Crab ice cream on Quebec chef's menu gets sweet reviews

A chef in Quebec's Lower St.Lawrence region is dishing up snow crab ice cream in an effort to show off the sweeter side of theseafood.

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For a week now, the restaurant Le Sang Royal in Rimouskihas been offering up a gin cake topped with crab ice cream, gin foam and a piece of crab. The dish goes for$13.

"We wanted to create something that would break the mold of a product that is just for a family dinner or a gathering," said chef PhilippeTrpanier.

"We consider it to be as noble as the famous truffle in Italy or champagne or caviar" says chef, Philippe Trpanier.

The gin used in the recipe is a limited edition gin made with St.Lawrence River Algae distilled locally.

People like it

Trpanier says people have described the dish as being "weirdly good" to "awesome" to even "divine."

"I think everybody is new to that kind of taste, having crab served in a sweet manner" he says.

Shirley-Ann Gleeson tried the crab ice cream the night it became available on the menu.

"[I was] very very surprised," Gleeson said. "It was very very excellent."

She says the natural sweet and salty-ness of the crab made it melt in her mouth, she felt the flavours were well balanced.

Crab festival

Trpanier says he hopes there willone day be a snow crab festival in Rimouski, similar to other festivals world wide where a local product is celebrated when it's in season.

"That's what the crab deserves" he says.

Le Sang Royal says it will be serving the gin cake and crab ice cream as long as the key ingredients are available.