A lonely seagull is squawking offshore as a solitary fishing boat bobs on the horizon. Light fog softly hugs the rocky shoreline as the current brings the usually tempestuous North Atlantic, notorious for its blustery ways, to gently lap at the quiet cove’s shores. A rare placid breeze is carrying the crisp, slightly acerbic scent of kelp and sea spray across the bay, punctuating the wholesome notes of fresh cod “boil up” wafting from the scal-lop-shell bowl cupped in my hands. Chef, forager, educator, outdoorsperson and cultural food ambassador Lori McCarthy is zigzagging purposefully across the smooth, element-worn pebbles pointing here, cutting there, stuffing the fruits of our labours into small canvas pouches dangling from her utility belt. Slicing deftly, she opens her palm to show me the tiniest pod of peas and a shock of purple: “Beach peas!”
I’m in Canada’s tenth and easternmost province, Newfoundland and Labrador, a vast and sparsely populated land known for its unique history, quirky wildlife and rugged
