Oyster Guy

Oysters are very much like wines. There are great regional differences. As sunlight, rainfall and soil play a great part in shaping a grape, tidal flow, water salinity and food availability as well as growing technique play an important role in shaping the oyster. There is also the fact that all 5 species of oysters(commercially grown in North America) are aquacultured both here and in Washington State. A tray raised oyster (suspended growth method) will taste and look quite different than a beach raised oyster even if they are in the same body of water. I would enjoy the Kusshi while it lasts as this is an expensive oyster to grow and the growers are deciding whether or not to continue growing it. The biology is that the oyster is shaped by it's environment. It may be the same species but due to slight changes in water salinity or the fact that it feeds on primarily on zooplankton instead of phytoplankton can play a huge part in determining it's taste and texture. It is very hard for me to go into great detail here as I don't wish Daddy-A to come down on me for it. However, if you ever find yourself in Whistler, drop by and I will gladly give you an "Oysters 101-Take a stab at higher learning lesson. Merior is exactly the same as terior only at sea not land. The first person to use this phrase with me was the owner of the Sooke Harbour House when he had oysters at the Bearfoot and I have used it ever since. Nothing else seems to fit as well. As far as the Slow Fooders go, I am a member of Slow Food Canada as an oyster takes 18-36 months to grow. And there ain't no food slower than that! Hope this helps a bit Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I thought that was why people eat em off the beach? To facilitate nakeness. I think the oyster appreciates being forced open to the world by a naken person over a clothed. Ok where can I find these? I had one once and they were really good! Joe's? Rodney's? ← Warning: shameless plug! Try the Bearfoot Actually, any fine oyster house or fine dining establishment will usually carry Kumamotos. So, I am sure that Forte's and Rodney's do carry them. Another tip for dining at an oyster house? Eschew the table and have your oysters right at the oyster shucker's bar. That way you can be sure that they have been freshly shucked (not pre-shucked and waiting around for someone to order them) You will also have the fun of watching an oyster shucker in action while you watch your plate being prepared by a professional. You can always go to your table afterwards and hey, you might just pick up a few pointers as well as some knowledge at the same time. It's worth the time and it's fun for the shucker too. I highly endorse both Joe Forte's and Rodney's as they do an excellent job of servicing the oyster. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Thank you Jamie for bringing up a topic near and dear to my heart. [sNIP] Keep on shucking Oyster Guy ← Thanks for chimin' OG. Would you care to comment on the characteristics of some of your favourite varieties? the bestsellers at Bearfoot right now? Do you recommend different oysters for men than women? ← There are a few oysters that stand out above the others when they are in season and you are right, Jamie, it is prime season for them all. The Beausoliels from New Brunswick are a great little oyster. Tear drop shaped with a nice briny start, a sweet finish and a slight metallic tang you feel 5 seconds after eating one, completely naked of course. (The oyster, I mean. You can be naked too but the oyster should be.) The Kegan Bay oyster from South Moresby Island is one of the best I have ever tasted. Nice salty start then wham, it's like someone jammed a big piece of watermelon in your mouth and the finish lasts for 5 minutes. The "Cortesean" off Marina Island, BC, grown by my oyster friend, Brent "The Oysterman" Petkau. A "beach-ranched" oyster with a nice salty start, beautiful texture to the meat, and a sweet cucumbery, kiwi fruit kind of finish. Shall we say, "A complex finish?" The bestsellers at the Bearfoot are as follows: Kumamotos Effingham Inlets Stellar Bay Golds Malpeques Gorge Inlets Chef's Creek Penrose Bay Kusshi Running the 9.95 special has been wild this year. People who don't normally try oysters are giving them a chance due to this insane price. A nice change to the usual apres ski scene here of chicken wings, nachos and draft beer. Oysters and champagne. For guys who order just big oysters....a little bit of advice....size doesn't matter! I usually try to steer people away from eating something as big as their shoe. I usually suggest a meatier oyster for guys such as a Stellar Bay so that they feel that they have actually eaten something. For the ladies..... I always suggest a smaller, sweeter oyster such as a Kumamoto or Kusshi or an Effingham Inlet. I find that a woman's palette tends to be a little better suited to the delicate nuances of the smaller, more complex tasting oysters. Thanks again and cheers Jamie Drop in for some oysters sometime Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Thank you Jamie for bringing up a topic near and dear to my heart. My favourite oyster place in BC? I'm sorry to say but there isn't just one. But if I had to really choose...............the beach the oysters were grown on. Who really needs any thing else except a cold bottle of crisp white wine or champers and an oyster knife? My favourite oyster bar? Oyster Boy's wood at 872 Queen Street West in (God forgive me) Toronto. The reason? The presentation and shucking are really the best I have ever consistently seen. As well, they get some varieties of oysters that no-one else has. And I know a thing or two about oysters. My favourite oyster varieties? Any and all in their proper season, served chilled and, most importantly, shucked and presented perfectly. Although, I am partial to a nice European Flat grown on Thynne Island (near Powell River) with just a touch of migonette to counteract it's metallic edge. Favourite shucker? Me, of course! I mean, who else am I going to choose? (If you are interested, I've posted a picture of my work in the public gallery under "Food Porn.") Favourite wine and beer pairing? Petit Chablis or champagne or 6 pack of Alexander Keith's India Pale Ale or Guiness, properly chilled of course. Favourite companion foods? Foie gras! Are they an aphrodisiac? They have been associated with love since the beginning of history. Since Aphrodite arose from the sea on an oyster shell and gave birth to her son Eros (hence, the first aphrodisiac), the oyster has been the subject of intense study. Casanova ate 50 oysters a day to keep that lovin' feeling and no Roman orgy was ever complete without them. They are the richest animal source of vitamins and minerals in the world. 5 vitamins and 16 minerals. They are high in zinc which for us guys improves our, shall we say, turnaround time They contain dopamine, a vital neurotransmitter which triggers and provokes sexual response in both males and females. They also contain 2 amino acids that are only found in mammals and mollusks. These amino acids trigger production of proestrogen in females and testosterone in males in higher than normal doses. Thank you Berkeley University for that little tidbit of info! But most of all Jamie............ If you really believe in something, it will be true. If you believe in something that has long been held to possess mystical powers in love, then it will be. As long as you believe...... Thank you once again Jamie! Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I was wondering if anyone could tell me more about A'lo's? (Don't know if this is spelled correctly) Our chef is cooking there during the upcoming festival in your beautiful city and I was wondering if someone could give me some info on the place. What type of food, location and their opinion on the establishment in general. I would appreciate any and all replies. I'm just curious. Thanks in advance Oyster Guy

I wholeheartedly endorse Joe Forte's as a place to go anytime for oysters. My friend and fellow oyster shucker-brother-from-another-mother, "Oyster Bob" Skinner does an excellent job of servicing the oyster. The Stellar Bay Golds are a staple of any fine oyster house or fine dining establishment in North America. Although, you can keep the cocktail sauce for someone else Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

It's Bearfoot not Barefoot. And she is the most incredible chef I have ever worked with in the 20 years I have been in the business. Montreal is in for a treat. Wish I was going with her!

Our chef Melissa Craig will be there from the Bearfoot Bistro. Not sure which establishment but she is worth going to check out.

Another thing to do while checking to see if you need a licence is to see if the area is closed to clamming for whatever reason, PSP (paralytic shellfish poisoning) or other diseases as well. Ask the locals as they would have the best information. Just want everyone to be safe, that's all. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

7 years ago? Times do change, Bruce. Our food is not over-rated and if it has been 7 years since you were in the place then how you are qualified to even make a remark like that. It is like me saying, that because I had an American tourist that acted like a jerk 7 years ago that I should not be nice to them based on one single experience. You are entitled to your opinion, Bruce but should it not be an informed one? And you don't mention having dinner anywhere in your reply so I have to assume that you only had one drink and left. The chef has also changed and if my timelines are correct then the chef cooking the over-rated food at that time was Eric Vernice, the same chef you just finished raving about in your thread about Apres in Whistler. It's too bad that you feel this way but you are entitled to your opinion sir. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

You could be right about the relative health risks. ← I don't think the evidence supports the view that beef is "way more of a health risk to eat" than beef, at least not for the reasons stated above. So far as we know, no one has ever gotten vCJD from eating US beef, and the practices that spread BSE in the UK were banned in the US a number of years ago. So I don't know how one would really calculate the health risks of "mad cow" from beef for US consumers. And as far as growth hormones in beef goes, I don't think there is any evidence that this presents any health risk either. The biggest concern seems to be over estrogens like estradiol. A 3oz serving of beef from a hormone-implanted steer has about 1.9ng of estrogen (compared to 1.3ng for a nonimplanted steer). By way of comparison, a glass of milk has 35ng, and a hen's egg has 1,750ng. A serving of cabbage has the phytoestrogen equivalent of 2,000ng of estrogen, while soy oil has the phytoestrogen equivalent of over 1,000,000ng of estrogen. To look at it another way, the endocrine system of the average adult human male produces 136,000ng of estrogen a day, while that of the adult human female produces an average of 480,000ng/day. ← While the evidence might not bear me out, I have had milk that I swear on a stack of bibles smells and tastes like medicine. As far the mad cow thing goes in the U.S., the Department of Agriculture there up to only 2 years ago only tested cows that "appeared" sick. This does not fill me with great confidence in regards to their safety procedures. Let's face it, most governments don't do anything unless someone dies first. I appreciate your input and knowledge and I thank you for it. I'll still stick to oysters for most of my protein needs. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Actually 6 months ago, a scientific report was published by Berkley University where the people working on the genome mapping project had discovered 2 amino acids contained in oysters that are found nowhere else in nature. When fed to lab rats, they discovered increased levels of proestrogen in the female subjects and testoterone in the males and 5 of the female rats were pregnant. So, there is some scientific basis to this claim. I have always been of the mind that if something cold, wet and slimy makes you hot and bothered....whatever floats your boat Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

That's why they test the waters on a daily basis to ensure nothing but a clean healthy product goes to the consumer. By the way, I think meatloaf is disgusting and considering the problems they have had with mad cow disease, the antibiotics they pump into the cows and the growth hormones it's way more of a health risk to eat beef than shellfish. But that's only my opinion.

Oysters? They are only the richest animal source of vitamins and minerals in the world, containing 5 vitamins and 16 minerals. They contain Omega3 fatty acids which reduce bad cholesterel and come in their own recyclable package. They also improve your sex life. By the way, governments do inspect the oysters and the waters they are grown in on a daily basis. They drive me crazy with their testing on my oyster farm and I wouldn't have it any other way. Once again, the media has shot off it's mouth without proper research into the subject. Details, details, details, people. Do your freaking research or just keep your mouth shut! Expert, my ass! Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I agree, Adam. Aquaculture should be taken on a case-by-case basis. It just frustrates me when people lump us together with fish farmers who I feel are destroying the balance of nature with their operations. By-catch also concerns me a great deal and the odd time that it happens when we harvest oysters, we have taken great pains to return the animal(s) alive back to the ocean. I think that if sufficent time and effort was spent on research and the impact that certain forms of aquaculture has on the environment, then it just might work out to the best. I don't think that any one nation could manage the world's oceans but this should fall under the jurisdiciton of the United Nations and the law ought to have some teeth so that offending nations (people) can be properly punished for their damaging practices. I could go on about this topic ad nauseum but I won't. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

The thing is with industrial farming on land in North America anyways, it is already happening. In California's Imperial Valley (one of their major food producing areas) the ground salt is turning hundreds of acres into completely useless land from being farmed so extensively and for so long. Yet no-one seems to be in an uproar about it except the farmers. I sincerely hope that what you have stated applies to fish farms and not oyster aquaculturing which I have stated above does not have the same practices as the fish farms. It is certainly not a "new thing" as you so glibly stated. And (in Canada anyways) the legislation was in place years ago to prevent this from happening. We saw the Grand Banks off Newfoundland raped (your words) by European countries that fished illegally and over their allotted quotas for centuries. Your country and Spain being some of the worst offenders. And the EU is still at it despite everything that has been said and done. All this so you can have your fish and chips! Now, our northern cod fishery is no more and our government finally swung into action. Too little, too late. I personally thought we should have sunk a couple of fishing boats to get our point across but that's my opinion. It is also providing a cheap source of protein for this over-populated planet. Myself, and other oyster growers are involved right now in teaching the Brazilian government how to farm oysters in order to provide cheap protein to the people. This prevents more of the rainforest from being destroyed in order to raise cattle. I don't see you offering any better solutions in your rather flippant remarks and I can assure you that oyster growers such as myself are very concerned about what goes on under the ocean. We decided to do something about it rather than sit back and offer criticism and nothing more. What have you done lately?

Pickerel (Walleye) freshly caught and filleted, fried in butter. The cheeks on a big enough one are better than scallops! mmmmmm.........pickerel..........gurgle Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Yes, a dozen oysters can still be had for a mere 9.95 between 3 and 6:00 p.m. everyday at the dazzling Champagne Bar. And I would be happy to shuck them for you. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

Oyster aquaculture is the only sustainable aquaculture going at this present time. This is no Johnny-come lately either. But, it seems to be the future. The Japanese began to aquaculture oysters on the hard tidal mud flats in 2000 B.C. The ancient Greeks would throw broken shards of pottery into the harbors in hope that baby oysters would attach themselves to it, also inventing one of the oldest forms of recycling as well. The only negative effect it has (or should I say had) was the amount of waste product that the oysters naturally produce as any living creature does. In British Columbia, Canada, shellfish growers (some) have suspended trays beneath their oyster rafts and are now farming sea cucumber which thrives quite nicely on whatever the oysters send their way and it is also another cash crop for the grower. There are a few good reasons for aquaculturing oysters. 1. The quality and health of aquacultured oysters are checked on a daily basis as are the waters from which they harvested. This ensures nothing but a healthy, clean product is available to the consumer. 2. Some species of oysters would have become extinct due to habitat degradation and overharvesting if they were not farmed. The Olympia oyster (Ostrea lurida) and the Kumomoto oyster (Crassostrea sikamea) to name just 2, would have vanished from the wild if they were not aquacultured. French oyster growers (although very few would admit it) buy the seed for their Belon (Ostrea edulis-European Flat or Plate oyster) in British Columbia or Washington State and transplant them onto the native oyster beds. The Japanese or Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas) is the most widely farmed oyster in the world. 300 million metric tons are harvested in just France alone every year. 3. Oysters actually improve the habitat in which they are grown. As they are filter feeders, the average size oyster filters about 80 liters of seawater a day to feed itself. They provide food and shelter for other species of sea life. Oysters at one time could process all the water in Chesapeake Bay (3 trillion gallons) in just 3 days! It now, sadly, would take 5 years with the current reduced stock of oysters. For an operation that improves the environment it is grown in and provides the masses with a cheap form of protein, I'd say it is the way to go. Oysters have historically sustained the poor and adorned the tables of the rich. And we could always learn from history. Also unlike every other aquaculture operation, they don't require any food (other than what is found in the water naturally, phytoplankton, zooplankton and algae). No chemicals, pesticides or even fertilizer. The others cannot make this claim. Even organic farms on land cannot make this claim as they use manure for fertilizer. As for the other forms of aquaculture, I worry about escaped farmed stock interbreeding with the wild stock and watering down the genetic pool of the wild stock. I think more study and research should be done before they proceed. I also hate to see such a noble creature such as the Atlantic Salmon turned into the broiler chicken of the sea. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I wonder if this show would even be mentioned if it was being filmed in Toronto as opposed to Yaletown. Me thinks not.......and the reviews would be very harsh. Can we switch this thread to an entertainment tonight website as it has nothing at all to do with food? Or better yet just delete it?

The reason I had and still have trouble believing that high pressure sales tactics were used is that I am a staff member at the Bearfoot Bistro. We are a very well oiled seperate you-from-your money machine but high pressure and aggressive sales tactics are not and have never been our style. I have had the pleasure of working there for 4 years and our owner (founder) would never tolerate anyone like you are describing working for him. Hell, at our staff meetings, we are told that if he even hears that we are going around town bragging about working in the best restaurant in town, he'll fire us. He believes that we can always do better and should and I agree with him on this. A sales approach such as the one you described would mean that that person would be the pushiest person in the unemployment line. I can only tell you what I know to be the God's honest truth from my years of working at the establishment. Every other place I have worked in both Whistler and Toronto has had a mark-up on wine of between 200-300% and this is pretty much the norm for the business. The thing I am most upset about is the "high pressure sales" comment and I can assure you that none of my co-workers fit the description given. They are a group of consumate professionals and I am very proud and honoured to work amongst such learned people in a town where your server usually couldn't find their ass with both hands and a flashlight and speaks with an Austrailian accent. We have never been and will never be encouraged to use such suburban tactics in this establishment. I, personally, extend an invitation to you and your significant other to come back for some oysters and champagne (my treat) and you can see for yourself that this is not the way we operate. I hope to see you and I am looking forward to talking to you further. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

I merely said that I found it hard to believe, not that anyone was making anything up. I sincerely hope you didn't misconstrue what I said and I hope that no offense was taken as none was meant. I certainly wasn't implying that anyone was lying or any such thing. Just that I found it hard to believe and that's all. And I would appreciate knowing who it was for more than a couple of reasons. Thank you and I am sorry that your significant other had such a horrible time.

I believe that the wine list is available on PDF on their website www.bearfootbistro.com. I, however, have great trouble in believing that anyone was subjected to high pressure sales tactics or had something "aggressively" pushed on them. That has never happened when I have been in the place and I have been going there for 4 years now and their wine people are not aggressive. As for what they serve with the 5 course pairing, it changes as does the 5 course, everyday. Would like to know what sommelier supposedly did this, though. As for the mark-up on wine, that's why I am a beer drinker. Keep on shucking Oyster Guy

A quiet night at home with a very special female friend. After 17 days straight of shucking 11,720 oysters......... Sabreing a bottle or two of some fine champagne ( Dom 1995) A couple of dozen Effingham Inlet oysters with just a little lemon. A roaring fire, soft music and......... The rest...........Well..... An oyster shucker never kisses and tells......... Happy New Year to all and theirs and the best for the new year! Gung hay fah choy Keep on shucking Oyster Guy