For the best scallops, visit us

Readers of The Independent, a major newspaper in the United Kingdom, got a passionate introduction last week to an unheralded part of Nova Scotia—the Digby area.

In a travel piece that ran to almost 3,000 words, author Noah Richler suggested that visitors from the UK might look beyond the regular attractions of Cape Breton, with its spectacular Cabot Trail. As well as Lunenburg and neighbouring Chester on the province's South Shore.

“The less glamorous port of Digby, on the backside of the southern part of Nova Scotia, is easily bypassed. Yet the town and the surrounding territory offer not only striking landscapes but an equally storied heritage,” wrote Richler, who is the author of 'This is My Country, What's Yours: A Literary Atlas of Canada', and is the winner of this year's B.C. Award for Canadian Non-Fiction.

Richler, son of Canadian literary giant Modecai Richler, was introduced to this area several years ago when he visited a cabin belonging to a friend (now his wife), situated in Sandy Cove.

“It was a part of Canada I did not know at all, and have since come singularly to appreciate.”

His story in The Independent includes a look at the region’s varied cultures and heritage, its geography, its restaurants and its artisans.

But Richler is especially taken by the fresh Digby scallops.

Last summer, he notes, Digby's scallops became hard to find because so many were shipped to Japan or directly to the kitchens of exclusive restaurants.

“But let me tell you, no matter how good these eateries are, no matter how exorbitant the price you pay, there is no way the scallops will smell and taste as fine as they do in Digby, at Lavina's or at Chez Christophe. Some foods must be travelled for.”