I interrupt my France travelog (again) for a breaking news story. Thanks to this very blog, I was interviewed by the Canadian Broadcast Corp. about That Time I Organized a Sea Lamprey Taste Test | Marie’s Meanderings post, which I wrote in 2020. I later reworked the post for a blog I used to manage for work and that’s where the CBC reporter saw the story. (It’s also included in my Meander North book.)
Her 9-minute feature about how the invasive and ugly sea lamprey are a sought-after food in Europe aired last week. You can listen to it here: Amy Hadley: Sea Lamprey Cuisine | Superior Morning | On Demand | CBC Listen. I loved the light tone she took and that she was able to speak with sea lamprey cooks and Fishery Commission staff.
It just goes to show, you never know where blogging will take you sometimes!
Marie's Meanderings 
I( can’t get the broadcast to run…probably something at this end!
I did see lampreys for sale on the market at angers when we lived in France…..but the description of the preparation in the only recipe I could find put me right off the idea!
I suspect the recipe might have included lamprey blood? I found a local chef to prepare them. He made a lamprey stew, which was quite good. And one of our commercial fishermen smoked them, which was also good. But the taste testers didn’t like the traditional dishes so much.
As it started by plunging them alive into boiling water I went no further!
Oh wow! One thing I learned with this project is that lamprey are very strong and fast. Plunging a lobster into boiling water is one thing, but I think it would take at least 3 people to get a lamprey in the pot!
Way to go!
Congratulations! Also, I’m doubly glad to be a vegetarian.
🙂
OK, Lampreys are the source of many of my worst nightmares–can’t get beyond the business end & how they looked preserved in a jar in the LaPointe history museum on Madeline Island (childhood trauma!).
But cool that a cooking competition led to discovery of frightening lead levels. If I ever try, it’ll be on the EU continent. I hear Portugal is nice!
Your lamprey in a jar encounter must have been traumatic, Liz, for you to remember the exact location!
I have friends who have traveled to Portugal and they enjoyed it. Stay cool!
Yeah, every summer throughout my childhood. Always HAD to look…😂
BTW, I was wearing my Madeline Island t-shirt yesterday!
❤️❤️❤️ Great to be up there right now, up to your neck in Big Bay water, eh?
I tried to stick my toes into Lake Superior the other day and could hardly do it! I think the water on Park Point was 40 degrees.
Yikes! Even in mid-July?
Yup. I think upwelling was happening – the wind direction was dredging up cold water from the deeps… Lots of screaming going on by people who tried to swim, ha ha.
😯
you are amazing! I’ll taste these when I get around to chocolate covered insects… lol
I’ve eaten chocolate-covered ants. They weren’t that bad! 🙂
btw. forgot to add that I’d be thrilled if you’d write a guest blog post for my site about your book (this one or any other). If you think it might be fun or helpful to have my followers (who total about 10k across my various social media) meet you, here’s the link for general guidelines:
Hi da-AL. Thanks for the offer. You might not remember, but I’ve been featured on your blog already. I wrote about my sister’s suicide and new years. Maybe you’d like to save room for someone who hasn’t already been featured.
Yeah! They look really appetizing! Congratulations!
Thanks, Dawn!
A fun set of connections!
For sure! The reporter was very enterprising to be able to track me and the other interviewees down.