Residents of a small New Brunswick community that prides itself on its renowned lobster catches was basking in the glow of a restored, distinctly Maritime honour – creating what it says is the longest lobster roll in the world.
People in Shediac, N.B., turned out in droves Wednesday evening to watch as a chef and volunteers stuffed the succulent meat into a lengthy loaf of bread in a bid to take back the longest-roll title from the town’s neighbour to the east.
Edgar LeBlanc, president of the Shediac Lobster Festival, said the roll spanned the length of the local arena and measured about 68 metres – besting Charlottetown, P.E.I.’s record-breaking length of more than 61 metres last year.
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LeBlanc said he was pretty chuffed by the size of the roll, saying it would ramp up the “friendly rivalry” with Island chefs that has been going on for several years.
“Well P.E.I., good luck,” he said with a laugh when asked if he had anything to say to his competitors.
“The challenge is on and we’re now in the driver’s seat. We got the biggest lobster roll, so I give them a friendly competition to see if they’re going to beat Shediac again, and hopefully if they do we’ll see them again next year.”
The roll took about two days to prepare and included hundreds of the red crustaceans that were mixed up into 180 pounds of savoury lobster meat.
Chef Alain Bosse was responsible for baking the bread and whipping up the meat mixture, which included celery, green onion, chives, salt, pepper and mayonnaise.
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The Nova Scotia-based chef said it took 12.5 hours and 40 volunteers to cook the long loaf that snaked along tables set up in the arena and had to be connected without separations, under the Guinness Book of World Records rules.
The bread lay on about five tables prior to going into the oven for 20 minutes per section. It then took about a half hour to stuff the meat into the roll.
When it was all prepared, about 400 people were allowed in to watch as the roll was measured by the mayor, LeBlanc and Bosse, who sported a red cap bearing lobster claws.
“They gathered in the arena and everybody cheered us on as we counted it out foot by foot,” Bosse said.
“It was fun! And it was very rewarding after you’ve finished those 48 hours of long work.”
The roll was then cut into about 450 pieces, to be eaten by people who had bought tickets. In an hour, it was completely gone.
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LeBlanc said the roll was delicious and that it was the talk of the town Thursday.
“It was amazing!” he said.
“Everywhere we go in Shediac, everybody’s talking about it…. Lobster is very important to the community.”
Bosse said the event takes about six months of planning and was a lot of work, but represents a “friendly competition between the two cities” that involves the whole New Brunswick community.
“It really is good clean fun – there’s no animosity here,” he said, laughing when he added that “we feel confident that with 20 extra feet, P.E.I. will need a longer building to (beat) it!”
No one from the Island’s shellfish festival was available for comment.