CANADA’S BOUNTY
A celebration of seafood
Sustainable shellfish may not be top of mind when it comes to quintessentially Canadian foods, but it should be. From Nova Scotia lobster to Quebec snow crab and B.C. spot prawns, there’s plenty to celebrate from coast to coast.
“Our waters are so unique,” chef Matt Dean Pettit says. “As Canadians, we’re blessed. We have beautiful shellfish on both coasts. We should be focusing on these. If you’re looking from a dollarsand-cents standpoint, our fisheries depend on it. Our communities that are within these fishery departments … depend on it.”
Toronto-based Pettit is the founder of Rock Lobster restaurants and Matty ’s Seafood Brands, and the author of two cookbooks. In his latest, The Great Shellfish Cookbook (Appetite by Random House, 2018), he provides more than 100 recipes and a crash course in Shellfish 101 with tips on buying, storing, preparing and cooking it.
Growing up in Midland, Ont., seafood was a “complete treat,” Pettit says. “We have beautiful Recipes excerpted from The Great Shellfish Cookbook by Matt Dean Pettit published by Appetite by Random House. pickerel and perch up there but shellfish, whoa! Lobster, crab, on my birthday … every single year that’s what I’ve had.”
Integral to his business and books is the belief that sustainable seafood should be available to all Canadians, whether landlocked or coastal dwellers. “For me it was always just making it affordable and approachable for others,” he says. “Access, and knowing how to cook and all the fun things that come with it is part of the mission.”
When it comes to buying shellfish sustainably, Pettit highlights that it’s a shared responsibility between shoppers and retailers.
Educate yourself using resources such as the Ocean Wise Seafood classification program and the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch app, and talk to your fishmonger about sustainable options: “It’s really asking the questions. Where does it come from? How do you know? Supporting the ones that can tell you and give you that information.”
As many of Pettit’s recipes illustrate, feasting on shellfish is social by nature. Forgoing cutlery is often the best way to go about it, and getting a bit messy is a must.
“Food is about celebrating memories, time, people and experiences,” Pettit says. “A lot of these dishes are communal, a lot of them are eating with your hands, and you just get right in there and have some fun.”