German Catering Company Is Turning Invasive Species into Haute Cuisine
A Berlin food truck is opening people’s minds and mouths by feeding them a menu of invasive species with the slogan, “If you can’t beat them, eat them!”
Serving up Louisiana crawfish, baked nutria, Chinese crab, carp sandwiches, Nile geese, racoon steak, and more, Holycrab! is helping control invasive populations and teaching folks that not every dinner has to consist of farm animals.
While humans have largely narrowed consumed animal proteins to less than ten species, invasive populations around the world cause trillions of dollars in damages, and perhaps a third of all extinctions.
Holycrab! started out when business consultants Lukas and Juliane Bosch learned that Louisiana crawfish were invasive in the city of Berlin. With crawfish being a local delicacy in the U.S. for its lobster-like taste, they soon joined forces with Berlin gourmet chef Andreas Michelus to devise a crawfish-based menu for a food truck, and started buying from a licensed fisherman.
Now the menu has grown to include racoon, which are hunted to control the population. Nile goose with green sauce was added when farmers complained that the invasive geese were eating their watercress and sorrel crops (the chief ingredients of green sauce).
“We deliberately started with the food truck to try out new recipes and get the opportunity to talk to people.” Lukas Bosch explains. “For instance, the Chinese mitten crab came from China to Germany about a 100 years ago on cargo ships. It’s grotesque how big they grow and thrive here. The Chinese pay gourmet prices for them because water pollution has made them a rarity in China.”
The couple was inspired by the “invasivore” movement led by University of Vermont conservationist Joe Roman, who maintains the Eat the Invaders website. There one can find recipes for nutria, garlic mustard, Japanese knot weed, Asian shore crab, lion fish, and more.
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Even in one of the most competitive food markets in Europe, Holycrab! picked up the 2020 Eat! Berlin Award.
Their work is a sign that even in a modern metropolis, with something as small as a food truck, people can still work to protect their ecosystems.
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