It’s not just the catfish industry that has been hurt by cheap imports and a sagging economy. Peter Brave’s shrimp farm venture, Brave New Shrimp, is officially no more. “For three years I gave it my all”, says Brave, “but I guess that wasn’t enough”. And ‘gave it his all’, he certainly did. Brave and his partners raised hormone and antibiotic free shrimp in the most eco-friendly way possible. The end product was considered superior but it was also expensive: two pounds was $25.99, according to the website. Brave blames the demise of his shrimp business on the high cost of maintaining the ponds, coupled with the fact that most people, too often, chose the cheaper (albeit lesser quality) shrimp grown on huge farms and imported from places like Vietnam and Malaysia.
Lucky for us, Brave New Restaurant is still in full gear. In fact, Mr. Brave told me today that he has just brought in a truck load of really great peaches. They are making peach sorbet, peaches in puff pastry, and who knows what else? This is Peter Brave we’re talking about! No telling what he’s up to, but you can bet it will be good.