Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar Experience

Disclosure: I am leading PR efforts and will be creating content for East Coast Mermaid at the first-ever Eating Heritage Food Tourism Symposium, however, all opinions in this post are my own.

While some people believe you can’t mix business with pleasure, I think that rule can be waived when it comes to Seafood.

As the owner of a Coastal PR Firm, Coastal Apparel Line and Coastal travel blog, you could say that I live by my own set of rules when it comes to living that Sea Side Life. I live and breath all things Atlantic Canada.

This is why I’m excited to share that my PR company, Crystal Richard & Co. is mixing business and pleasure as a proud sponsor and the official publicist for Eating Heritage Food Tourism. This event is kicking off its first-ever symposium right here in the Greater Moncton area this November 4th and 5th.

When the Eating Heritage organizers proposed a field trip to spend a day with Cornel and Dorina Ceapa, the owners of Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar at their beautiful location in Carters Point, New Brunswick—I cleared my schedule.

And it would be super rude not to share what I learned with all of you, now wouldn’t it?

The 200 Million-Year-Old Fish

Yes, you read that right. The Sturgeon is the OLDEST fish on the planet.

Cornel holds a Ph.D. in Sturgeon Biology, so any visit to their hatchery and processing plant in Carters Points will lead to you learning so much about the fish, you’ll almost feel bad eating it.

I said ALMOST.

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It takes at least 10 years for a sturgeon to grow into a harvestable size and for the eggs to be ready for caviar production. What I LOVE about Acadian Sturgeon, is that they’re using a balanced approach to coexistence between sustainable, wild sturgeon from the Saint John River, and the aquaculture production.

When you visit the Hatchery, you will be able to get up close and personal with sturgeon of all sizes, including the SUPER CUTE BABY STURGEONS.

When the wild sturgeon are caught, it’s done using traditional fishing methods used for over 100 years on the Saint John River and the team makes sure to always obey the harvest quota.

MERMAID APPROVED: ALL Acadian Sturgeon and Caviar products, both wild and farmed, are Ocean Wise certified.

Sweet, Sweet Caviar

While it was absolutely fascinating to learn so much about sturgeon—and cuddle the baby sturgeon—I’m not going to lie, this mermaid was extra excited for the tasting portion of the day.

I’d never had a true caviar experience, so doing a proper tasting with vodka and champagne with the King of Caviar himself was pretty neat. Fun fact: the proper way to taste caviar is by eating it off your hand and allowing it to melt in your mouth. Which is basically 10 seconds of pure tasty bliss.

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And believe me when I say, you haven’t lived until you’ve tried caviar on ice cream. If you love a salted caramel or Mariner’s ice cream flavour, you will love caviar served on vanilla ice cream.

A Sturgeon Feast

Prior to our visit, Cornel had warned us we’d be in for a feast, but I couldn’t believe my eyes when the delicious dishes kept coming: from sturgeon gravlax to smoked sturgeon that looked and tasted better than bacon. (Sidenote: can we just call it mermaid bacon? Please?)

We also tasted Cornel’s UNREAL sturgeon ceviche, Dorina’s famous Sturgeon Bouillabaise, and sturgeon skewers on the grill which were melt-in-your-mouth amazing.

Honestly, I’m not quite sure how I made room for all of the food but every single bite was incredible. I will be talking about this adventure for a long time to come.

And dreaming about caviar until the next time.

If YOU would love to learn more about sturgeon, caviar or meet the King of Caviar himself, make sure to visit https://www.acadian-sturgeon.com/

You can also LIKE them on Facebook or follow the King on Instagram.

WANT TO MEET THE KING OF CAVIAR IN PERSON? OR you know – be a part of the most unique and cool food tourism event around?

Swim over to Eating Heritage and grab your tickets to this must-experience event HERE.

SEA YOU THERE!