Dear Readers,
On Sunday, 7th September, my friends at Note Bistro and Wine bar will be hosting a very special celebration of the native Irish oyster, featuring none other than world shucking champion Michael Moran. I’m delighted to be collaborating on the evening alongside friends from the industry, Karl Whelan, Joshua Plunkett, and the talented Note chefs — Head Chef Ben Fehily and Sous Chef Victoria White.
Michael will lead guests through a guided tasting of native oysters, sharing the unique heritage and magic behind them. Following this, each of us chefs will present our own oyster creation for guests to enjoy.
Tickets (€60pp) include:
A welcome Bloody Mary cocktail
Michael’s 4 x native oyster tasting
4 topped oysters, one from each chef
The event runs from 5pm–8pm. An exclusive snack menu and drinks list will also be available on the night.
Tickets are available from 10 am on Wednesday 20th @ notedublin.com
Below, you’ll find a video of Michael demonstrating how to open a Galway flat oyster. Long-time readers may remember my own first attempt at this technique during the National Oyster Championships in Oslo. I’d only discovered the competition the day before and, up to that point, had never even held the Scandinavian-style knife Michael uses. News had spread among the contestants that an Irish chef working at a 3-Michelin-star restaurant in Copenhagen was a last-minute entrant — though they needn’t have worried! After a morning’s crash course (about a dozen oysters), I managed a respectable 12th place out of 22.
It was tougher than it looked, with points awarded for speed and precision — and deducted for broken shells in the flesh. I’m eager to see just how fast Michael is when he takes the stage at Note…