All language subtitles for Caviar.Dreams.2017.720p.WEB_Eng

You know, it was almost
like something mythical,

like nectar of the gods.

It just conjured up a
whole different world

that wasn't my little suburban
corner of the universe.

I think a lot of
people like me had

this romantic
notion of eating it,

but never had that opportunity.

So I had actually
tasted caviar on a date,

and that was really
my first time,

and it was pretty incredible,
at least as far as I remember.

It was just a very sensual,
pleasurable experience.

And I don't think
I had caviar again

until I became the correspondent
for The Inquirer in Moscow.

In Russia, I was buying a kilo
of caviar every two weeks.

I was eating it probably
every single day.

And, of course, when I was
doing my research for my book,

I was forced to eat
a lot of caviar.

I will say, since
I've written the book,

and since caviar has become more
expensive and harder to find,

I only eat it on
special occasions.

I think maybe I'm a
recovering addict.

I've developed a taste
for caviar over the years,

and I've been doing
this 40 years now.

And even after 40 years,
every time you eat it, is it's

like you're opening it for
the first time, in a way.

Want some, Rosie?

Come on.

Just try it.

It won't kill you.

I mean, I like it
but it won't kill ya.

People come in here
wanting caviar.

They know that it's
expensive and they

know if they can
afford it they've

reached that level of affluence
or status or whatever.

And then they'll open it
up and they'll taste it,

and they'll hate it.

Let's see.

The first time I tried caviar,
I probably had a spoonful

and said, yeah, so?

I mean, it was tasty and good.

But you can't just take
one bite of it and go.

It tastes salty and fishy.

Part of the whole enjoyment of
eating caviar is to savor it.

So this is a Siberian caviar.

Siberian sturgeon.

So this would be true caviar?

This is all true caviar.

Caviar has to be from
sturgeon, the fish sturgeon,

otherwise it's fish eggs or roe.

I just find that people don't
really know what caviar is.

And it's harder
to get these days

than it used to be because
of the diminishment

of the population.

Sturgeon are, of course,
fished mainly for their caviar,

or roe, although the
flesh is enjoyable, too.

Experts claim that the
bigger ones may attain

an age of 200 to 300 years.

Known in Western Europe
since the 16th century,

caviar today is still
a luxury, and giving,

whether you like the stuff or
not, that millionaire feeling.

[MUSIC - CHARLEY DREW, "CAVIAR
COMES FROM VIRGIN STURGEON"]

Caviar comes from virgin sturgeon

Virgin sturgeon is
a very fine fish

Virgin sturgeon needs no urging

That's why caviar is my dish

I would describe them as
looking like swimming dinosaurs.

They look like a cross
between a shark, an alligator,

and a fish.

The first time I had caviar,
I didn't know what to think.

I was a little nervous
about trying it.

So I ate it and it
was interesting.

The consumption of caviar was
built upon the ability to say,

I can afford caviar,
therefore I'm special.

Sturgeon were harvested
quite extensively for caviar

to the point where they
are really threatened.

Their existence is
threatened tremendously.

And that has now grown to the
extent where you would not

find any wild harvested caviar.

It's nearly all from a
sustainably farmed sturgeon.

I guess we make a joke that fish
are not warm, furry, and fuzzy,

and they don't squeal.

A personal attachment,
I would say,

is probably a bit of a stretch.

That part right there'll
tear you up somethin'.

I just kind of hold
it at this end,

take the other hand
and... break em loose

Here you go.

You know, because caviar
is seen as such a delicacy,

such a desirable commodity, we
forget that it wasn't always

something that people liked.

Originally it was seen
as a food of the poor.

It was really almost a sacred
food for Orthodox Christians.

Sturgeon became the meat they
ate on the meatless days.

And if you were poor,
you would eat the eggs,

which was second best.

But over time, foods of
the poor become very much

embedded in the local culture
and something they celebrated.

Because it's for
royalty, the czars,

it's got that mystique
and eliteness to it

that almost nothing else has.

But because of all its
popularity over time now,

sturgeon, in general,
has become overfished.

Sturgeon, they range throughout
the entire northern hemisphere,

but gradually the range
of the fish contracted.

In the early '90s, there
essentially was a stop, a ban,

put on the continued
unregulated, unlimited harvest

of caviar.

At that time in
the Caspian region,

everyone became a poacher.

This is a fish that takes a
very long time to reproduce.

It's very fragile.

When you catch a
spawning female sturgeon,

you not only kill
that fish, but you

kill all future possibilities.

And that's why we're seeing
the growth of sturgeon farming,

because that's the
most sustainable way

to continue producing caviar.

I never thought I'd be
doing this, that's for sure.

I've only been
here eight months.

I'll be here three years
this coming year in May.

You get differences
with each fish.

People don't want to find
any blood, any white eggs,

they want it pretty
consistently,

just straight caviar.

It does have a unique taste.

The roll of the
eggs on your tongue,

the way they detonate
on your tongue.

It's all about the feel
of it in your mouth.

Some caviar may
have an earthy tone.

It tastes like fish.

How much do you think
something like that would cost?

Um, $1?

$5 to $10.

I'm not that good
at math, but yeah.

A lot of fish and wildlife
and customs officials

would tell me that
by weight, caviar

was more valuable than cocaine.

I don't know what
you're talking about.

It's not actually
the same conversion.

As it became more
and more expensive,

it began to be packaged in
smaller and smaller containers,

you know.

So it began to be treated more
and more as this incredibly

rare and desirable commodity.

A lot of people will
never eat caviar

because they just can't
afford it, simple as that,

so they never have
that experience.

It's something that I
would eat if presented.

Would I go and spend hundreds
and hundreds of dollars

on a small quantity?

Probably not.

Yes, this is $70,000 worth
of fish eggs in Russia.

Outside the country, it could
be worth up to three times that.

And it's going, going gone.

If you took all the
caviar in the world

and put it in a
big bucket, there's

not enough to go around
for everybody at all.

Jesus Christ.

What

You're really going to
town on that caviar.

It's the best caviar
they could possibly get.

It's unbelievable.

What am I going to
do, pass this up?

I think you're going over your
allotment a little bit, no?

My allotment?

We think we can have
this global culture.

We think we can eat anything
at any time of the year

and that it'll have
no consequences.

This was never meant to
be a mass market food,

but it was meant to be
the ultimate local food.

You're looking for more
caviar, aren't you?

Of course I am.

You took all mine.

That was ours.

If there's a
demand, then why not

satisfy that with a
population of sturgeon

that you can sustain,
rather than not produce them

and affect the wild population?

As much as we love to talk
about the luxury of it

and what a delicacy it
is and how to eat it,

all these rich feelings we
have about it as a food,

it's also hard to
disassociate those feelings

from the environmental
impact of what we're doing.

This story does not surprise us.

We would only expect the best
for Donald Trump's pampered son

Barron.

When it comes to skin
care, he uses his mom's

caviar-enhanced skin care line.

She tells ABC News, I put
it on him from head to toe.

He likes it.

On a different note,
cops in Saint Pete's have

seized a large stash of
caviar from a morgue.

175 kilos of the
delicacy were being

stored in fridges and coffins
together with dead bodies.

A local undertaker who rents
out space at the morgue,

together with a surgeon,
has been arrested.

The undertaker says the caviar
was meant for a staff New Years

party.

Can you say I want more please?

I want more please.

I want more caviar.