POULSBO — As he finished his final helping at First Lutheran’s 94th annual lutefisk dinner Saturday, a big smile came across Glenn Haskins’ face.

“It’s very good this year,” Haskins said, adding that the Norwegian delicacy served at the event has improved over the years. “I think the fish has gotten better.”

Haskins would know, too. As a lifelong Poulsbo resident, the lutefisk dinner has been a part of his life for more than eight decades, he said.

While the signature dish’s popularity had those in attendance hooked, another recent change to the event has been welcomed. The event’s reservation system now ensures diners eat at a set time instead of waiting for space to become available, he said.

“We used to have to wait for hours to eat,” Haskins said, noting that despite the changes, and since the days the dinner was held in the church’s social hall, one thing has remained constant: “I look forward to it.”

The event has been the place where many people get their first taste of lutefisk, said Haskins’ wife, Isabel.

“Our son-in-law tried it one year and said it tasted like lobster, but he hasn’t been back since,” she said.

However, her husband could and would eat lutefisk every day if he had the chance, she said.

While the Haskins were veterans of the event, Miss Poulsbo 2006 Brenna Gardner-Brown attended for the first time Saturday.

“It’s been great seeing all the people here,” Garnder-Brown said. “It’s a wonderful event.”

The dinner is one of the things that makes Poulsbo truly Poulsbo, and as Miss Poulsbo, Garnder-Brown said the reception she received at the event was nothing short of amazing.

“I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m excited to try it,” Gardner-Brown said of the lye-soaked cod.

Saturday found Chuck Weaver back in the company of his fellow fishcutters, including Bob Hawkinson and lutefisk cooks Curt Serwold, Bryan Edgren and Glenn Anderson.

“I got started in ‘92 or ‘93 peeling potatoes,” Weaver said. “Then they needed someone to do fishcutting.”

After hearing that cutting the lutefisk into serving-sized pieces was truly a “horrible” task, Weaver said he decided to give it a try.

“It’s one of those jobs nobody really wants, but somebody has to do it,” he said.

Now, after more than 10 years at the cutting table, Weaver said he looks forward to spending the day with his fellow slicers instead of peeling potatoes.

Even though many of the volunteers at the event have set duties each year, Dale Anderson has become a jack-of-all trades. Saturday found him busy washing dishes.

“I’ve been doing it off and on. I do what I can,” Anderson said.