The Sunday Telegraph - 01.09.2019

8 ***^ Sunday 1 September 2019 The Sunday Telegraph

THE SUNDAY COOK

Just for the shell of it:

an oyster odyssey

Chiltern Firehouse’s head shucker gives Tomé Morrissy-Swan a mollusc

masterclass as he recreates one leg of his 5,000-mile shellfish travelogue

JOHN LAWRENCE FOR THE TELEGRAPH; ALAMY

BIVALVE CURIOUS

T

aking the London

Underground? You’ll

tap in with an Oyster

card. If shunned from

a group, you may feel

ostracised. On the

cusp of greatness,

and the world is your

oyster. Oysters, like roast beef and fish

and chips, are part of British food

history, and this is reflected in

language and symbolism.

“Poor Britons,” wrote the Roman

historian Sallust, around AD50.

“There is some good in them after

all... they produce an oyster.”

Mentioned in the Domesday Book, by

the 19th century they were a staple for

rich and poor. While opulent London

establishments such as Rules and

Scott’s hawked them to the wealthy,

Dickens wrote that, “poverty and

oysters always seem to go together”.

In Victorian Britain railways sped

up deliveries to big cities; producers

couldn’t keep up with demand from

London. Industrialisation depleted

stocks, and polluted water caused

high-profile contamination cases.

Oysters became rarer, thus more

expensive, even before the Big Freeze

of 1963 almost wiped them out.

Outside wealthy circles and oyster-

growing communities, interest was

negligible. Yet today a renaissance is in

full swing: over the last 25 years

production has quadrupled in this

country. Oysters top restaurant menus;

any self-respecting food market will

have a cart or stall. By the sea, in happy

hour, or at some fishmongers, they can

be yours for £1 a pop.

“We’ve always had an oyster

industry, but the nation’s eating habits

have been derailed by the microwave,”

says Bobby Groves, head oyster

shucker at Chiltern Firehouse in

London. Last year, he undertook a

5,000-mile journey visiting dozens of

farms, and showcasing British and

Irish oysters has become his mission.

The voyage is brought to life in a

new book, Oyster Isles: A Journey

Through Britain and Ireland’s Oysters.

shucking, festivals and tastings were

all covered, before landing the

Firehouse gig in 2015. Today we’re

recreating one leg of his odyssey, at

one of Groves’s favourite farms,

Butley Creek in Orford, Suffolk. Bill

Pinney, 65, was born on the farm

and has been harvesting oysters

since the age of 16. Passionate as

ever, he takes us out on his rustic old

boat. Butley Creek is a small-scale,

low-intervention farm, where the

oysters mature in bespoke

contraptions made from repurposed

mushroom trays. Within a couple of

years, they reach the size of a child’s

fist, and are sent to consumers

across the country.

It’s an ideal first oyster, Groves

tells me. Not too salty, its mellow,

sweet flavour isn’t daunting. “I love

a Butley Creek, it’s one of the best in

Britain.” As we sit before an

arrangement of the strangely

beautiful bivalves at Butley Orford

Oysterage, the Pinneys’ restaurant

since 1963, I’m given meticulous

instructions: “Just go for it”.

Groves also says oysters should be

chewed, to release the flavour. It is

sweet with grassy notes and a

cucumbery finish redolent of the

brackish, fresh-salty, muddy water it

hails from. You’ve heard of terroir,

but merroir, the marine equivalent,

is just as crucial. Oysters filter 100

litres of water per day, so their

environment leaves an imprint.

“From creek to creek and bay to bay,

they vary in taste,” say Groves.

East Anglian oysters reflect their

local marshland, sea crops, mud and

rivers; they are vegetal, delicately

saline. A Fal estuary oyster “can be

very nutty, sort of high in mineral

taste”. Atlantic coast Irish oysters,

from West Cork to Donegal, are

battered by seawater and thus saltier.

A Loch Fyne will be mellow, a mix of

pristine seawater and fresh water.

Two types are grown in the British

Isles, native and rock. The shells of

natives are flattish discs, and fan out.

The meat is slightly beige and at its

best in cooler months, hence the

adage that oysters should be eaten in

months including the letter R.

Rock oysters are native to the

Pacific. Though present here for

centuries, perhaps brought by

Portuguese traders from Macau, they

were introduced in the Sixties, after

the cold winter wiped out native

stocks. These have deep, cupped

shells, an arrow-like form and a

jagged surface. The meat is paler, less

nutty and less gamy. Most

oysters grown in the UK

are rocks; they’re

available all year.

Unsurprisingly,

Groves believes

we should eat

more oysters. “As

farming goes, it

is as low-impact

as you can get.”

In fact, farmed

oysters are far

more sustainable

than a lot of fish and

seafood. As filter

feeders, the bivalves purify

water, and sequester CO 2 and

nitrogen. “It actually enriches the

environment,” Groves exalts.

Filtering water exposes oysters to

pollution, and incidents such as the

contaminated oysters that led to the

death of the Dean of Winchester in

1902 entrenched suspicion. Farmed

oysters undergo a purification

process now, but Groves warns

against catching wild ones yourself.

Nutritionally, there’s a strong case,

too. Twelve oysters contain as much

protein as a 100g steak, with half the

calories. They’re packed with zinc,

iron, omega-3 and vitamins B12 and

D. Oysters don’t have a central

nervous system, and some vegans

(ostrovegans) make an exception for

them, as they’re so high in nutrients.

According to Seafish, the market

in the year ending August 10, 2019

was worth over £1.2 billion. Once

food for the masses, oysters are

making their way back to the

mainstream. As Groves points out,

“The oyster has given us so much

• and if we’ve learnt anything along
  the way, it’s that it’s time to make
  sure we protect the future of this
  extraordinary little creature.”

Oyster Isles: A Journey Through

Britain and Ireland’s Oysters

(Constable, £20) by Bobby

Groves is out now

Part travelogue, part social history,

there are recipes, autobiographical

references and what Groves, 32,

describes as a much-needed “Good

Oyster Guide”, a list of restaurants

serving the best our shores can offer.

“It’s exposing and celebrating the

industry we already have,” Groves

explains. Intended as a handbook

rather than coffee-table fodder,

Groves wants to “drive people to the

coasts, to unlock the fantastic history

and heritage of oysters”.

Groves was born in Maldon, Essex,

an oyster hub, and has worked

in the industry since his

late teens – “I was the

kid at school that had

the weird job.” You

name it, he’s done it.

Farming, purifying,

packing, exporting,

delivering,

DEPTH OF

FLAVOUR

Top, the oysters

grow in mesh bags

and trays tethered

to pontoons in the

Alde; above right,

Bill Pinney with the

trays; above, in the

Butley Orford

Oysterage; right,

Groves gives Tomé

Morrissy-Swan a

lesson in shucking

STHE LOBSTER

SHACK,

WHITSTABLE,

KENT

An oyster mecca

and you’ll dine

right where the

Romans ate

them. Great food

and local beer.

thelobstershack.

co.uk

THE BROAD

CHARE AND

SALTWATER

FISH COMPANY,

NEWCASTLE

A supper in The

Broad Chare by

the Tyne on the

quayside, or a

light bite in

Fenwick’s

Saltwater Fish,

are a perfect way

to spend a day in

the Toon.

thebroadchare.

co.uk; saltwaterfish.

co.uk

BANJO, ST

HELIER,

JERSEY, AND

LE PETIT

BISTRO, ST

PETER PORT,

GUERNSEY

Banjo is right in

the heart of St

Helier, just

around the

corner from the

historic Central

Market, and

Jersey rock

oysters can be

enjoyed dressed

or au naturel. Le

Petit Bistro is run

by an incredible

French chef who

serves Guernsey

and Herm oysters

by the harbour.

banjojersey.com;

petitbistro.co.uk

MORAN’S

OYSTER

COTTAGE,

GALWAY,

IRELAND

Order a mixed

plate of local

Galway oysters

with warm soda

bread, a pint of

stout and a side

of chowder in the

250-year-old

cottage’s wooden

interior.

moransoyster

cottage.com

THE

WATERFRONT

FISHOUSE,

OBAN,

SCOTLAND

Hearty Scottish

food and

Caledonian

oysters from

nearby Loch

Creran, farmed

by Judith Vajk

and family.

waterfrontfishouse.

co.uk

WHERE TO EAT THE

BEST OYSTERS

DRINKS

PAIRINGS

Groves recommends

something from the same

area, such as a stout in

Ireland, an ale in East Anglia

or a whisky in Scotland. “A

Galway native is absolutely

world class with a bit of soda

bread and butter, and a pint

of Guinness. Oh my

word, take me

to heaven.”

HOW TO

EAT

There are several ways. Raw

is common, plain, or with a

light seasoning or sauce. A

squeeze of lemon or a dash of

vinegar is often enough. For

Groves, natives should be

eaten raw with a dash of

lemon, while rock oysters

can be eaten raw, cooked,

smoked, deep-fried or

pan-fried.

LIFELONG

PA S SION

Bobby Groves

(wearing hat),

author of Oyster

Isles, with Bill

Pinney, owner

of Butley Creek

oyster farm

in Suffolk

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