For three days everything is about the king crab – or the Norwegian Red King Crab, as it is called internationally. A real tribute to this ugly, frightening and fascinating creature. And when you’re face to face with this monster its easy to compare it with dinosaurs and lizards. But in Vadsø they adore the king crab and pay their tribute to it by arranging a festival.

Swinging opening

The whole ting starts in the middle of October. Not a randomly chosen time because this is the start of the crab season for the people that catch king crabs for a living. And they are many! The festival manager invites the audience to the opening of the festival in the culture house “Hermetikken” with art exhibitions, concerts and dancing. And then the Polar Spectacle is open.

From there it is crab fishing trips with cooking and tasting, king crab lectures etc. about 270 fishing boats participate in the annual crab fishing, and at Bugøynes the get no less than 120 000 king crabs in three months, and most of the crabs are over four kilos.

Enormous potential

The king crab has an enormous potential. It has a sweet, but relatively neutral flavour, that opens up for adding other elegant, refined flavours. Everything from soy, Worchester sauce and chilli to a sour warm butter sauce can be added to the king crab.

King crab brick sticks with avocado salad

8 plates of “feuille de brick”
Cleansed meat from a king crab
1tbs chopped estragon
Cayenne pepper
White pepper and Maldon salt
2 mellow avocados
4 tomatoes, semidried
1tbs vinegar
2tbs olive oil
1tbs fresh herbs

1. Mix the spices and estragon with the crab meat. Make 12 lengths. Wrap in the “feuille de brick” plates. Paint with yolk.
2. Make a salad with the avocado meat, tomatoes and the herbs in dices.
3. Fry the crab sticks in butter and put them on the avocado salad. Flowers or fresh herbs as decoration.

Lovely!

From hot tubs to salsa

In between lovely lunches and fantastic sea food buffets in the evening, it’s time fore fun and interesting events every day. There is food and wine classes, salsa classes, theatre, live window exhibitions, concerts, etc. The whole town is participating in the Polar Spectacle. In the middle of all of this it feels good to have a time out in the hot tub.