The East Coast is kicking off season two of Chef Over Your Shoulder has officially begun, and we could not think of a better way to kick it off than with lobster rolls, fish and chips, questionable road-trip decisions and a few very strong opinions about scallops.
Or is it “scollops?”
You will have to listen to the episode and decide for yourself.
For our first episode back, we are getting out of the kitchen and heading to the east coast. This summer, Jody travelled through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick while Kirstie explored Newfoundland with her family. What began as two very different trips quickly became two very similar food adventures, both filled with roadside stops, local stories and meals we are still thinking about.
Welcome Back to Chef Over Your Shoulder!
Before we get into the lobster, we need to say how excited we are to be back for season two.
When we started Chef Over Your Shoulder with Amy Schlueter, we knew we wanted it to feel less like a scripted cooking show and more like a conversation between friends. By the end of season one, that is exactly what it had become. We begin each episode with a title, press record and see where the stories take us.
There were plenty of favourite moments from our first season, from cookbook memories and family kitchen disasters to turkey triumphs and the meals that shaped us. Kirstie even listened to the season again during an eight-hour solo road trip and caught herself laughing out loud in the car. We are choosing to take that as a five-star review and not as the podcast equivalent of a rock star listening to their own album.
Season two will bring more honest kitchen conversations, more practical cooking advice and, if Amy has anything to say about it, more homework.
First, a Little Summer Homework
Amy began the new season by reporting back on the homemade spinach dip from our potluck episode. She found the water chestnuts, remembered to thaw the frozen spinach eventually and discovered just how much water can hide inside one little frozen package.
Her emergency thawing method involved setting the spinach outside on a hot July day. We would not necessarily call that classic culinary technique, but the dip was chilled, the guests loved it and Amy’s daughter became a spinach dip convert. Homework complete.
Then it was time to talk about the real subject of the episode: exploring Canada’s East Coast through food.
Jody’s Search for the Perfect Lobster Roll
Jody’s trip to the East coast with a focus on Nova Scotia began with a family wedding, a 20-hour drive and a lobster T-shirt that was perhaps a little too warm for a 36°C rehearsal party. It also sparked a mission to find a truly memorable lobster roll.
Her first came from the Halifax waterfront. It was packed with large pieces of lobster and cost $35, which worked out to roughly $10 per bite once the family started asking for tastes. It was delicious, but once Jody knew there were more lobster rolls out there, the search was on.
The best discoveries came away from the busy waterfront.
At Maya’s Fish & Chips, a tiny spot tucked beside a gas station between Mahone Bay and the turnoff to Peggy’s Cove, the lobster roll was wonderfully simple: a warm buttered bun, one crisp piece of Boston lettuce and generous chunks of cold lobster. Nothing fussy and nothing competing with the ingredient everyone came for.
Later, a quick stop at Skipper Jack’s in Moncton became a full takeout feast. There was a classic cold lobster roll, a warm lobster roll with lobster poached in butter and a rich seafood chowder that did not use potatoes as camouflage. The warm roll was essentially a full lobster dinner tucked into a bun, with none of the cracking, digging or flying shell fragments.
The lesson was simple: when you are travelling, follow the roadside signs. Especially in the East coast. A gas station, a shack and a parking-lot lunch can be very promising clues.
What Makes a Great Lobster Roll?
The best lobster rolls did not need much:
- Fresh lobster in generous pieces
- A soft bun toasted with butter
- Crisp lettuce for a little freshness and texture
- Just enough dressing, if any, to hold things together
When the lobster is fresh, simplicity wins. You do not need to bury it in mayonnaise or load the bun with extras. Let the lobster taste like lobster.
Kirstie’s Newfoundland Food Adventure
Kirstie’s East Coast trip to Newfoundland was longer and a little more intentional, although some of the best moments still came from abandoning the plan and seeing where the road led.
One of the first lessons came during a food tour in St. John’s: in Newfoundland, cod is fish and fish is cod. There is no need to ask which kind.
The trip happened just as the recreational cod fishery opened, and the excitement was everywhere. Boats were heading out, families were bringing in their catch and fresh cod was appearing on plates across the province. At the Duke of Duckworth, hidden down an alley in St. John’s, Kirstie found some of the best fish and chips of the trip.
Again, it was the kind of place you could easily walk past. That became a theme.
On a day trip toward Ferryland, the family stopped at the Squid Jigger, a roadside restaurant with signs advertising moose burgers, lobster rolls and fish and chips. Inside, it felt local, lively and completely unpolished in the best way. Elsewhere, a small cardboard arrow pointing toward fish and chips was reason enough to turn the car.
If you wait for every restaurant to have the perfect website, polished Instagram account and carefully styled menu, you may miss the meal you talk about for years.
Sometimes the Best Stop Is Not About the Food
Not every memorable place served a meal.
After leaving a more polished restaurant in Quidi Vidi, Kirstie and her family noticed a sign for Linda’s Inn, a tiny bar filled from floor to ceiling with decades of memorabilia. They went in for a drink and ended up talking with people from Listowel, Ontario, finding connections to home more than 2,000 kilometres away.
They left with stories, new friends and a cold beer. Sometimes that is exactly what a great travel stop is supposed to give you.
The people became as important as the food throughout both trips. A wedding guest in Nova Scotia offered Jody a place to stay on her next visit. Tour guides shared local traditions. Strangers offered directions, stories and pronunciation lessons. The meals opened the door, but the people made the experience.
A Newfoundland Beach Boil-Up
One of Kirstie’s most memorable days was a beach boil-up with Waldera Tours. Their guide, Shelby, introduced the group to edible plants growing along the shore and explained how local ingredients could be used in salads, syrups and simple home remedies.
Then came mussels steamed over an open fire with herbs gathered from the land. They were served with plain white vinegar from an old-fashioned glass shaker, a combination so simple and so good that Kirstie came home wanting one of those vinegar bottles for her own kitchen.
There was also Newfoundland charcuterie: cheese, pickles and meat threaded onto a stick. We admire any place confident enough to look at a skewer and say, “That’s the board.”
The boil-up captured everything we loved about these trips. The setting was beautiful, but the experience was not about making food complicated. It was about paying attention to what was around us, listening to someone who knew the land and sharing something delicious outside.
What Travel Teaches Us About Cooking
Cooking is never only about following a recipe. It is connected to history, geography, climate, language and the people who pass techniques from one generation to the next.
Travelling reminds us to be curious. Take a food tour early in your trip. Ask a local where they eat. Follow the handmade sign. Stop at the place beside the gas station. Try the ingredient the region is proud of, and resist the urge to cover it up with too much stuff.
Most importantly, leave a little room in the plan. Reservations have their place, but so do detours.
We came home inspired to work on the kind of light, crisp fried-fish batter we enjoyed out east, and Jody is already plotting a proper lobster roll road-trip guide. We may also have discovered a new recurring podcast segment: Out of the Kitchen, where we share what food teaches us whenever one of us travels.
Considering Kirstie once drove 75 minutes for an apple fritter, we should have no shortage of material.
Listen to the Season Two Premiere
In this episode, we talk about the best lobster rolls, Newfoundland fish and chips, beachside mussels, moose burgers, travel mistakes, regional pronunciation and why some of the best meals are found in places you nearly drove past.
Listen to East Coast Kitchen Party, the season two premiere of Chef Over Your Shoulder, wherever you get your podcasts.
