ST. PETE BEACH — The ghost pepper is the hottest in the world, smoking the Scotch bonnet and measuring clean at the top of the Scoville heat scale. Not surprisingly, Louisiana hot sauce makers took note of this scorching discovery. What would happen if the flavor of these peppers was infused into Louisiana choupique caviar?
Tampa Bay foodies found out Saturday at the fourth annual Tampa Bay Wine & Food Festival held at the Don CeSar Beach Resort. Hosted by Southern Wine & Spirits of Central Florida, the weekend included high-energy parties, wine tastings, a beach bash and educational seminars and demonstrations. In white tents set up on the beach, attendees ditched their shoes and sipped and nibbled their way through the warm afternoon.
In one of the Publix Apron's Cooking School demonstration kitchens, Kendall Gensler walked festivalgoers through the preparation of Louisiana blue crab and Brie bisque with ghost pepper caviar garnish. In between adding the butter and cream, she explained about her home state's choupique caviar. These prehistoric fish — also called bowfin or shupik, a Choctaw word meaning mudfish — have been a source of caviar in Louisiana since 1986. Once their roe has been harvested, the rest of the fish is used for fish cakes and other delicacies.
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Photo by Lara Cerri, St. Petersburg Times