Consider the oyster. And while you’re at it, why not have the world’s fastest shucker explain to you the sweet-and-salty joys of the teardrop-shaped P.E.I. Malpeque or the light, cream-and-melon undertones of the tiny Washington State Kumamoto? Then let a cool, wet one slide down your throat.
That was the scene last Thursday night, as a crowd of 40 oyster-lovers (and a few oyster virgins) gathered in The Market Kitchen above St. Lawrence Market to hear Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill owner and champion shucker Patrick McMurray preach his gospel.
It was the second evening in the market’s Executive Chef Series, in which top local chefs share their skills and expertise with their foodie fans. After a thorough lecture and a tasting menu of three of the five species grown in North America (accompanied by much brow-furrowing and contemplative nodding by the aficionados, and the occasional discreet coughing fit by the yet-to-be-converted), it was time to start shucking.
A group of four Sex and the City–type singles were among the first to charge the shellfish-laden table. In six-inch blue-suede heels, Sarah Riley enthusiastically snatched up one of the shucking knives and plunged it into a defenseless Malpeque before tossing back her head and slurping down the bivalve. Her friend, a petite woman with fabulously large blonde hair, leaned towards McMurray: “Do you ever wish for a less deviant word for what you do?” He smiled and shook his curly locks. “Nah, it rhymes so nicely with puck.”
