Putting the lobsters in Lobster Fest

Cooking fresh lobster and serving it to a crowd is a challenge in any circumstance, but doing it in a land-locked state like Colorado state adds another level of difficulty. Luckily for organizers of the inaugural Niwot Lobster Fest, a leading expert in bringing tasty crustaceans to local tables has lived right up the street for more than two decades.

"I'm from the Boston area, and I came to the University of Colorado School of Business and never left," Paul Packer, Niwot resident and owner of Northeast Seafood Products said. "I hooked up with one of my two partners in college, and then we started the business right after, in 1980. So we've been bringing fresh seafood to Colorado for more than 40 years, and that in itself is a challenge."

Getting more than 200 live lobsters to Whistle Stop Park in time for the July 31 reboot of the famed Niwot Lobster Bash certainly presented its share of challenges for Packer and his company, starting with the seafood market in general. Supply chain disruptions and a tight labor market spurred by the pandemic have caused wholesale prices to surge this summer, making premium seafood even more costly than usual.

"Lobster prices are at record highs, king crab prices are at record highs, snow crab prices are at record highs," Packer said. "They're more expensive than I've seen in my lifetime, and I've been eating lobster for 50-plus years."

So finding a supply of tasty lobster that didn't break the NBA's fixed budget was the first challenge. Packer ultimately selected a Canadian hard-shelled lobster. "They're the best lobsters we can buy this time of year...and I know these will be nice and sweet and delicious."

The second was getting those hard-shelled lobsters from the ocean to Niwot with as few stops as possible, also without breaking the budget. Packer said that was another reason for selecting the hard-shells, which have a high "survival rate," during shipping.

Packer opted to have the lobsters sent directly to Niwot from his supplier, rather than bringing them to his facility's holding tank. So, early on Friday morning in Hampton, N.H., 222 live lobsters were packed into airtight containers, then overnighted to Niwot Market.

"Each lobster has its own individual compartment, so they're not piled on top of one another," Packer said. "The only thing we don't do is pipe in any Mozart."

All told, the lobster's journey from the North Atlantic to a boiling pot in Whistle Stop Park took 30-36 hours. Any delay in that process would have jeopardized the lobster's quality, so Packer wanted to keep things straightforward. "That way nothing can go wrong," he said.

The final challenge was seeing to it that the lobsters were handled properly once in the hands of the NBA's volunteer Lobster Fest cooks. For that, Packer put on his New England native hat, and gave the attentive but inexperienced crew a quick lesson in boiling and cracking. ("Two in the pot for 8-10 minutes.").

But he stopped short of agreeing to supervise them during the Lobster Fest, despite entreaties from organizers.

"There is not enough good wine at Tom's liquor store for me to work the event," he joked.

He didn't need to, as it turned out. Despite the soggy weather, Niwot's revamped community lobster boil was a smashing success with the guests, and the food was especially "delicious" according to at least one attendee.

Which is no surprise to Packer. He's spent more than 40 years combating the myth that good seafood is hard to find in Colorado, and is always happy to claim another convert.

"It's great to get compliments from people who travel the world and eat our seafood and say they've never had anything better. ... We pride ourselves in really bringing quality products to Colorado and beyond."