Toast with caviar for the New Year

It’s time to celebrate the new year! How about adding a little caviar to the bubbles and oysters that we often reserve for this celebration? This noble food is currently very popular… and it is eaten “royally”, on the back of the hand!

Last spring, the New York Times published an article that focused on the trend of “caviar bumps”, adopted by young millennials and Generation Z in trendy bars and restaurants. This naughty and slightly decadent way of tasting caviar on the back of the hand – which will remind some of the salt you lick before swallowing a shot of tequila, or even a reference to a certain illicit drug – may clash with the idea we have of this luxury food.

“It helps to demystify, to democratize caviar, to offer an immersive experience, a bit like we do with oysters,” remarks Jean-Michel Leblond.

At his elegant Kabinet bar, opened last spring on Laurier Avenue West, the chef claims to have been the first in Montreal to put “caviar bump” on his menu, at the very affordable price of $20 – which includes a shot of very cold vodka. , or a martini –, during Caviar & Martinis evenings on Sundays.

“It’s not yet in our Quebec culture to eat caviar and I wanted to offer an option to people who have never tasted caviar in their life to discover the taste in the mouth and live the experience. There is a less stuffy side to tasting it on the back of your hand,” he remarks.

The varieties offered vary. We tasted wild sturgeon caviar from New Brunswick from Acadian Sturgeon Caviar, a unique product in the world, or the exceptional Antonius caviar, which comes from Poland.

“I often compare caviar to oysters, which we will taste in dozens, with three different kinds. It’s exciting to understand the different flavors and textures of caviar”, notes the man who first made a name for himself several years ago with his restaurant Tripes et Caviar… where he didn’t serve caviar anyway!

Since he put “bump caviar” on his menu, sales of this noble food have been “exponential”. “People fall in love and then feel like investing $150 to live the experience with a 30 g can of caviar. »

The beauty of the gesture

François-Xavier Déhédin, exclusive importer of Antonius products in Canada with his company Oysters & Caviar, agrees: sales of unfertilized female sturgeon eggs have experienced strong growth in recent years, which should not out of breath anytime soon.

But if the “bump caviar” seems an exciting and more current way to consume this exceptional product, tasting fish eggs on the back of the hand is nothing new, explains the importer who has worked for a fortnight years at Poissonnerie La Mer before launching his business in 2020.

“We call it caviar ‟à la royale”; when you go to a caviar tasting, it’s really the way to eat it. in advance from the fridge”, he explains, while depositing a large quenelle of caviar on the back of our hand.

We met the importer with restaurateur Dominic Laflamme (Heirloom Pizza), at Kaviar, a new space that will open in mid-January in Le Central. “We wanted to offer a place in the Quartier des Spectacles where you can dress up and come and drink champagne and enjoy canapés, with your fingers. And the queen of canapes is caviar! “, he summarizes.

Located in Poland, Antonius is one of the largest sturgeon farms in the world. High quality caviar is produced there, such asoscietrawith a jade color and a “delicate and feminine” taste, which goes well with the fine bubbles of champagne, or the Siberian, with shimmering black eggs, which has “more character, punch and tannin, with a fatty side reminiscent of notes of gorgonzola cheese”, to taste ideally with vodka, comments Mr. Déhédin.

Because like any animal product, what the animals eat directly influences the taste of the food. Even more so for caviar, a minimally processed, lightly salted and unpasteurized product. Thus, the taste of wild caviar from Acadian Sturgeon Caviar has more herbaceous and saline notes.

Beware of counterfeiting

Like all luxury products, caviar does not escape the phenomenon of counterfeiting. During his career, Mr. Déhédin says he has witnessed it more than once. Thus, it no longer sells beluga caviar, often presented as the most famous and sought after in the world.

“The beluga sturgeon is the original species of the Caspian Sea, where the Persian Empire began to develop caviar and salt it. We are talking about 300, 400 years after Jesus Christ, anyway! Today, Iran is no longer a very big producer. Beluga caviar is oversold and there is a lot of counterfeiting. I’d be willing to sell some, but only if I can be 100% sure where it came from, because that’s the one that’s going to cost $20,000 a kilo! »

Just as a Rolex watch has a serial number, all sealed cans containing caviar should have a number ensuring the traceability and authenticity of the product.

“Caviar is fashionable and we are likely to find more and more of it on the market. You have to be careful not to get tricked. The word ‟caviar” is found almost everywhere. A big jar of caviar at $10 is fishy!” concludes Mr. Déhédin.

Kabinet is hosting a New Year’s Eve on the 31st, an eight-course menu promising bubbles, caviar and other delicacies ($90 per person, $65 deal, by reservation).