s emerging culinary scene with all its fine foods is showcased each September in an array of culinary events that comprise the festival. What started out in 2008 as a small 10-day festival consisting of a few culinary events aiming to extend the Island’s short tourism season into September, the festival has grown into a full month-long feast extravaganza.
September is the perfect month for a PEI food festival as the produce is at its prime, potato harvesting is getting underway, and the fall lobster season is open in certain zones around the Island. We are lucky here in PEI – we have a wonderful array of fresh local foods from the land and sea and the festival is a great celebration of our love of local foods. Culinary events are spread out in communities across the Island and each tends to highlight foods that come from a particular area and/or that are associated with a certain region’s culture.
The “Festin acadien avec homard” (or lobster feast) at Abram-Village, west of Summerside, is always the first PEI Fall Flavours Festival culinary event of the season and it signals a tasty month ahead. Tickets for this event sell out weeks in advance and it is one Fall Flavours event that is certain to draw a lot of Islanders to the Evangeline area. In some respects, it’s almost like a homecoming weekend as family members travel home to the Island’s Evangeline region for the annual Evangeline Agricultural Exhibition & Acadian Festival. There is no better way to learn, first hand, about the culture of a region than to partake of the regional foods and entertainment. “Le Festin acadien avec homard scores high points on both counts.
This year marked the second year that I attended this event – that’s testament to how much I enjoyed it the first time! While the menu remained almost identical to the previous year, what changed was the entertainment and the headline celebrity chef who, in 2017, was Chef Danny Smiles, Chef de cuisine at Restaurant Le Bremner in Old Montreal. This was Chef Smiles’ debut at the PEI Fall Flavours Festival.
The lively musical entertainment was provided by Vishten, a trio of talented musicians (two from PEI and one from the Magdalen Islands). Rooted in traditional music from the two east coast islands, their indie-folk style fuses Acadian and Celtic genres and motivates foot stomping and hand clapping. The performers are multi instrumentalists and they easily transition between various musical instruments that include violin, guitar, accordian, and keyboard. The trio tours and performs internationally and has five albums and more than 1000 performances to their credit.
The “Festin acadien avec homard” event has been running for several years and organizers have it well organized and they are very efficient in carrying it out. MC Georges Arsenault is a very capable and effective Master of Ceremonies.
Georges had lots of fun in store for the evening that included a demonstration of different ways that lobster can be cracked and eaten.
Georges selected a young person from the audience who had never cracked open a lobster before, celebrity chef Danny Smiles, and Odette Gallant from the Evangeline area who has been cracking open lobster with her teeth all of her life – yes, her teeth! I wondered how many sets of teeth she might have gone through because those lobster shells are hard!
Georges also had audience participation on stage as a member of Vishten taught Chef Danny and others how to step dance.
All of this entertainment took place in between courses of the meal. Oh yes, the menu……
As this event took place in the region of the province that has a high concentration of the Island’s Acadian population, it is obvious that the evening’s menu would focus on Acadian fare along with lobster and potato salad since the region is known for its farming and fishing industries.
Like many PEI gatherings, the evening started off with steamed PEI mussels. Patrons were then invited to sample three new soda flavors produced by Upstreet Craft Brewing in Charlottetown.
Known for their craft beer, making soda is a new venture for Upstreet. The event proved to be a great opportunity for the brewery to showcase their new products – Strawberry Rhubarb Basil, Apple Ginger Elderflower, and Malt Spice Cola.
Dinner was served, family style, at long communal tables. Servers, garbed in traditional Acadian dress, brought bowls or platters of food to both ends of the table and the food was then passed from one diner to the next with each person serving him or herself.
The first course was Chicken Fricot, a traditional Acadian broth stew made primarily of chicken, onion, and potato and seasoned with summer savory.
Every time I have a bowl of this stew, I’m always amazed at how tasty it is given that so few ingredients are in it. I maintain it’s the summer savory herb that makes this dish. Summer savory is used a lot on PEI and most Island cooks add it to their poultry dressing/stuffing.
This was followed by the second course comprised of Râpure and Acadian Meat Pie.
Some may know the grated potato dish, râpure as “rappie pie”, a name that stems from the French verb “râper” which means “to grate”. The grated potatoes are squeezed through cheesecloth to remove the liquid which is then replaced by adding broth (usually chicken) and baking it, casserole style, with onion, and cooked meat such as chicken or pork. The end result is a hearty and tasty dish.
The second course also included Acadian meat pie or, pâté, as it is sometimes called.
This is a very common dish in Acadian communities and is an integral part of Christmas Eve celebrations in many Acadian homes on PEI, though it is now commonly served at other times of the year as well. Molasses is often drizzled on top of the meat pie to add a touch of sweetness to this savory dish.
Our server, Velma Durant, was very pleasant and most accommodating to me with my camera clicking away throughout the evening!
Then, of course, it was time for the pièce d’résistance – PEI lobster in the shell served with true, authentic homemade PEI potato salad – these folks know how to make a perfect potato salad!
It just would not be a PEI lobster feed without the potato salad!
French biscuits were on the table, too, with that good ADL butter!
And, for those who still had room, homemade apple pie polished off the evening’s menu.
One thing is for sure, no one would have gone away hungry after this mammoth meal!
For stories on other PEI Fall Flavours culinary events I’ve attended, click on the links below:
PEI Shellfish Festival (2012)
Farm Day in the City (2012)
Savour Victoria (2012)
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)
The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)
Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI International Shellfish Festival) (2014)
Beef and Blues (2014)
A Taste of New Glasgow (2015)
Beef ‘n Blues (2015)
Chef on Board (2015)
Cooking with Chefs Anna & Michael Olson in Brudenell, PEI (2015)
Le Festin acadien avec homard/Acadian Feast with Lobster (2016)
The Great Big Barbeque (2016)
Mussels on the Hill (2016)
Toes, Taps, & Taters (2017)
Taste of Georgetown (2017)
Taste of North Rustico – A Rustico Kitchen Party (2017)
Taste of Tyne Valley (2017)
Springtime in Prince Edward Island on Canada’s east coast means it’s lobster season so it’s a great time to make these delectable lobster and asparagus crepes that combine two of the season’s special treats! Continue reading Lobster and Asparagus Crepes
Setting Day on Prince Edward Island can only mean one thing…..it heralds the opening of the spring lobster fishery and a fresh feed of PEI lobster from the cold waters that surround our Atlantic Canada region will follow soon after! Continue reading Setting Day on Prince Edward Island Can Only Mean One Thing
September heralds the beginning of the annual PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival and what better way to start it off than with a feast featuring lobster and Acadian fare! Le Festin acadien avec homard event was held on September 2, 2016, in conjunction with the annual Evangeline Area Agricultural Exhibition and Acadian Festival in Abram-Village in the western part of Prince Edward Island.
The PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival features signature events hosted by celebrity chefs and the main events feature one or more of the Island’s locally-produced foods. If you follow the links at the bottom of this posting, you will find stories and photos from past events that featured Island beef, lamb, lobster, potatoes, etc. I especially like the events that feature both regional fare and entertainment and “Le Festin acadien avec homard” scored high on both counts. For visitors to PEI (and many do come in September especially for the Fall Flavours Culinary Festival), it’s an opportunity to learn about local culture and sample locally-produced foods.
PEI’s Acadian population in Abram-Village sure knows how to throw a good party with great food and lively entertainment. A quartet of talented local musicians comprised of Louise Arsenault (fiddle), Hélène Bergeron (keyboard/guitar/stepdancer), Caroline Bernard (singer/keyboard/guitar), and Rémi Arsenault (bass) provided toe-tapping Acadian music throughout the evening.
The event was hosted by celebrity chef, Anna Olson, who is no stranger to the PEI Fall Flavours Culinary Festival as she and her husband, Michael, return to the Island annually to participate in the culinary events.
Anna hosts three cooking programs on Food Network Canada: “Bake with Anna Olson“, “Fresh with Anna Olson“, and “Sugar“. Ever the good sport, Anna was put through her paces before MC Georges Arsenault declared she had passed the test to be made an honorary Acadian. She learned some French and she was taught some stepdancing moves!
Here was the menu for the dinner:
Upon arrival in the dining hall, guests were greeted with a complimentary glass of Benjamin Bridge’s Nova 7 wine.
Benjamin Bridge Winery from Gaspereau Valley, Nova Scotia, was this year’s Festival Wine Sponsor as it was in 2015 when I discovered their delightful Nova 7 wine. The Nova 7 is a beautiful light-bodied effervescent wine with a gorgeous pinkish color, and appealing aromatics with lovely floral and fruit notes. It’s a great wine for sipping or for pairing with a wide range of foods from seafood to spicy foods to desserts. It made a fine accompaniment to the foods served at this dinner.
Fresh steamed mussels were served as hors d’oeuvres. According to the Mussel Industry Council of PEI, the Island produces about 45 million pounds of mussels each year. This translates into approximately 80% of the entire mussel production in Canada. In fact, fresh PEI mussels are shipped to the USA and as far away as Hong Kong, Japan, and Kuwait. It’s very common at PEI gatherings to serve steamed mussels.
The dinner was held in a large community hall and served, family style, at long tables.
Servers, in traditional Acadian attire, brought the prepared dishes to each table.
Guests then passed the dishes, from one to another, around the table, serving themselves.
The four-course dinner began with a bowl of Chicken Fricot, also known as chicken soup. This is a very popular Acadian dish.
The Fricot contains very few ingredients and I believe it is the summer savory that gives this brothy soup its wonderful tasty flavor. Made only with chicken, onion, potatoes, water, summer savory, salt, and pepper, it’s hard to believe just how tasty this soup really is! It was especially good with the French biscuits that were in baskets on the tables! French biscuits (Galettes blanches) are a cross between a yeast roll and a traditional tea biscuit.
The second course consisted of two long-time Acadian favorites: Râpure and Acadian Meat Pie.
Both are made with simple easy-to-come-by ingredients. The Râpure is made with pork and/or chicken, onions, potatoes (both mashed and raw grated), eggs, summer savory, coriander, salt and pepper. The ingredients are mixed together, placed in a greased baking dish and baked in the oven.
Traditionally, Acadian meat pie was made with pork. Today, however, it is common to have a mixture of meats in the pie – pork, beef, chicken, and/or hare, for example. Again, the ingredients for the pie filling are very basic – the meat, onion, summer savory, cloves, salt and pepper, and some flour for thickening. The filling is encased in pie pastry and baked in the oven. Molasses is often served with the meat pie. Meat pies are common fare for Acadians on Christmas Eve although, on PEI, the pies are commonly now eaten throughout the year as well.
The third course was Island lobster in the shell served with homemade potato salad.
It’s very traditional on PEI to serve potato salad with lobster and this salad was a true old-fashioned homemade PEI potato salad full of flavor.
And, for dessert, fresh blueberry pie made with in-season local berries.
This was a fantastic evening of fabulous food and lively music. I thoroughly enjoyed this event and it was an opportunity for me to try some Acadian foods I had not had before.
Follow these links for other stories I have written on previous Fall Flavours Culinary Festival events:
PEI Shellfish Festival (2012)
Farm Day in the City (2012)
Savour Victoria (2012)
Toes, Taps, and Taters (2013)
Lobster Party on the Beach (2013)
Applelicious (2013)
The Great Island Grilled Cheese Challenge (2013)
Feast of the Fathers (2014)
Lamb Luau at Crowbush Cove (2014)
Feast and Frolic Dinner (PEI Int’l Shellfish Festival) (2014)
Beef and Blues (2014)
A Taste of New Glasgow (2015)
Beef ‘n Blues (2015)
Chef on Board (2015)
Cooking with Chefs Anna & Michael Olson in Brudenell, PEI (2015)
Pin Me to Pinterest!
The opening of the spring lobster season on Prince Edward Island is always an event.
Fishing boats, laden with lobster traps like those in the photo above, depart wharves around the Island in the very early morning to set their traps. This is called “Setting Day” and marks the official opening of the spring lobster fishing season. It is not uncommon for people in the local fishing communities to head to their local wharves or nearby beaches to see the fishing boats off.
It’s a sight to see a parade of boats, heavy laden with traps, heading out at sunrise from a wharf.
Several communities also have church services known as the “Blessing of the Fleet” services on the Sunday before setting day. These are sometimes held inside nearby local churches but, most frequently, they are held on the wharves of the fishing ports.
“Landing Day” follows Setting Day and is the day the first catches of the season land on the wharves. Daily catches occur for the duration of the lobster season. The photos below were taken at North Lake Harbour, PEI on June 1, 2012; however, the same scene would be playing out at many harbours across PEI.
![Lobster Fishing Boats Filled With Their Day's Catch Returning to Port at North Lake, PEI [June 1, 2012]](https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSC04908.jpg)
![Lobster Fishing Boats, North Lake, PEI [June 1, 2012]](https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/page-1-Boats-in-North-Lake-001.jpg)
![Unloading the Day's Catch at North Lake Harbour [June 1, 2012]](https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/page-2-Boats-in-North-Lake.jpg)
Boats at rest after their day’s work fetching the catch.
![North Lake Harbour, PEI [June 1, 2012]](https://myislandbistrokitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/DSC04926-001.jpg)
Many Islanders will enjoy lobster straight from the shell for their first “feed” of the season. For many, it is a tradition to have fresh lobster on the first day of the catch. This is one of the benefits of living on an Island – we have plenty of fresh seafood. Many (including myself) will argue that lobster from the spring fishery is better than lobster fished later in the summer from waters that have warmed up over the season (even though lobster from the later catch is very good, too). I don’t know why it is but lobster from the cold waters that surround the Island always does seem to taste better and I think even has a better texture meat.
I remember the first time I was on a Caribbean cruise many years ago, ordering lobster from the dinner menu. My taste buds were salivating for what I knew to be lobster taste. Oh my! It didn’t taste like lobster at all as I know it. That’s when I discovered the difference in taste of lobster that comes out of cold water and that out of very warm waters! I never ordered lobster from a cruise ship menu again. I wait for the good PEI lobster at home!
The ironic part of this is that I never liked lobster when I was growing up. In fact, when the family would be chowing down on lobster, my mother always roasted me a chicken (maybe a wee bit spoiled)! However, they convinced me to try a bite of it when I was probably about 18 years old and I’ve never looked back and have more than made up for it since! I love lobster by itself and in just about any other recipe imaginable!
So, today, I am sharing my recipe for Lobster Cakes to celebrate the opening of the PEI lobster fishery season.
Ingredients:
2 cups warm mashed potatoes (about 2-3 medium-large sized potatoes)
1 large egg, beaten
1 tbsp tartar sauce
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 oz grated cheddar cheese
½ tsp parsley
1/4 – 1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)
¼ tsp dried dillweed
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
1½ – 2 tbsp onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp celery, finely chopped
2 tbsp red pepper, finely chopped
8 oz. cooked lobster meat (fresh or frozen), cut into bite-sized chunks
½ – 1 cup fine bread crumbs
Apx. ¾ cup finely ground bread crumbs for coating lobster patties
2+ tbsp vegetable oil
Method:
Place warm mashed potatoes in large bowl. Add beaten egg and mix well. Add tartar sauce and Dijon mustard.
Stir in grated cheddar cheese.
Add parsley, garlic powder, dillweed, and pepper. Stir in onion, celery, and red pepper.
Lastly, add the lobster and mix well. Add just enough of the first amount of bread crumbs so the mixture will hold together and can be formed into patties.
Using a ¼ cup measuring cup, scoop up mixture and form into round patties. In shallow bowl, place the second amount of bread crumbs. Coat each patty in the bread crumbs until completely covered on all sides. Place on wax-paper lined baking sheet and chill for 1 hour to allow flavours to blend and for patties to become firm so they won’t break apart when cooked.
Preheat oven to 375F.
Heat oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, reduce heat to medium and cook the lobster cakes 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown. Transfer browned cakes to greased baking sheet. Bake in oven 6-7 minutes to finish the cooking process.
Serve lobster cakes, 2 per person, hot with your favorite tartar sauce and a side green salad.
These cakes freeze well, uncooked. Cakes may be cooked directly from frozen state, adding a few more minutes to the cooking process or they may be thawed in the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.
Yield: Apx. 1 dozen cakes
Join the Facebook page for My Island Bistro Kitchen: https://www.facebook.com/MyIslandBistroKitchen/
Follow “the Bistro” on “X” (formerly Twitter): https://twitter.com/PEIBistro/
See the drool-worthy gallery of mouth-watering food photos from My Island Bistro Kitchen on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peibistro/
Follow “the Bistro” on Pinterest at https://www.pinterest.ca/peibistro/ and pin the Pinterest-ready photo found at the end of this post to your favorite Pinterest boards.
Serve lobster cakes, 2 per person, hot with your favorite tartar sauce and a side green salad.
These cakes freeze well, uncooked. Cakes may be cooked directly from frozen state, adding a few more minutes to the cooking process or they may be thawed in the refrigerator for several hours before cooking.
Yield: Apx. 1 dozen cakes
[Copyright My Island Bistro Kitchen]
[This post was last updated on April 30, 2024]
Happy Mother’s Day to all mothers. I hope you were wonderfully spoiled today.
There are so many ways to celebrate Mom on Mother’s Day. Some years we have been travelling, other years we have gone to brunches at a favorite hotel restaurant, and other years we have stayed home and had our first lobster “feed” of the season (which is part of what we did this year, too). However, I decided to host a Mother’s Day Tea this year, also.
I love afternoon teas – they harken back to the genteel days where life moved at a slower pace and times seemed gentler. Hosting a tea is a wonderful, relaxing way to savour a light meal. Afternoon teas need not be extravagant (although they are wonderful when they are!). They can be very simple but, for Mother’s Day, the special day to celebrate mothers, it is nice to dress up the event. Do set a lovely table complete with pristine linens and your finest china (we all know that tea, for some reason, always tastes best when served in a china cup, right?)
Of course, Mother’s Day in Canada, falling on the second Sunday in May, always coincides closely with the opening of the Spring lobster fishing season in Prince Edward Island. The first traps were set on May 1st this year with the first catches being landed on the following day. Many families celebrate Mother’s Day along with their first official “feed” of lobster of the season. Many a lobster are cracked open and savoured on Mother’s Day weekend in PEI!
For my tea, I opted to make lobster the star attraction. I made lobster sandwiches and also tried a new recipe for lobster salad in puff pastry from the Spring 2012 issue of Victoria Classic “Teatime Bliss“. I was not disappointed. The delicate, flaky pastries filled with lobster salad were a tasty savory addition to my tea. For those not liking lobster, I included the quintessential cucumber sandwiches as well.
On the beverage front, I served Yellow Tail “Bubbles Rosé” followed, of course, with tea. My tea offering was “Traditional Afternoon” from Williamson Tea.
For the Mother’s Day cake, I chose a traditional teatime cake – the Battenburg cake. This is a sponge cake of two colors, assembled in checkerboard fashion, then covered in marzipan and iced with fondant icing. This made a colorful finale to a wonderful afternoon tea.
Sweets included an assortment of tiny cookies, French Macaroons, coconut macaroons, squares, Scotch cakes, and lemon Madeleines.
I highly encourage afternoon tea any time of the year as a relaxing way to spend some quality time and have some great conversation with those who mean the most to you. What a grand afternoon!
Thank you for visiting “the Bistro” today. There are lots of ways to connect with “the Bistro” through social media:
Join My Island Bistro Kitchen on Facebook
Follow the Bistro’s tweets on twitter @PEIBistro
Find the Bistro on Pinterest at “Island Bistro Kitchen”
Follow along on Instagram at “peibistro”
