'Eat the problem!' Chef wants Louisiana to cook more carp, nutria and invasive species

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“You see? Incredible!” Parola says of his invasive carp dish, which he serves with a creamy crawfish sauce and sauteed greens. “This fish is a big problem, but it’s food, man!

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The French-born chef and food operations consultant has become an evangelist for “invasivorism.” It’s a simple idea: eat invasive species into oblivion or at least somewhere close to submission. He recently self-published a book, “Can’t Beat ‘Em, Eat ‘Em!,” that has dozens of recipes for more than 40 invasive plants and animals.

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The snakehead recently slithered into Louisiana, making its first appearance this summer in a Concordia Parish lake, but Parola is already crafting recipes to combat its spread.

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All the nutria gobbling up coastal wetlands? Stew ’em. The feral hogs ripping up forests? Grind ’em into sausage. The carp crowding out native fish? Don’t even get Parola started. By his estimation, Louisiana could feed all of its poor and hungry, slash the costs of school lunch programs, and put the unemployed to work catching and processing vast quantities of the terrifyingly plentiful fish.

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“We always talk about problems and think of expensive solutions,” he said. “But with this, the solution is simple and it is free. You just eat it.”

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