Best Dressed Irish Oysters
What is it about the waters around the Emerald Isle? They seem to be perfect for breeding these luscious molluscs.
Bord Bia thought up this Oyster cooking competition and brought together a group of very creative chefs to showcase these very versatile Irish Oysters. In a champagne-fueled afternoon in “Hix Oyster and Chop House”, some very innovative oysters were submitted for judging.
There were 2 categories, cooked and raw. Points were given for not just taste but creative presentation. It’s amazing how many ways there are to eat oysters besides my favourite, with shallot vinegar. Here are the competitors:
Hot
Laura Jelley – Bob Bob Ricard
Tom Haste – The Lady Ottoline
Grigori Andrei – Bob Bob Ricard
Pierre Mallet – Wright Brothers
Simon Lamont – Shuck Oyster Bar
Pascal Aussignac – Club Gascon
Cold
Krystian Minarczyk – Bob Bob Ricard
Jordi Sebastianelli – Wright Brothers
Tyler Williams – Hix Oyster & Chop House
Mark Apsey – L’Ortolan
Pascal Aussignac – Club Gascon
Vincent Walsh – Bob Bob Ricard
The overall winner was Simon Lamont of Shuck, which runs popups in London. His creation called “Blown Seaweed ” “Blown Seaweed”, had an intense seaside flavour and included seaweed butter, mustard and miso, balanced by clean, tart ginger and served on a shovel.
Simon very theatrically blow-torched to give it that extra level of flavour. The judges unanimously awarded him the top prize.
The winner of the cold category was Tyler Williams from Hix for his “Oyster with Salmon Roe and Champonzu”, who also won a set of Flint & Flame knives.
Three ‘highly commended’ awards were also presented to Laura Jelley from Bob Bob Ricard for her hot dish, “Crispy Dulse Oysters”; Pascal Aussignac from Club Gascon for his “Aromatic Oysters, Foie Gras and Black Crisp”; and Jordi Sebastianelli from Wright Brothers for his cold dish, “Sake my Oyster”.
Here are pictures of some of the other contenders :
Irish Oyster Farmers, Joe on the right is from the biggest Oyster farm in Ireland, the XXX
