Calgary Stampede: Come for the rodeo, stay for the bug-covered ice cream
| Calgary, Alberta
When the teenager scooping ice cream for his summer job at Monster Cones suggests chocolate chip cookie dough or Moose Tracks, it鈥檚 not for the flavors.
鈥淚 recommend something chunkier,鈥� he tells the group earnestly. 鈥淭o mask the bugs.鈥�
If they were wary at that point, it gets worse when their sundae 鈥� rocky road served in a homemade waffle cup 鈥� arrives, and there is no mistaking the toppings for nuts or diced marshmallows. 鈥淲e have silkworm here, we have grasshoppers over there, and this guy on top is a June beetle.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Weird, deep-fried midway food is nothing new for state fairs. But how did the Calgary Stampede go from that sort of fare to lemonade full of edible flowers, an octopus on a stick, and bug-covered ice cream?
Most of the tour steps back. But Calgary resident Brian Lokhorst spoons up the giant black bug 鈥� the 鈥渃herry鈥� atop the 鈥淢onster Bug Bowl鈥� 鈥� with a generous helping of ice cream. He puts the whole thing in his mouth, chewing slowly while the group shrieks, and then he swallows as bystanders look at him with awe, before breaking into hearty applause.
Welcome to the latest spectacle of the Calgary Stampede, the annual rodeo that celebrates Canadian prairie culture and bills itself as the 鈥淕reatest Outdoor Show on Earth.鈥�
In a 10-day fair that traces its roots to the 1886 Calgary Exhibition, invented as a forum of exchange for western agricultural practice, extreme eating has become part of Stampede culture, alongside the rodeo, free pancake breakfasts, and chuck wagon races.
A decade ago, James Radke, the manager of midway operations, says the food available to Stampede visitors fell into two categories:聽traditional fair treats like mini-donuts or candy apples, and聽standard summer foods like hot dogs.
But he says the Food Network and the burgeoning foodie movement inspired him beyond the usual fried fare, and the Stampede joined the race toward over-the-top foods. They started with simple fusions that are still on display today, like bacon pancakes or funnel cake pizza.
And it鈥檚 gotten wilder ever since, turning into a 鈥淔ear Factor鈥�-esque rite of passage that fits perfectly with the spirit of barrel racing and steer wrestling. 鈥淧eople started to egg each other on,鈥� says Mr. Radke. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 when it all started, when food became a sport.鈥�
It鈥檚 now become a 鈥渢hing,鈥� says Calgary food writer Gwendolyn Richards. She聽approaches the new foods list published prior to Stampede each year with equal anticipation and dread. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 wait to see what insane concoctions the vendors have come up with,鈥� she says. But when she鈥檚 asked to be an official judge, like this year, 鈥渋t means I have to put some of those things in my mouth.鈥�
Sometimes the quest for novelty creates a dish surprisingly tasty, like 鈥淭he Pickle Pizza.鈥� Tristan Ukmar, whose family created the pie with Mr.聽Radke鈥檚 input, says they experimented in the months before Stampede with various bases, from pesto to pickled olive oil. They settled on a dill ranch dressing, covered in mozzarella cheese and slices of pickles in the place of pepperoni. 鈥淢y mom is eating a slice a day,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he never eats pizza.鈥�
Mr. Radke says the midway has witnessed five years of falling pizza sales, but this year he suspects that trend is over.
The food tour, named 鈥淭ake a Bite Outta Stampede鈥� and available to the general public this year, stops at a stall selling fried artichoke hearts 鈥� even here in 鈥淐owtown鈥� the vegetarian movement is gaining ground, tour guide Lisa Conboy says 鈥� and at a lemonade stand that is offering an exquisitely prepared version with edible flowers. We stop at a dumpling truck, whose signature dish this year is a lobster-filled wonton with truffle mayo and a side of lobster tail encrusted in edible gold.
But it鈥檚 the extreme items, typically on offer just a year before being retired for new inventions, that generate the most chatter. There鈥檚 the 鈥淥cto Lolly,鈥� literally an octopus on a stick, and the spicy 鈥淐herry Bomb Pizza,鈥� which seems tame enough until the popping candy and maraschino cherries are added.
There are deep-fried chicken skins and chicken hearts on a stick聽鈥� influenced by Asian foods that Mr. Radke says are hot this summer. There鈥檚 also a craze for all things dill, hence pickle cotton candy and pickle ice cream served in a cone with a pickle sticking out.
The food tour stops at聽Big CoCo鈥檚 Corndogs, made famous last year by their 鈥淭ornado,鈥� a hot-dog-stuffed pickle with a deep-fried tortilla exterior.
鈥淒elicious,鈥� says Scott Dennis, who conceived of the item. 鈥淪o then we thought, 鈥楨veryone loves chocolate. Let鈥檚 throw some chocolate in there.鈥欌��
And that鈥檚 the genesis behind this year鈥檚 鈥�,鈥� which Mr. Dennis admits is less about the deep-fried hot dog-pickle-Snickers combination. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the out-there-ness,鈥� he says.
Indeed, Nancy Lokhorst seems to be his target audience. 鈥淚鈥檓 glad I tried it because it鈥檚 weird,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd I wanted to do something weird but that wasn鈥檛 disgusting.鈥�
Her husband is not so concerned about the disgusting part. Indeed, the 鈥淢onster Bug Bowl鈥� is the most daring of the foods at the 2019 Calgary Stampede.
Monster Cones owner Mark Noble says they鈥檝e sold about 30 bug bowls a day. Customers either call it 鈥渘ot bad,鈥� he says, 鈥渙r they are dry-heaving as they eat it.鈥�
He and his staff have given their toppings a try and agree the bugs taste like sawdust. Mr. Lokhorst, understated in comparison to his feat, says the beetle tasted 鈥渘ot good鈥� and a little 鈥渓eggy.鈥�
There鈥檚 one person 鈥� besides this writer 鈥� who will have nothing to report back: Mr. Radke himself, the brainchild of the Stampede smorgasbord.
鈥淥h, I鈥檓 a traditionalist. I don鈥檛 even go near those foods,鈥� he says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a bratwurst with sauerkraut kind of guy.鈥�
