KEY POINTS:
When she was a Dunedin teenager, Susan Berry's father would get her to shell a sack of prized Bluff oysters.
At the Euro restaurant yesterday, Mrs Berry, now an Oamaru cheesemaker, decided to try her hand again at opening oysters after the first delivery arrived fresh from the Foveaux Strait.
She struggled for a while, saying the knife was too thick, but eventually prised the oyster open, conceding she was no longer a dab hand.
"I've mangled it."
Mangled or not, Mrs Berry popped the oyster in her mouth and decided the effort was worth it.
"That is divine."
Mrs Berry was one of many customers at Euro, in the Viaduct Basin, to feast on the oysters which were said to be the largest and healthiest for years.
A long-time consumer of the Bluff oyster, Mrs Berry said the ones she had yesterday were as good as the best she had tasted.
"They are of a very good standard, magnificent."
Nearby Joe Tasse, of Denver, had been waiting for the restaurant to open just to taste the renowned Bluff oysters which had been getting plenty of media coverage during his visit to New Zealand.
Mr Tasse admitted he was "more a mussel man" but was impressed with the Bluff oysters.
"Oh my God, that is different ... excellent," he said, after trying the first of his half dozen served with a slice of lemon.
"They have a distinct taste ... meaty."
Mr Tasse was so impressed he ordered another half dozen and now can't wait to get to Havelock in Marlborough to sample our mussels.
Other customers gave head chef Shane Yardley the thumbs up as the oysters went down.
Mr Yardley said 400 dozen oysters had been brought up by plane yesterday to be shared among a few Auckland restaurants.
He said they had lived up to the hype and were definitely bigger than last year.
Central Auckland supermarkets contacted by the Herald were expecting to start getting supplies in the next few days.
