Oyster Guy

To tell you the truth, cooks and bartenders form a symbiotic relationship. Both have what the other has the most. Bartenders are hungry and the only thing higher than a cook's wage is his bar tab. They tend to get over whatever problems they might have quite quickly. If a bartender wants to eat, he makes with the "special" drinks for certain cooks and is generous with the rest of the kitchen crew, overpours and the such. A bartender doing this is sure never to go hungry. Just my experience and I have worked in both positions. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Why do I love my job? A good question. I am an oyster shucker by trade. I do a job that scares the living shit out of what is known in my line of work as "civilians." You get cut almost everyday, then expose your new cuts to lemon juice, hot sauces and vinegars, you get asked a million questions and the most frequently asked one is, "Do you cut yourself?" And then, they expect you to react to that question in a socially well adjusted way. It's enough to drive the most gentle soul to acts of incredible carnage. I love the fact that I can do a job that very few people in the world are really proficient at. And I can do it well. Very well. I work with a product that is alive and one that very few people know a whole hell of lot about it. It's not like ice cream where you can go to your corner store and have 31 flavors to choose from and you know what they are going to taste like. I love teaching people about oysters the most. I help people make a connection with their food. Most people get their food in huge supermarkets. They don't get their meat from a butcher or their fish from a fishmonger. It comes wrapped in plastic, no identification with where it came from or what it used to be. I like telling them how their oysters are grown, where they come from, what they eat and most importantly: are they an aphrodisiac? "Depends on who you are with," I say. "Peanut butter can be an aphrodisiac if you're with the right person." I am an educator with a sharp knife in my hand. The mud on my apron and the occasional swallow of an oyster or two attests to my knowing what I am talking about. Yes, I love the adrenaline and the joy described so very eloquently in the above post of serving the rich and the famous and putting them in a complete state of bliss if only temporarily. I don't care if people look down on me for what I do. How many of them can truly say that they love their work? I love it when I convince someone to try their first oyster and they love it and I have created a memory that for some people lasts their entire life. I love being knee deep in the shit, the orders spitting out of the printer like a toilet paper roll unrolling and people just going right off at the bar. I love it when guests press money into my hand while telling me what a great time they had. And when they return with their friends saying, "You just got to meet this guy. He's amazing!" I love sitting down at the end of it, having the chef place an ice cold beer in my hand and thank me for all my hard work and knowing that I really kicked ass and being happy with it. I am soaked down the front from the oyster liquor and ice and my feet are soaking wet, my tendons are screaming at me, yet I am at peace with everything and everyone. I love the feeling of deep friendship and bonds that I have with my co-workers as we have just gone through an intense battle and won. I love the fact that I never take any work stress home. When it's over, it's over. But I can't wait till the next day. Most of all, I love to share my passion for oysters with people and my job allows me that stage every night on which to perform. Because, my friends, that is what we do the best. We perform. The servers, bartenders, managers and last and certainly not the least, the cooks and everyone else in this line of work. The restaurant or bar is our world, our stage and we, we are the players! Just my 2 cents Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Thank you for letting me know about one more book I should add to my collection. Most oyster books explain about the 5 species commercially harvested in North America and I find find are extremely helpful for "oyster virgins." There are actually 6 species grown here but only 5 that are commercially viable as Crassostrea arkensis has proven very difficult to aquaculture to meet commercial demand. You will actually find that 99% of the oyster books out there, whether tied to a company or not, will not be fluff pieces for the industry. Oyster farmers tend to emulate their product. In that they are humble creatures. The main thing that they want is for people to take an interest in how their food gets to their table. A lot of people no longer have a connection to their food. Instead of seeing a butcher for their meat, a fishmonger for their fish, they walk into a sterile supermarket and encounter pieces of flesh wrapped in plastic. All they want to do is to introduce people to that wonderfully interesting, absolutely fascinating region of the world we now know as the intertidal zone. I could go on ad nauseum about this subject. I will say thanks for the heads-up on the book though. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Like I said I agree with the sustainability comment. That's one of the things I don't agree with at Blue Water but like Oyster Guy said you have to make sacrifices with the amount of volume we do. ← D'oh! Forgot to say, "Congratulations" on winning restaurant of the year! You might not have been recognized the way you want for the Seafood category but you and your team still did extremely well. Who knows? Maybe next year. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Do you feel this way just because you work there? If so, I totally understand how you feel about the results. I have always questioned how they come to their conclusions as well. The place I work constantly comes in 2nd in Whistler but we have not seen any of their judges in the place for over 3 years! The menu they show in their writeup on the place is over 3 years old. How does that work? I have never received an answer on this question. What's my opinion on why C won again? Blue Water is another of Jack's high volume-fine dining places, certainly he does not show the dedication to sustainability as Robert Clark. High volume-fine dining is an oxymoron. You can't do both well. Something always ends up suffering. I certainly mean no disrespect to you or any of your fellow staff or your abilities. Especially from judging from your name, you are in the same line of work as me. I just think that being close to the place in both heart and soul tends to warp our perception somewhat. I know it does with mine. Keep on shucking, bro.

To lighten the mood in this thread a little, another experience I had in this business. Some of the most obnoxious people I have met are politicians. You would think that being in a public position and having to get your job through what amounts to a popularity contest, they would act better. I was working an oyster bar in Toronto in the early 90's when a well known cabinet minister and his date came in for dinner. The place was packed with people and we had about 10 people waiting for tables, not uncommon at a place that only seats about 40 people. I was working the door and making sure the people waiting had a drink and I dropped off some marinated mussels for them to snack on while waiting. The cabinet minister grabs my arm as soon as I walk up to him and starts to demand that he and his date be seated as soon as possible as they are going to a show and are in a hurry. I replied that a couple of people ahead of him were in the same boat and that we would do our best to look after everyone. The he asks me the question that I love the best, "Do you know who I am?" He whips out his business card and literally throws it at me. I looked at it while I tried to think of a way to respond to this asshole that didn't involve police, lawyers and jail time. I composed myself and then said, "Oh, my apologies, sir. I didn't recognize you." "So, you're the minister in charge of Consumer Affairs and what you are telling me is that you want to get in front of all these other tax paying consumers because you're the minister?" I did happen to say it loud enough for the rest of the line to hear me. He start to sputter and turn red and before he could say another word, I kicked the front door open and told him that I was missing him already. "I'm going to call the owner and get you fired!" He screamed in my face. I calmly gave him the owner's home phone number and wrote it down and my name for him and then asked him again to leave. He finally left and the rest of the people actually started clapping and slapping me on the back, thanking me. The owner, upon receiving his call thought he was getting an obscene phone call and hung up on him. He also congratulated me on handling the situation the way he would have.

Depending on the age of your daughter, I would not suggest Rodney's. The atmosphere is similar to a college frat house and might not be appropriate for a younger child. Plus it is not that cheap either. I would highly suggest the Hamilton Street Grill. Great food, good prices and great service.

I would shred some of it and make spring rolls with it or you could make some really interesting dumplings with it as well. The sauteing idea sounds good too. Plus you could freeze them for later use if you didn't feel like using them right away.

Very well put, John! I totally agree with you.

I have seen so much obnoxious behavior in restaurants, I hardly know where to begin. My favorite is something that happened about 3 years ago where I work. The place was packed and 2 deep at the bar when this guy from Vegas walks in with his wife clad in this huge ass fur coat. After checking the wife's coat, they saunter over to the bar to wait to be taken to their table. After not receiving service after 30 seconds, he decides to help himself to a bottle of Dom that is sitting in the ice well in front of him. He uncorks it and instead of using a glass, takes a swig right out of the bottle in front of me and 2 absolutely shocked bartenders! We, naturally, confronted the man and told him that if he really wanted a drink all he had to do was ask us and we would have gotten him one. He replied, quite testily, "Well, you guys were taking too long so I helped myself." I asked him that if he waited too long in a bank lineup, did he rob the place? I also asked him how he would like to pay for the bottle ($350) and then he got really pissed off, claiming that if we hadn't taken so long to get his drink (which he never ordered from anyone) he would not have been forced to do what he did. The guy sounded like a lawyer, always blaming someone else for his stupidity. I didn't have time for this bullshit and we called the owner over and he started dealing with this candidate for retroactive birth control. The guy was screaming that there was no way he was going to pay for the whole bottle when he just had "a little sip" as he put it. The owner quietly responded that the man's wife had a nice fur coat and that we would look after it until this matter was resolved. The guy finally did the right thing and paid the bill (to which we attached a whopping tip for all his bullshit) and left in a huff. I have seen a lot of things in this business in 20 years but that one really sticks out. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Shakira, Queen Latifia, Conan O'Brien, John Cleese, Pam Anderson, Seal, Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, numerous NHL hockey players and oh yeah, Prince William and Prince Harry and Anne Heche just last week. They were all really nice people. Just some of their entourage that weren't so great.

I can get another of my oyster shucking brothers from other mothers from Toronto for that weekend. I'm sure there will be more than a couple volunteers.

I'll Volunteer.

Finally! It amazes me that people here think that the owner (who answered the phone) doesn't have the right to run his own damm business the way he likes. It's the reason most of us start our own business, in fact in my case, the only reason. I am sure that Dave is looking at this thread and laughing his ass off. I know I would be if I was him. "Gee, I might have been rude to the guy but look at all the free advertising I just got." No such thing as bad press.

I went into a Chinese food place and when I looked at the menu, the sauce with sweet and sour chicken balls was described as "red sauce." When a place has to describe a sauce by color rather than flavor, run like hell!!!!!! Just a helpful hint. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

You are so right about the oysters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

$9.95? Are you crazy? ←

The Wigan Pier in Squamish has the best fish and chips in the Sea to Sky corridor. I never go through the town without stopping there. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

9.95 for a dozen freshly shucked locally grown BC oysters. Beat that, Rodneys or Forte's! Available at the Bearfoot Bistro between 3-6 p.m. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Hi Megan, No, I don't mind the questions. It's part of the job really. And I am always happy to help a lady out. Now to answer your question...... Out of all the varieties you have listed (and by the way, good choices) I would pick the following..... The Gorge Inlet, grown by David Nikleva of the Below Sea Level Oyster Company and winner of a gold medal at the BC Oyster and Wine Festival this year. The Effingham Inlet, a gorgeous plump little deep cultured gem from Effingham Inlet on the west coast of Vancouver Island. The Yaquina from Oregon, A lantern net raised little gem from pristine waters is always a good choice. Sorry for the late reply but I have been getting my ass handed to me on a nightly basis because of our insane oyster special. Oh and yeah the snow too..... Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

How would the restaurant be at fault? Yes, one has reasonable expectations that something like this won't happen but being humans, accidents do happen. Even in professional establishments. By the way, is there amateur establishments? I wouldn't have even given this putz a gift certificate never mind 400.00 for the coat. There are already more than enough "con artists" coming into restaurants as it is and to encourage this jerk is just inviting more trouble. The restaurant did everything right and went above and beyond their responsibility for the accident to make things right. If the person wasn't happy after that, I would hold the front door open for them and tell them that I am missing them already. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy P.S. I doubt that a person like this has any friends anyways and would you really want people like that into your place to begin with?

I have been reading the responses to this story over the past couple of days, and I feel like I would have to add my two cents. First and foremost, we are in a service industry. Rudeness is not acceptable. That's it that's all. Secondly, it is not required of the customer to worry about the restaurant's finances. Cancellations, flooding, blackouts,etc. are all part of doing business. As businessmen, not only great chefs, we are supposed to be aware of this, and, should be able to see it as a cost of doing business. ← Maybe I missed the part where someone suggested the guest be worried about the restaurant's finances and I really don't think anyone suggested this. The guest should however be concerned when his actions or inactions cause a restaurant problems, i.e. canceling their reservation at the very last moment. This kind of behaviour is not welcome nor appreciated in any other type of business, why are you justifying it in this case? The person makes it seem that he was doing the place a huge favour by calling at all. If you make an appointment or reservation, it is YOUR responsibility to contact the people involved in enough time that they can make other arrangements, such as giving the time allotted to you to someone else. I have taken attitude from doctor's and dentist's assistants when I have forgotten appointments. How is this industry any different? And as we have only heard this one side of the story and not the other, how are we to know if this person himself wasn't rude on the phone as well? There are always 3 sides to every story, my side, your side and the truth. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

While I agree that either Fred or Dave might have been a little more polite when you called about your cancellation, I also see their point as well. Yes, the place is busy and it is very hard to get a reservation but at that time of the year there would be no walk-in business at all. Notre Dame West in the winter? Makes me shiver just thinking about it. Fred and Dave are first and foremost, chefs. They are very nice guys but they are at heart chefs, not maitre d's. They prep every night for the amount of reservations that they have and that's it. So I can see how he would be a little annoyed at your cancellation and you can always get a babysitter. Add the fact that as chefs, they will always be honest with you and sometimes brutally at that. I do think that you should give them another chance as you would be missing out on one of the most innovative and refreshing culinary experiences in the whole country. And as you didn't have a chance to actually dine there, I really don't think that you should be telling everyone not to go there just based on a bad phone experience. I think you owe it to yourself most of all to give them another chance and I think you will be happy that you did. Just my 2 cents Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Unfortunately, as with a lot of oysters I get, they are not readily available to the general public. I buy mine direct from the farm and it is quite a pain to get them shipped from such a remote location. Sorry about that but you might try asking your local fishmonger about them. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I really fail to see the reason that this story is even on this website. Aside from the title, what does this have to do with food or the culinary arts? It certainly has nothing to do with oysters. It reads like a poorly written Martin Amis novel (not that there are any good ones) Just wondering why this was posted at all. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy