Reflections on a lifetime of traveling in search of great bivalves
When I was a kid, my father often took us to the beach and my brother and I would go around the point looking for oysters, chipping them off the rocks and opening them with a sharp stone. We would take them back to my father and watch in awe as he relished eating these odd-looking creatures.
It wasn’t just at the beach that he ate oysters. He frequented some of the oyster bars that once proliferated in Sydney and he always brought home oysters when he had a win on the races.
Initially when I saw him eat them at the beach I thought “yuck!’” But he ate with such gusto that I decided whatever it was, it must be pretty good. So, eventually and inevitably, I tried an oyster.
I was totally shucked and the world of oysters opened for me.
Oysters of the World
Oysters are grown all over the world. There are three main species: the Pacific or Japanese oyster, the Eastern or Atlantic, and the Olympia. There are many varieties (or subspecies) in thousands of locations.
These locations are often noteworthy as travel destinations. Along with many bars and restaurants that serve oysters, they provide the traveler with a way to focus their visit — not to mention a chance to sample and compare oysters.
When our timing is right, my wife and I have made a point of visiting oyster festivals in Australia, Ireland and North America. As we’ve discovered, apart from being good to eat, oysters can take you to unexpected places.
My Favorite Varieties
My favorite oysters are a variety known as Sydney Rock Oysters, grown mainly in river estuaries along Australia’s east coast. They’re especially good south of Sydney, along the Sapphire Coast Oyster Trail. These indigenous oysters have a briny, mineral, and umami flavor with a strong aftertaste.
I’m also partial to Pacific Oysters, which are generally bigger — plump, creamy, and sometimes with a hint of sweetness. They are an introduced variety in Australia, growing well in the colder southern waters of South Australia and Tasmania.
Pacific oysters are found in many countries. They are plentiful on the west coasts of Canada and the United States where, even though they are the same variety, they usually differ in taste from Australian Pacifics.
Vive la Différence
One of the fascinating things about oysters is that the same variety from different locations will taste different. This depends on the ratio of salt and fresh water, the type of plankton or algae the oyster consumes, water minerality, and other environmental factors.
This is why some locations are favored over others for particular varieties. South Australia’s Coffin Bay, for example, is highly regarded for Pacific Oysters, which usually means they are more expensive. Changing weather conditions can result in variations in size, quality, and even color, regardless of the location.
Just as terroir refers to all the elements that bestow wine with particular characteristics, the marine ecosystem creates a merroir for oysters. Nowhere is this more significant than in France, where there are appellations for oysters as well as wine.
I’ve tried the flat oysters of Brittany and the iodine-flavored oysters of Normandy. But my favorite location in France is Arcachon. This spectacularly beautiful holiday destination has four oyster farming areas and 23 oyster ports and villages within the bay.
Up to 70 percent of France’s oysters are grown in Arcachon Bay, originally the Gravette variety and now mostly the “Portuguese” variety. The bay is like a gigantic tidal lagoon. It is sheltered from the ocean, with fresh water flowing in from the Leyre River creating an ideal level of salinity.
In the Capital of Oysters
We visited the French bayside town of Gujan-Mestres, widely regarded as the “Capital of Oysters,” where there is an Oyster Museum and several oyster villages, including Port de Larros, the one we visited.
Here, as in other villages in the bay, you can buy direct from growers and do tastings at the rows of oyster huts along the promenade. Or you can visit restaurants and cafés specializing in oysters and prawns. Warm sunny days, a glass of Chablis, a dozen oysters, and views of the boats and sparkling waters are lasting and vivid memories.
If you visit Bordeaux, do go the extra 60 kilometers to Arcachon, not just for the oysters but also for the beautiful scenery and the beaches, including the largest sand dune in Europe.
If you are in Bordeaux on a Sunday morning, be sure to visit the Quai des Chartrons Market where you can enjoy freshly shucked Arcachon oysters while overlooking the Garonne River. (I recommend you also try the figs stuffed with foie gras; then your life will be complete.)
Serendipity Moments
One of the best oyster bars we have visited is La Boîte aux Huîtres in the Marché Jean-Talon in Montréal. This restaurant and shop sells more than 40 different oysters from as far afield as Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Virginia, Washington, Cape Cod, British Columbia, and Europe.
We sampled three of them. Irish Point, a small oyster from Prince Edward Island has a firm flesh, very salty with a slightly citrusy taste. Others included Caraquet, an excellent oyster from New Brunswick; and French Kiss, a large oyster from New Brunswick with an unusual sweet-salty taste. It’s a special experience to pull up a bar stool and watch the speed and precision of the shuckers as they open the oysters, which are on your plate minutes later.
Last year we had another of those “essence of life” experiences in the U.S. state of Washington. Taylor Shellfish Farm, on Chuckanut Drive south of Bellingham, offered a magical experience. The setting sun cast a golden light across the water to Lummi Island. We sampled plump Fat Bastards, Kusshi, and Shigoku oysters, all beautifully paired with a glass of Albarino.
A Festival of Flavor
In Canada, at Whistler’s first oyster festival at the Bearfoot Bistro in 2011, I stopped counting after eating four dozen oysters. Now part of the Cornucopia Festival, the Bearfoot Bistro World Oyster Invitational & Bloody Caesar Battle is held in the fall. The big attraction is an all-inclusive price for food, wine, and oysters, as well as the shucking competition.
Oyster festivals offer more than just a taste of oysters. They are a celebration of a place and its people, particularly those in the oyster industry.
We’ve been to festivals in Australia at glamorous locations such as Noosa, and more laid back places like Bribie Island and Stradbroke Island.
But my favorite is the Narooma Oyster Festival on the south coast of New South Wales, held every May. One of the world’s best oyster festivals, it features Sydney Rock oysters from the Sapphire Coast. With a great location, great food, great wines, great music and entertainment, cooking demonstrations, talks, and fireworks, it has it all.
Shucking Around
Oyster festivals will almost certainly have a shucking competition. If you’ve never seen one – and even if you have – it’s an event not to be missed.
At Narooma last year, Indigenous contestant Gerard “Doody” Dennis was crowned Australian Oyster Shucking Champion for shucking, cleaning, and presenting 30 rock oysters in two minutes 41 seconds. That’s about the time it takes me to eat one. The feat qualified him to compete at the World Oyster Opening Championships in Galway, Ireland.
Held every September since 1954, the Galway International Oyster and Seafood Festival is thought to be the oldest in the world. On offer is the deep-water native oyster known as the Galway Flat. With a street parade, cooking demonstrations, a celebration party and lots of traditional and other music, there is a lot happening over the festival’s three days.
The atmosphere at the shucking competition is intense. There is lots of cheering and encouragement as points are awarded for speed, undamaged and clean opening, and presentation. Our Indigenous man from Australia didn’t win in 2023 but he was a strong competitor.
In Galway more than a decade earlier, the craic at the Oyster Ball wasn’t just good, it was bloody crazy. Made all the better by oysters and several pints of Guinness, it’s a night I won’t forget in a hurry. People wearing ball gowns and dinner suits stood on their chairs, dancing and waving napkins above their heads, in time with rousing music from the Friendship Band of Northern Ireland.
Looking For The Perfect Match
Guinness and oysters – what a combination! Not partial to the black gold? There’s nothing better than a glass of Champagne or sparkling wine to complement your oysters. I rather like a Riesling or Semillon, both of which go nicely with an oyster’s briny, mineral taste.
In France you are more likely to be recommended a Chablis or Sauvignon Blanc, although almost any white wine works well. The pairing is dependent on the variety of oyster.
Strangely, some people cook oysters. For me, they are best eaten natural with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of pepper. In Ireland, people like to add a drop or two of Tabasco sauce.
Around the world, a big favorite is to sprinkle a mignonette dressing over oysters. There are hundreds of mignonette recipes, usually with a vinegar base. It’s fun experimenting with different recipes.
One of my favorites is a combination of lime juice and passionfruit, without the seeds. I also like to squeeze some of the pearls from native Australian finger lime onto oysters. This not only tastes great but looks great too.
Oysters are a Superfood
A passion for oysters provides a world of experiences but they are also a superfood. These bi-valves are packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, and Omega 3s. It’s a bonus that they contain very few calories. Once the fare of the aristocracy and later a poor man’s food, they are now an affordable luxury.
Hardly a week goes by that I don’t eat oysters. Yes, the world is my oyster and oysters give me the world. But I’ll leave the last word on this to Ernest Hemingway. Although he was often depressed, he certainly knew what made him happy.
As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and make plans. –A Moveable Feast, by Ernest Hemingway.
You may also enjoy reading: Journey Through Australian Wine Regions Aboard the Ghan
Maurie O’Connor blogs at www.foodwinetravel.com.au.
