Oysters devoured at blistering pace

Soul Bar waitress Maile John brings out more platters of Bluff oysters yesterday. Picture / Martin Sykes

Rob Green had a blister after an hour, but no one seemed to care too much.

The self-professed "seafood expert" flew up from Bluff, along with 350 dozen oysters, to act as Soul Bar's shucker for Auckland's first new-season taste of the southern delicacy.

Despite his injury - "goes with the territory" - he managed to shuck almost 1000 oysters in two and a half hours.

"You expect a blister at the start of every season," Mr Green said.

It was a packed Soul Bar as oyster aficionados crammed in for the Bluff season opening special. For $110 you got wine brought to your table and, of course, all the freshly shucked Bluff oysters you could eat.

That included options such as deep fried, basil butter, raw and served in a shot of sake or a Bloody Mary. But for Mr Green there's only one choice.

"They've got to be raw. I wouldn't touch them any other way."

Judith Tabron, owner of the Viaduct bar and restaurant, said it was the first time she had taken such dramatic measures to get shelled oysters to Auckland.

"But that's the most important thing about them. There's no comparison to having them freshly shucked here."

Up to 15 million oysters are allowed to be caught at Bluff before the season ends on August 31.

At wholesale, they went for about $20 per dozen at Auckland Fish Market, but retail is at $23.95.

Auckland Fish Market manager Nigel Thomas said the stock he received yesterday morning "disappeared within seconds".

"It will take some time before a decent supply gets up to Auckland," he said.

Graeme Wright, manager of Barnes Oysters in Invercargill, said a dozen raw oysters would be up about $2 on last year. In 1997, the average price for a dozen of Bluff's finest was $9.

At Soul Bar, Paul and Madelynne McArthur were happy to fork out for a "well worth it" lunch. They had managed 72 oysters between them because "you've got to have them in quantity," Mr McArthur said.

Mrs McArthur said the start of the Bluff season was a good chance for a celebration.

And, added Mr McArthur, "They go really well with beer."