Oysters are undergoing a renaissance, and it looks as if we have the millennials to thank for that.
According to research firm Datassential, oysters made their way onto nearly 10 percent of menus in 2014 — up about 16 percent from previous years — especially in the fine-dining sector. And men 30 and younger find them especially appealing.
A Midwest(USA)-based distributor to upscale restaurants said she has never seen such demand for oysters — and she’s been on the job for 20 years.
“The oysters today are really interesting and beautiful,” she said, and mostly always available. “Like wine, every oyster has a different flavor profile.”
The distributor sources oysters from both coasts and said supplies have been more than adequate as the United States heads into peak oyster season. Oyster stocks from the West Coast “look good … and there had been spotty availability last year.”
Prices were higher by about USD 5 cents (EUR .044) to 10 cents (EUR .087) per oyster last year, she noted, “which makes a big difference when you’re buying a lot of product.”
A Chicago-area restaurateur is also contending with the increase in demand from customers and competitors for inventory. He said not only are fine-dining establishments that specialize in seafood upping their oyster inventory, but steakhouses and other restaurant formats are now featuring oysters.
Unlike the distributor who has seen prices come down, the restaurant has seen higher prices initially this season by about USD 10 cents (EUR .087) per oyster, he said, but the expectation is that prices will come down as the season progresses.
His selection, which features up to 12 different oyster varieties each day, is made up of 60 percent East Coast and 40 percent West Coast. While customers can buy a dozen or half-dozen oysters individually, most popular is a sampler plate with three varieties from each coast.
“History is repeating itself,” he said, with oysters becoming as popular now as they were at the turn of the last century. The restaurant had an oyster festival in September and offered 22 varieties. Consumers, he said, want to know all about the oysters they are eating, from the Latin name and varietal to descriptors that explain the taste profile.
“I feel there are more and more people going from ‘stock’ (no name) oysters out of Delaware and Maryland to named product for which they can get a premium price,” said the distributor.
Still to be determined is how the recent record-high rainfall and flooding in South Carolina will impact oyster production in that area long term. The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control reported in early October that some oyster production areas along the coast were closed, maybe for up to a month.
A spokesperson for DHEC said the time required for the estuary to return to suitable levels is dependent on several factors including how much storm water washed into the estuary, how quickly the estuary flushes the fresh water out to the ocean and how quickly the oysters purge the bacteria. The DHEC is monitoring the bacteria levels and will reopen shellfish beds as soon as they are suitable for harvest, he said.
There isn’t much coming out of Virginia and the Carolinas, said the distributor, noting that when an area gets more than a couple of inches of rain, it has to be tested for runoff. “Now you have sporadic areas that are open and closed,” she said.
But other East Coast areas are filling in, such as Maine, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Prices from these oyster-producing areas usually fall in September and October, she said, when tourist season slacks off.
“I get better pricing and availability after Labor Day and I’m seeing great product,” she said. Pricing and availability is also “aggressive” for oysters from Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.
