A decade ago, British Columbia spot prawns were a bottom-of-the-barrel seafood product – the mushy filler for chowder and fortifier of cheap fish stock. Last weekend, the luxury crustaceans were toasted with Moët & Chandon champagne.
To celebrate its 10th anniversary, the B.C. Spot Prawn Festival kicked off Friday night with a black-tie gala at the tony, private Vancouver Club. The splashy fete featured the delicacy in six courses – melted into “liquid gold,” smoked over rosemary, poached with grand-fir tips and chopped into XO sauce – prepared by famous chefs from Vancouver and across the country.
Gala guests wore ball gowns and tuxedos and the soaring calla lily floral arrangements were lavish. The scene was about as far removed from a dockside spot-prawn boil as one could imagine. So how did the humble B.C. spot prawn go from being an unappreciated toss-away ingredient to one of Canada’s signature seafood luxury products coveted in restaurants around the world? Here’s what you need to know.
