SAVED FROM THE POT...
Incredibly rare lobster no longer feeling blue... after chef finds him a permanent home at Sealife
APUB received an incredibly rare blue lobster as part of its seafood delivery - and has now decided to save him from the pot.
On Tuesday morning, the Hare on the Hill in Littleborough was handed its regular seafood delivery from Scotland.
Head chef Austin Hopley was left shocked when he discovered that within the delivery was a fully grown blue lobster.
Blue lobsters are considered to be a rarity, caused by a colour mutation that only tends to impact one out of every two million lobsters.
Chef Austin has decided to save the lobster, nicknamed Larry, from the pot and find a new home for him.
“I’ve never seen anything like the lobster that got delivered today,” Austin said.
“I decided to do a little online research into what had been delivered. After realising the rarity of the lobster, I couldn’t bring myself to put him on the menu.
“After a little discussion, I knew the morally right thing to do was to find him a forever home where everybody could appreciate him.”
After unsuccessful calls to local garden centres and aquariums, Austin and co-worker Emma Konnanov decided to widen their net.
Having shared a story of the rare find on social media, Austin started to get suggestions of places from the likes of Anglesey and Padstow before landing somewhere a bit closer to home.
A call to the director of Sealife Manchester, based at the Trafford Centre, led to marine expert Matt being sent to rescue Larry and take him to his new home.
Austin said: “After a tiring effort of numerous phone calls to local busi
nesses; figuring out a few missing puzzle pieces; and the good will of people that we’ve conversed with - we successfully managed to score Larry a place at Sea Life Manchester this afternoon!”
The rare discovery has also led the Hare on the Hill to make a conscious change to its menu.
“We’ve decided Larry shouldn’t be the only lobster saved from a grizzly fate just because of his dreamy blue coat,” the pub said on Facebook.
“So Austin & Lewi are rewriting our entire menu so that no more lobsters are harmed in the making of our exceptional British small plates.”
Austin added: “It puts into perspective the reality that most of us don’t actually understand and know where our produce comes from, and the impact we have on the environment as consumers.
“Every species deserves a fair chance at survival, we need to be more sustainable as the human race and if that means ethically sourcing things in the future - even if it’s the luxury items that everyone desires - then that’s how we should do it.”