Two of the headline guests and oyster buffs at Narooma Oyster Festival share what they look for when judging oysters, their most memorable oyster experience and what makes Narooma Oyster Festival so special for them.
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They are Australia's leading seafood authority John Susman and award-winning New Zealand chef Martin Bosley.
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What they look for when judging oysters
Mr Bosley: I am always looking for various flavour profiles - salty, creamy, unami, that mineraliity you look for and sweetness, which usually comes back to how often they have had to open and close their shells depending on the tide. I hate the word delicious but sometimes oysters just are and everything comes together.
Mr Susman: We judge along the same lines as wine show judges. We accept an entry on the assumption it is perfect and deduct points for faults. At the Sydney Royal Aquaculture Show on April 17 we had 15 judges - scientists, farmers, industry bodies, distributors, retailers and chefs. There is less than 5 percent variation in the blind tasting of oysters, testimony that the system works.
Most memorable oyster experience
Mr Susman: They need to be freshly shucked. It is like the difference between AM transistor and FM stereo. Typically on a punt, listening to a farmer talk about the merroir and tasting that oyster, ideally with my feet in the water and getting that sixth sense of appreciation of the oyster. That can be anywhere in the world but particularly on the NSW South Coast.
Mr Bosley: I had just flown from New Zealand to London and went to Michelin-starred Bibendum restaurant. At 9am I am eating Colchester oysters and Irish belon oysters as people are screaming off to work and buses and cars flying past. I had the perfect time. The world stopped. I could have died happy at that point on the side of the Fulham Road. Oysters really are an expression of place.
What makes Narooma Oyster Festival special
Mr Bosley: Anybody can have a festival that celebrates local produce but we are going there just to celebrate the oyster and the work people involved with oysters do, oyster farmers. I think it is fantastic. There is something magical about oysters that intrigues people. The festival is a great place if you have never had an oyster before because it is very safe and you are among friends.
Mr Susman: There is a unique element of engagement and involvement between the farmers and the patrons that you don't see in too many other places. It is my favourite regional food festival in the country. There is a real sense of local pride, not just in the region, but in the oyster, which is quite palpable.
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