Rio Frio gets recognized in sustainable sturgeon farming
March 30, 2009
Rio Frio, the Andalusian sturgeon farm (Acipenser nacarii), got certified by local authorities already some time back. It is today the only certified sturgeon farm regarding ecological agriculture.
Here I pass a Youtube video.
St. Moritz Aftermath – CaviarDome: Thanks to
March 28, 2009
It has been awhile since the most prestigious polo event ended high up in the Swiss Alps. And after so many event aftermaths there is one important thing missing. The thank you’s.
So, I would like to express my thanks on behalf of Alexander and Simone Zwyer to:
Mr. Marti and his team of Blasto AG for mounting up the CaviarDome on time (on a frozen lake!) and for troubleshooting us during the hole event regarding technical matters.
Mrs. Bitterli for assisting us regarding 1001 issues regarding organizational matters. For passing on free club entrance tickets to the ZwyerCaviar team. For the nice chats inbetween the storms. In another world we would have named her ‘mother’.
Mr. Buchwalder for the high quality of the fotos he shot during the event. Thomas, great that we had you on our boat!
Mr. Eichholzer for solving our infrastructural problem and lending us his garage. This was a lifesaver. Thx for that!
The german company Zendome which invented the actual dome and gave us our unique appearance.
Mr. Pöllinger for getting the icefield right on time. It was tricky this year. And he made it again. Good luck with the professional changes lying ahead! BTW: could have left my water wings at home…
Mr. Lempke for decorating our CaviarDome with his absolutely gorgeously renovated Louis Vuitton suitcases!
Mr. Barino for the nicely shot interview and Teamtrailer.
And of course, our thanks to the unbeatable staff – Cassandra, Mir.I.Am, Paco, Soph and Daniela! It was great fun to work with you guys!
1 year and 1 day for illegal caviar smuggling
March 27, 2009
Thomas Jerry Nix, Jr., 39, of Memphis, Tenn., formerly of Shell Knob, was sentenced on Feb. 2 in federal court in Springfield. The court also ordered Nix to pay $30,002 in restitution to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
In September of 2008, Nix pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to engage in illegal commercial fishing for American paddlefish on Table Rock Lake and to illegally take paddlefish eggs, called roe, and process them into caviar.
According to court reports, Nix set three gill nets on Table Rock Lake and used a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver to mark the location of the nets. Every one to three days thereafter, Nix and his co-conspirator returned to check the gill nets for paddlefish.
When paddlefish were retrieved from the gill nets, Nix slit open each paddlefish suspected to contain eggs and extracted them from the paddlefish by hand. They sealed the eggs in plastic bags and transported them to Nix’s residence in Shell Knob. As the paddlefish moved upstream, Nix relocated the gill nets. In attempt to conceal their scheme, Nix and his accomplice sank the carcasses of the paddlefish they killed by weighting them with rocks.
Periodically, Nix and his co-conspirator transported the processed paddlefish caviar from Shell Knob to three separate locations in Tennessee, where it was sold to a company engaged in the business of buying, processing and selling caviar. Between Jan. 11 and Feb. 11, 2008, Nix sold approximately 387 pounds of paddlefish caviar to the firm for a total of $35,820.
Upon a search of Nix’s residence in Shell Knob, officers discovered over 90 pounds of additional paddlefish roe that was labeled and ready to be sold. On Feb. 18, 2008, Nix led agents to three gill nets in Table Rock Lake. Upon their retrieval, agents were able to release 17 live paddlefish caught in the nets.
Paddlefish roe is subject to USDA regulations, and improperly processed paddlefish roe is subject to contamination by botulinum brucella and listeria monocyteogenes.
Death Roe – by Joseph Heywood
March 25, 2009
Joseph Heywood’s mystery novel called ‘Death Roe’ is about Grady Service, a detective for Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources. Usually, the people Service pursues are poachers and other violators of fish and game laws.
In this, the sixth book in the series (Woods Cop Mysteries), Service comes across a deadly mare’s nest involving tainted Lake Ontario salmon eggs, intended for bait only, mixed with clean Michigan eggs and sold to cruise lines as caviar.
The eggs were contaminated with the insecticide mirex. The resultant “caviar” can sicken people and even kill them.
Service’s investigation takes him from the wilds of Michigan to Alaska, to New York’s Ukrainian mafia territory and to Costa Rica.
It got 5***** on Amazon.com
ZwyerCaviar teams up with GLOBUS
March 23, 2009
Its as if Christmas has come early! But instead of the Christmas biscuits its all about chocolate – and egg time!!!
Easter is coming up. And for this season, ZwyerCaviar LLC is back with a gift. So, after weeks of negotiations lets lift the curtain:
We are proud to announce, that ZwyerCaviar will be available at GLOBUS starting with Easter!
GLOBUS is a very popular and traditional swiss retailer, known for its absolute high-end quality of products. Their variety of goods offer an incredible wide choice. It goes from interior design to fashion, from cosmetic products to household articles and from tools to – and that’s when ZwyerCaviar comes in – delicacies.
Its division, responsible for the gourmet section, is called GLOBUS Delicatessa and its in 10 of the total 12 departement stores nationwide. Soon GLOBUS Delicatessa will be in all of the branch stores.
The Caviarist wishes all a very HAPPY EASTER AND SUCCESSFUL EGG HUNTING!!!
What happened when the Easter Bunny met the rabbit of his dreams?
They lived hoppily ever after!
Meet crazy Matt – the angler
March 23, 2009
Thomas Watson invented the telephone. Yeah, what an invention! But this was – as we all know – a double tracked happening together with Mr. Bell. And therefor something to be expected back in these days. Now, another Watson came up with another idea, which is truly unique and unexpected!
Meet crazy kiwi Matt Watson, the worlds most offbeat fisherman there is. Since his appearance at the David Letterman show he became pretty popular. But for some he still might be worthy to mention. Matt might have had the same thought as the Old Man and the Sea: “To hell with luck. I’ll bring the luck with me.”
So, he fishes a marlin on a surf board (yes, thats right) - fighting over 90min and getting dragged out to the sea for about 11miles -, or on his very bored days he jumps out of a chopper, dives into the sea and grabs out another marlin. Check out these and other impressive footages of crazy Matt!
Fishing a marlin on a handline in a dinghy
Catching a marlin on a SEA-DOO
New Caviarist logo
March 20, 2009
Caviarist.com introduces its new shiny logo. Personally, I think its absolutely great!
On both sides the Caviarist shield is protected by two sturgeons. And on the top are two big leaves which end in a kind of a snake head.
Interpretation: The Caviarist gets his legitimacy for this blog out of the disastrous situation all wild sturgeon populations worldwide are encountering and he stands firm (snakes) against all the sturgeon poachers and evil-doers.
HELP TO STOP THE ROE TO RUIN!
HELP TO BANISH DEATH ROE!
Or as the Watchmen said:
Adrian Veidt: It doesn’t take a genius to see the world has problems.
Edward Blake: No, but it takes a room full of morons to think they’re small enough for them to handle.
Harrods gift basket for 7’500USD
March 18, 2009
The world famous luxury store Harrods offers only 8 of these premium so called Chairman’s Choice hampers. And they are filled with lots of fun!
For (only) 7’500USD there will be (first things first!) beluga caviar, competing with smoked salmon, truffle ham, Stilton cheese, brie, a 30-year old Macallan single malt, a bottle of Krug champagne, Hennessy cognac, several bottles of wine, including the famous Chateau d’Yquem! (weeping allowed…)
Remember: the magic number is not 7’500 but 8. So, hurry up!
Related article on luxist.com
Snail caviar
March 17, 2009
And who’s to blame? The french, of course!
While the classic wild caviar due to poaching, overfishing and pollution of the Caspian Sea, is getting harder to find each day, alternatives show up. Of course, farmed caviar (from sturgeon roe) being the best ‘substitute’ for the wild thing (and in some farms even surpassing the quality of wild!). Besides farmed caviar there is today a wide offer of other fish eggs that try to get into the luxury dimension. Tobiko, Tarama, Bottarga, Bowin, Lobsviar (roe from Lobster), etc. seem to get their share – altough not on the top of the quality and price pyramid.
Now, the one that really gets tickling my curiousity are the roe from snails – or better ’escargots’ (Hélix Aspera Maxima).
The french company De Jaegers after a period of extensive research has a stock of about 60’000 snails (= 200kg. for the worldmarket). These slippery little bastards (for the ones who saw Pretty Woman) seem to produce some very tasty, pink-white looking eggs. Ok, the truth to be told, I doubt that the above image shows the roe and not some shiny tinny plastic balls…
The snails lay about 100 eggs once a year, which gives aprox. 4gramms of snail caviar. So, about 260 snails are needed to get to 1kg. (!!!).
De Jaeger promises a ‘sensation of a walk in the forest after the rain, mushrooms and oak leaf flavours, the scent of humid moss peat’. And the price range reflects this effort and promise. A 250grm. tin goes over the counter for about 1’000USD. Well, that’s the deal if you want to stay in your cozy home but walk in the forest at the same time.
Related article on luxuo.com
Caviarteria: kitsch or kingly?
March 16, 2009
Check out this new caviarteria, which comes in a (kind of) sturgeon form and with its ridge open for the caviar. This presentoir is made of sterling silver and its interior has a 24k guilded interior. Supposedly it is handycrafted from italian silversmiths and it takes about 6 months to create one. So, orders with anticipation might be advisable…
If interested, ask for a Mr. Kelvin Sasha (Tel: 0062-61-7687310 ).
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