Little and delicate to big and ugly, sommelier has shucked them all
Todd Atkinson, oyster wrangler, has shucked more than a million of them in the 20 years he worked in oyster bars, starting with Rodney’s Oyster House in Toronto. These days, you’ll find him at The Fish Shack on Vancouver’s Granville Street, where he’s general manager and an oyster shucking blur.
Asked if he still likes to eat them, he says, yep, as long as the public is willing to listen. Listen? Well, he’s got a lot to get off his chest and share about the fascinating bivalves.
“You’re kinda like a bartender,” I say.
“More like an oyster sommelier,” he says. “There’s a lot to say to true oyster connoisseurs.”
Oyster bars at Vancouver restaurants like Fish Shack, Rodney’s Oyster House, Chewie’s Steam And Oyster Bar, Merchants, Joe Fortes, Coast, Blue Water Cafe and Oyster Express will display varieties of oysters, from little and delicate to big and butt- ugly.
All are farmed and almost all start off as the same species — they’re just grown under different conditions on beaches or under water and in different areas. ( They’re all seeded from a Japanese species called Crassostrea gigas.)
Oysters are one of the most sustainable seafoods and endorsed by seafood groups like Ocean Wise and Seafood Watch.
“Unlike some farmed fish, oysters minimally impact marine resources as they don’t rely on wild- caught fish in the form of fish meal or fish oil for food. And, thanks to the oyster’s filter- feeding action, oyster farms can actually benefit the surrounding coastal waters,” according to Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch.
“The oysters we eat here, exclusive of the Olympia, are not indigenous,” says Atkinson. “The Olympia oysters were wiped out, but are starting to come back.”
B. C.- farmed oysters have names like Beach Angel, Black Pearl, Effingham Inlet, Kusshi, Komo Gway, Royal Miyagi, and Sawmill Bay.
When grown in water ( on trays, in cages or bags), they have softer shells and taste lighter.
“They have lots of lettuce, watermelon and kiwi flavours. They’re easy- living oysters,” says Atkinson. In fact, their lives are so cushy, producers toughen up their shells on the beach.
“Beach oysters, grown in bags, are hardier, a little crunchy, mildly salty and minerally. They crash with the waves into barnacles and rocks. They’re rougher, heavier, thicker, darker, uglier,” says Atkinson. “Like Jonathan Swift said, it was a bold man who first ate an oyster.”
Atkinson’s former boss, Rodney Clark, owner of Rodney’s Oyster House, didn’t wax poetic. He cut to the chase.
“Rodney used to say it’s ‘ zinc for your dink,’ ” says Atkinson.
“It’s very good for testosterone production. It’s a superfood with Omega 3, Omega 7, magnesium and iron.”
Atkinson eats about 18 a week. Raw, of course. I focused on gastronomy.
“When it’s shucked perfectly, it hits the molar and flavours explode in the mouth with its clean crispness. Sip a little Sancerre and your body goes ‘ Wow!’ It’s very addictive,” he says.
Sancerre and Chablis, he says, are classic wine matches with raw oysters.
“What I’d tell the novice ( raw oyster eater) is to try the subtle flavours of the young oysters, which are eggy and mild with clean flavours. Tray oysters are saltier with hints of cucumber and sweetness and there’s very little aftertaste. A connoisseur might like beach oysters, which are more organic, crunchier and meatier. They’re grown on the ground and are earthier, older, bigger.”
The connoisseur, he says, would turn the shell upside down after eating the oyster.
“The bottom of the cup ( shell) tells you what kind of oyster it is. It’s like a thumbprint.”
And you gotta chew. or you’ll miss the flavours, he says. And he shakes his head at “sauce eaters” who drown their oyster in sauce.
“Stick to a light vinaigrette or mignonette,” he says.
West Coast oysters, compared with East Coast, he says, tend to have a cleaner, sweeter flavour. East Coast oysters tend to have more minerality.
Roberta Stevenson, executive director of the B. C. Shellfish Growers’ Association, says the organization has been lobbying the provincial government to expand the shellfish industry.
There are currently 12 large companies growing shellfish ( usually a mix of clams, mussels, oysters) and a number of small family operations. There are 450 tenures in all.
“The market is insatiable,” says Stevenson. “We need political will to expand and allow new tenures for farms. You need only to travel to places like Spain and France where shellfish farms are massive and can’t even begin to meet their own demand.
“In B. C., the industry adds up to the same size as the runway at the Vancouver airport. There’s no reason why B. C. grows less — way less — shellfish than P. E. I. We can’t provide what the market demands.
“The markets in Asia want more in a week than we grow in a whole year. We’re constantly in talks with government to take this more seriously.”
Meanwhile, if you’re looking for oysters, the BCSA just developed an iPhone App, BC Oyster Guide, listing oyster brands, farms and where to buy them.