Acadia doesn’t just refer to the famous national park that draws many tourists to Maine each summer. It also describes a culture that is specific to the “Acadian” region of Maine — a region that is not near Acadia National Park and not on the coast, but rather inland along the Upper Valley of the St. John River. This region is named for the descendants of the early French settlers who were known as “Acadiens” (from the French “Acadie”). These settlers brought with them a number of cultural traditions, many of which still persist. One of these is the celebration of food. And while the Acadian region of Maine is not coastal like the park, some of the traditional dishes feature Maine seafood.

Every culture seems to have its version of stew or chowder. In Acadian cuisine, the traditional stew is known as “fricot” for the French word for feast. In fact, “Au frico!” translates roughly to “Let’s eat!” The stew includes a variety of staple Maine root vegetables like potatoes and carrots along with some type of protein. Sometimes this is chicken or beef — and sometimes it is seafood.

I was recently introduced to an “Acadian Seafood Fricot” as a way to showcase Maine seafood at a culinary event for university chefs. This version included a luscious array of scallops, lobster, mussels and steamer clams, and was created by Chef Rob Dumas. The samples of this fricot were even topped by tiny, little, buckwheat pancakes known as ployes. Buckwheat is an abundant crop along the St. John’s River Valley, and so ployes are another traditional Acadian food. The Acadian Seafood Fricot was served as part of a display at the vendor trade show put together by the Maine Seafood Promotion Council, an initiative funded by a Domestic Trade grant from the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. Their mission is “to advance the Maine seafood brand and expand sales, strengthening Maine’s overall economy through the responsible use of the state’s natural resources.” The goal in attending this event was to introduce more chefs to the versatility and abundance of delicious Maine seafood species in hopes that they might find ways to source more seafood from Maine in their food service.

As is often the case, highlighting the cultural heritage of a dish along with including fresh, local ingredients is a way to draw people’s attention. While this recipe focused on a culture based in Maine, fricot certainly isn’t the first recipe that comes to many people’s minds when thinking of how to prepare Maine seafood. But it is one of many of the innumerable ways to creatively prepare and utilize the great variety that we are lucky to have in Maine.

Susan Olcott is the director of strategic partnerships at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.