Deon Harrigan is Antigua’s most well known cockle picker. He offers a professional cockle picking service, and supplies Antigua’s finest resorts with this little known local delicacy. The family business was started in the 1970s by Deon’s parents, who used to pick cockles for scrumptious weekend feasts in their local neighbourhood. As the family business grew they started to supply locally run restaurants such as Millers by the Sea and Russell’s Fort James with cockles for their menus. Some local cockle dishes include cockle water, a tasty seafood broth, hearty seafood pasta and seafood rice.
Mangrove thickets are an essential component of our tropical coastlines for many reasons. Deon explains,“The mangroves protect the shorelines from erosion caused by hurricanes; they shelter fish and filter pollution. All our cockle collecting is done by using hands and feet only. No spades or other tools are used.” It takes Deon a few hours of mud stomping, toe picking work to collect enough cockles for a commercial client. Once the cockles have been collected they are washed, sorted and bagged for delivery.
To see where your food’s really coming from go cockle picking with a chef. Executive Chef Dezi Banhan has introduced cockle picking as a guest experience at the Hermitage Bay resort. He invites curious guests to wade through the mangroves in search of that night’s seafood dinner.
Things to bear in mind when cockle picking: Minimize your impact on all the other marine species that share the mangroves, by not disturbing their habitat. Minimize the effect of your visit. Don’t litter, trample or chop down the mangrove forest. Don’t disturb juvenile cockles give, them time to grow to adult size. Use sustainable harvesting methods - which means use only your feet and hands to harvest cockles.
Order cockles from Deon Harrington, on: (268) 782 1299 www.foodanddrink-caribbean.com
Deon has since taken the family business on to greater heights, offering his freshly dug cockles to the island’s luxury resorts for a new take on island fare. Deon says, “People who come from abroad don’t want to eat what they eat at home, they want to see and taste authentic Antiguan food. Serving local cockles on the menu cuts down on imported seafood which has travelled maybe thousands of miles to arrive on someone’s plate. Cockles are not seasonal and can be collected pretty much all year round.”
with your toes. Unfortunately, I don’t think I was his best pupil and spent most of my lesson trying to keep my balance. We did, however, manage to collect enough for a small delicious meal.
cockle picking
Cockle picking can be great fun, and you don’t need a boat, a net or a rod for the sport. All you need are a pair of bare feet, a bucket and a professional cockle picker to show you how. Low tech, low impact and absolutely delicious!
I was offered a short lesson in how to feel out the cockles underfoot 79