Have you experienced the ‘champagne’ interrogation? It starts as you walk around your grocery store collecting the various items you need and includes a stroll down to the chilled wine section to grab a $10 bottle of sparking wine or champagne. Soon you make your way to the checkout line when inevitably someone next to you in line, or even the cashier says with a smile and high pitched tone, “Champagne! What’s the occasion?”
Can’t those who enjoy champagne buy a bottle at the store and not be asked if we just got a raise, got engaged or are celebrating a birthday or anniversary? What’s wrong with enjoying the taste of champagne enough to grab a bottle instead of something else like wine or beer, from time to time?
It is easy to find a delicious champagne that is affordable, just as it is possible to find lobster, crab legs or shrimp that is fantastically fresh, wild-caught and delicious—as well as affordable! For some reason here in the U.S. we’ve got preconceived perceptions that certain foods are out of reach for some of us when the truth couldn’t be more different.
Ask anyone if you can treat them to a live lobster dinner and eyebrows will be raised in enthusiasm. Why does the proposition of eating lobster immediately conjure up the notion that it must involve a great expense or celebration, just like champagne?
Looking at the history of lobster, in Colonial times lobster would be piled up as much as two feet high on the shores of New England, and was then apologetically collected, boiled and served. Indentured servants and prisoners purportedly petitioned that to be served lobster more than twice a week was inhumane treatment, and the petition was granted in mercy.
In the beginning of the 1900s commercial fishing and canning of lobster meat in New England began to boom. Known for being abundant and rich in protein, it wasn’t rationed through the First World War as most meats were, but instead began to be labeled as decadent and that for those in high-society. However, it wasn’t until the mid 1950s and on that lobster became to known as a true delicacy, and demand rose to a point where commercial lobster fishing became what it is today to support that demand.
Today lobster fishing is enabled by tools such as overnight shipping services and the internet; while the state of regularly enjoying lobster as a meal is enabled by these service making it accessible to those even hundreds of miles away and at competitive and affordable prices.
So why do we feel compelled to wait for a special occasion before lobster is considered? Rather than grab the same thing time after time, lobster is a nutritious, low-fat source of excellent Omega-rich proteins and is affordable! There are dozens of preparations and any dish from any culture can be made into a lobster recipe. We challenge you to discover fresh, live lobster and chose it more regularly–and we promise we will not interrogate you.
