Some people like seafood and some don’t. My favourite seafood is shrimp. I remember there was a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant in Long Beach, California when we were there a few years ago. That chain sprang from the movie Forrest Gump and named after Forrest Gump and his buddy Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue. Bubba’s famous quote in the movie was, “Anyway, like I was sayin’, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. There’s uh, shrimp ka-bobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There’s pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That-that’s about it”. Well, that should get shrimp lovers taste buds going. But how about fake shrimp? As we head into 2023, I read a piece in Macleans about fake seafood. Rice flake shrimp, pea-and seaweed-extract shrimp, vegetable root starch shrimp, mushroom-extract shrimp and shrimp created from algae. Food producers are looking to create seafood alternatives that address overfishing as well as climate concerns. How about 3-D printed plant-based seafood? Caviar made from seaweed. Or a whole-cut salmon filet facsimile? I think I’ll stick to actual, honest-to-goodness shrimp, you know, like from the ocean.
That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.





















