The Rolls Royce of Oysters
Once the food of the poor, and later famous for the pearls that they can produce, oysters are now prized around the world as a delicacy that can command serious prices. Some say they have the properties of an aphrodisiac, others simply enjoy them for their firm, sweet flesh that is as unique as it is hard to describe.
Oysters come in a variety of sizes and species, and vary in taste and texture depending on where they are found around the world. Scottish oysters and oysters from the North-eastern seaboard of North America are famous, of course, for eating and those from the Gulf of Aden for pearls. But, for four generations, the Gillardeau family has been cultivating oysters in the waters near to where the Charente river meets the Atlantic ocean in France—an area called the Marennes-Oléron. Known for their superb flavour and natural sweetness, some believe they are the best in the world. Due to a massive market in counterfeit Gillardeau oysters, every oyster that they produce is now laser engraved to guarantee their authenticity.
Today at school we were learning how to fillet fish of different shapes and sizes (mackerel, John Dorey, scorpion fish, weaver fish, sole, gurnard etc.) and clean their carcasses (the viscera are often discarded but fish livers give fantastic flavour to soups and sauces and are highly nutritious; and the roe sacks from a fish like a sole are delicious simply dusted in flour and pan fried). Tomorrow we are going to prepare a fish soup, thickened with aioli. We were lucky enough to be guided through the workshop by a guest teacher and demonstrator, who bears the title of ‘Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France’ (MOF), the highest award for a craftsman or artisan in France. Working with fish requires knowledge of the fish’s anatomy as much as it requires a good touch with the knife, and treating a fish with the utmost respect and craftsmanship has become even more important as prices around the world have soared for many species.
The last technique to learn was how to shuck oysters, so I finally got to taste one of the famed Gillardeau specimens—when eating oysters of such quality, we were told, it is a waste to dress them with vinegar or lemon; they should be eaten only with a pinch of pepper and chewed slowly to release their flavour and make them easier to digest.
Honestly, they were divine.