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COLUMN: I’m a lobster convert

Gazette reporter Kate Saylors reflects on her Lobsterfest experience.
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You know, there aren’t a whole lot of perks to being a reporter. The long and unpredictable hours, intense pressure and inherently public nature of the job can often wear on a person. But, one of the things I do enjoy most is getting to attend many of the wonderful events around our community. This past weekend was one for just that.

In addition to the fall fair and demolition derby, I also went for the first time to Rotary’s Lobsterfest at the invitation of a friend and her family. I do have to say, though, that the event caused me some concern.

First of all, there is the issue of what to wear. It can be quite a challenge to pick out an outfit for an event that features both fancy seafood and dancing, but also a bib with a cartoon crustacean on it.

These are the questions that kept me up at night. I changed my outfit four times anyways.

Second, and most centrally, there was the issue of the lobster itself. I come from what British Columbians call “back East,” but is actually just central Ontario. Not being from the actual East, and until recently an unemployed journalism undergraduate student, I had actually never eaten a lobster before. Had lobster? Sure. My favourite iteration was the lobster poutine from a takeout place near my apartment in Ottawa – whether it was actually real lobster or not is another discussion.

But until Saturday, I had never been presented with a full lobster.

Thankfully, the kind people at Rotary foresaw that this might be a new experience for some and took a few minutes to air an informative video. The experts made it look easy, but did warn of “splatter.” I had no idea lobster could be so messy.

As the lobsters came out of the kitchen on plates carried by wary-looking high school students, I took some pictures (it’s what I do), but I also wondered what I’d gotten myself into. I’d never eaten a lobster, sure, but I’d also never eaten food with its eyes still attached.

However, friends and family who had heard I would be attending the event told me how lucky I was. My mom in particular raved about fresh lobster, so I vowed to keep an open mind.

And so, it was woman versus lobster.

I would say, overall, that tackling the task of cracking the lobster was a success. Only one bit of shell went shooting across the table (my apologies to the lovely people sitting with me. I swear it was unintentional). I was thankful for the bib, silly though it looked.

Lobster is a lot of work, I learned. It takes a bit of elbow grease, in between cracking open the claws and however I managed to wrangle the tail out of its shell. I did it, but I couldn’t quite tell you how.

But boy, is it worth it. Fresh and delicious and buttery, I can see why it is such a luxury. The lobsters had a long journey, but I can definitely say I’m a lobster convert.