Oysters to the People Events.....
can also be called "Community Supported Mariculture - CSM" or "Grower Direct" or "From my Oysterbeds to your Lips". What these names all have in common is a desire to build an intimate relationship, with you, the Oyster Lover. I want you to experience the freshest, tastiest and most memorable shellfish imaginable. (read more)
An Oyster without the Rrrrrrrr ?
While attending and participating in the 22nd annual Cortes Island Oyster Feastival" aka "Seafest" something feels wrong, desperately wrong, when the ........"RRrrrrr" is taken out of the words Raw Oysters. Yes, the evolution of the Cortes Island shellfish culture and sub-culture, (which over the past 50 years has sold and sent out millions upon millions of oysters, of all shapes and sizes, and almost as many pounds of clams, scallops and mussels to markets all over the world) .....is one that is constantly changing, evolving for better or for worse and growing greyer with each passing year.
Thank GOD, that an exquisite tasting last minute presentation of spot prawns, filled in for what has traditionally been "The Raw Bar", always presented in the finest form IMAGINABLE, that is, same day fresh oysters pulled out of our waters the morning of the festival and then shucked and proudly presented by the Cortes Island oyster farmers that grew and harvested them, for an appreciative crowd of more than 600 seafood loving aficionados.
How does the Bruce Cockburn song go?????...."THE TROUBLE WITH NORMAL IS IT ONLY GETS WORSE"..... when red tape and regulations get in the way of "Lusty Bits of NOURISHMENT"...... on your lips.
I am SADDENED and INSULTED...... though I must admit, I did find some raw oysters, "behind the scenes", that were PERFECTLY SHUCKED. God, did they taste wonderful as they sent me ...... leaping OVER THE MOON!
John Steinbeck
These profound words of my hero, the late, great, John Steinbeck, are so indelibly etched into my mind's eye, that when I too am working in my tide pools, collecting oysters, digging for clams, or just LOOKING and TOUCHING....... I FEEL ..........."RELATED TO THE WHOLE THING".
When working in such a state of mind, it's very easy to search for and find the........"PERFECT OYSTER"
Warning
"Between the experience of living a normal life at this moment on the planet and all of the public narratives being offered to give sense to that life, the EMPTY SPACE, the GAP, is ENORMOUS".
R.I.P. John Berger (The Shape of a Pocket)
Folks, BC oysters are just fine to eat. Believe me! .... not the main-stream media or health regulation agencies whose marching orders for the past 5 months are all too often to speak about "airplane crashes instead of airplane landings."
But don't for a minute ever think that when eating a raw oyster, that something can't go wrong or is without risk. No lab testing will ever give you 100 percent confidence that everything about the "oyster", is OK.
As in life, or when putting a "Lusty Bit of Nourishment" to your lips, when taking intelligent calculated risks,
the WORLD OPENS UP TO A WHOLE LOT OF WONDERFUL POSSIBILITIES.
And it might be wise if we as an oyster risk-loving culture, were to get back to the way BC oysters were mostly consumed in the "olden days".
When I started oyster ranching 20 years ago, (and back then you could actually make a fair living), we were eating and producing far more larger "cooking" oysters, which kills off norovirus concerns., RIGHT? The numbers were something like this.
25% consumed raw, 75% cooked. Today, the numbers are pretty much the exact opposite. The fancy and very sexy little cocktail sized oysters for raw consumption make up 75% of oyster consumption / production with 25% now being cooked / produced.
This is where things get interesting. If oyster production were to go back to the old ways, and oyster shucking plants were restored and brought back into use and shellfish farmers were actually paid a fair price that kept pace with inflation, oystering would again become $$$$$$ PROFITABLE! in British Columbia.
I can't wait for that day to happen!
Deconstructing Dinner
On, Saturday, November 4th, 2017, I look forward to again, being your....... "Oyster Man". Plan to attend this evening at the movies, over beers and oysters. "As hey, no Film Festival, Beer or Oyster event in the world is independent of the tides, the moon, the physical and emotional temperature surrounding it's I… Read More »
An Oyster without the Rrrrrrr…
While attending and participating in the 22nd annual Cortes Island Oyster Feastival" aka "Seafest" something feels wrong, desperately wrong, when the ........"RRrrrrr" is taken out of the words Raw Oysters. Yes, the evolution of the Cortes Island shellfish culture and sub-culture, (which over the past 50 years has so… Read More »
John Steinbeck
These profound words of my hero, the late, great, John Steinbeck, are so indelibly etched into my mind's eye, that when I too am working in my tide pools, collecting oysters, digging for clams, or just LOOKING and TOUCHING....... I FEEL ..........."RELATED TO THE WHOLE THING". When working in such a state of mind,… Read More »
Warning
"Between the experience of living a normal life at this moment on the planet and all of the public narratives being offered to give sense to that life, the EMPTY SPACE, the GAP, is ENORMOUS". R.I.P. John Berger (The Shape of a Pocket) Folks, BC oysters are just fine to eat. Believe me! .... not the main-stre… Read More »
Precious memories, don't just…
Over the past 20 years, a pronounced and passion-filled goal of mine when shucking and presenting oysters has always been to create......MEMORIES, for myself and for others. "Precious perfectly shucked memories" to be more precise, don't just happen but are the product of when the whole is greater than the sum of all… Read More »
Try to eat LOWER ON THE FOOD …
All I know is that when ever I catch a 25 lb. Pacific octopus in my spot prawn traps, and even if they have gluttonously consumed all the prawns I thought I'd caught and should have been mine alone, I just simply need to return them quickly to the sea and try to eat "LOWER ON THE FOOD CHAIN"......by having an oyst… Read More »
Fire in the Belly
It all began going into these early, rainy days of spring, with having a bit of FIRE in my belly, a downright desire to have for lunch, a few of my own charbroiled "Oysters Gilhooley", over an alder wood fire, simply adding a bit of butter, worchestershire sauce, finely chopped garlic, Tabasco and grated aged Parmesa… Read More »
This Morning
This morning, sipping strong, black Oso Negro coffee at 5 a.m., the plan was to follow through with my usual monthly routine of commuting between Cortes Island and my home in Nelson. I long and love to sell and shuck oysters for the folks in the Koot's But "Reading the SIGNS" ........tells me to ....... cancel all… Read More »
The Best Ingredients Make The…
Folks are passionate about their chowder and most will tell you they have the best chowder recipe. Maybe they do, maybe they don’t. But you just know the best recipes begin with the best ingredients and farmersdotter has access to the best ingredients in the world. Beginning with shellfish from the Oyster Man. … Read More »
Smoked Oysters - Temporarily Out of Stock
