A focus on local, sustainable food at Rogues Experience

The Rogues Experience at Redhook Brewery on Jan. 11th provided an evening of seafood tastings and a screening of a new television show dedicated to local food.

Above: Local lobstermen, oyster farmers, and representatives from N.H. Fresh and Local Seafood and Taylor Lobster were at the Rogues Experience event to help educate the public about local seafood.

The upcoming culinary adventure travel show, Rogues on the Road, features locally produced/caught/foraged food and drinks. The two hosts of the show, Matt Frohman and Rich Marshall, introduced their pilot episode that was filmed in Banff, Alberta, Canada, followed by footage featuring N.H. lobstermen and oyster farmers that may become a future episode.

The event provided an opportunity for attendees to sample food and drinks featuring a Seacoast ingredient: softshell lobster. Redhook Brewery provided their Black Lobstah Lager, made from locally sourced softshell lobsters and oysters. Chefs from nine restaurants prepared lobster BLTs, risotto, tarts and many other creations to showcase the sweet flavor of softshell lobsters caught near the Seacoast.

Softshell lobsters tend to be easier to prepare for menu items because they lack a hard shell, and many chefs and consumers have indicated that softshell lobsters are more flavorful and succulent than hardshell lobsters.

Softshells are also more abundant than hardshells, particularly in warmer months, but lobstermen receive lower prices for them. Many lobstermen have expressed concern about this, noting that the high costs of fuel and bait coupled with low prices for softshells mean they are barely breaking even financially.

Representatives from Taylor Lobster Company, N.H. Fresh and Local Seafood, Fat Dog Oyster Company and the Seacoast Science Center attended the event to help educate the public about local seafood and healthy marine ecosystems.

For more information about local seafood, please visit www.nhseafood.com.