delicious. PRODUCE AWARDS WINNER
PHOTOGRAPHS DAVID CHARBIT STILL LIFE STUART WEST
WHY ARE MILLBAY OYSTERS WORTHY OF A delicious. PRODUCE AWARD?
They’re some of the plumpest oysters you’ll ever come across. The large mesh bags they’re grown in are turned and shaken so their frill – or mantle – is broken off and grows back thicker. That causes the shell to bulge in the middle and means the oyster inside plumps up to fill the space.
Then there’s the purity. As Rooney says, “Carlingford Lough has some of the cleanest waters there are.” But the oysters also spend two days in a state-of-the-art purification and depuration unit.
Above all, though, there’s the taste: sweetness, the right level of salinity and layered flavours of cucumber, seaweed and apple that make Rooney Fish’s Millbay oysters worthy winners in our From the Sea (Primary) category.
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID
Restaurateur, chef and founder of Leiths School of Food and Wine
Prue Leith “I’ve never had to take two mouthfuls to eat an oyster before!”
Editor Karen Barnes “Ozone-y, huge, outstanding. Creamy, gentle flavour.”
Food writer Lucas Hollweg “Lovely creamy texture, but with a rockpool freshness and mineral finish.”
FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT OYSTERS