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New Brunswick tourism officials enlisted a high-profile chef to hand out 1,200 free lobster rolls on Wednesday, in an attempt to impress out-of-province tourists.

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Jesse Vergen, an executive chef at the Saint John Ale House who placed fourth in the latest Top Chef Canada competition, lent his recipe to the event, and was on hand when officials surprised tourists with the free lunch at Parlee Beach Provincial Park.

The event cost less than $20,000 — part of a push to boost visits to provincial parks.

“Tourism in New Brunswick isn’t lagging,” said tourism ministry spokeswoman Jane Matthews-Clark. “This was just a cool idea.”

By holding the marketing stunt during a weekday at the crowded beach outside Moncton, the event was most likely to target vacationers, Mr. Vergen said, adding that news of the giveaway reached thousands more on social media.

“It’s awesome to see the province taking a new look at how to show people that we’re about food, we’re about local flavours,” Mr. Vergen said, guessing that “a couple hundred” lobsters were sacrificed for the cause.

The sandwiches used locally sourced lobster and came with New Brunswick’s Covered Bridge Kettle Chips. The rolls lasted for no more than “a few short hours,” Ms. Matthews-Clark said.