Volunteers help serve 500 pounds of lutefisk at Stillwater church
STILLWATER, Minn. — There's nothing fishy about what's happening here.
In the basement of Christ Lutheran Church, Mark Rossi is in his element. He's cooking up 500 pounds of lutefisk.
"It's a very, very, maligned product. I feel it gets a bad rap," said Rossi. "When it's cooked correctly, you can get some really nice fish."
For 25 bucks, the church is offering all-you-can-eat lutefisk, a tradition that goes back nearly 100 years.
"The tradition, that they grew up with it, there's so many different stories about kids that grew up with lutefisk," said Rossi.
For people like Roger Josephson, this annual event is a family affair.
"Our mother lived to be 103. I don't think she ever did Christmas Eve without having lutefisk, all those years," said Josephson.
Dave Bailey, another long-time lutefisk lover, told us how this event is rooted in tradition for him.
"My folks used to make it when I grew up when I was a kid, my other two siblings won't touch it with a ten foot pole, but for some reason, I love it," said Bailey.
Sure, it's plenty of fish to cook in just one day, but as Rossi says, that's why "you leave your clothes outside the door."
"This is a party to me. I've been here all week. This is just a lot of fun," said Rossi. "Maybe I don't get out much, whatever."
All proceeds from the lutefisk dinner will go towards local nonprofits.