Coming from Whitstable and loving seafood kind of goes hand in hand.

I’ve recently been involved with the Loch Fyne Oyster restaurant in Cairndow on the way to Inverary and consequently been painting oysters all week. So oysters have been on my mind. Have you ever tasted them? If you love the beach, the smell of the salty air,  have a passion for the surf then eating oysters is an experience as close to plunging into the waves as you get without taking your clothes off.

Now is the best time to eat them.  Oysters are available all year round but, my father ( a good guy who knew a thing or two about seafood. ) always told me to never eat an oyster without an ‘r’ in the month – (May through to August). Historically it may have had something to do with lack of refrigeration, but also, during our summer months, the oysters devote the majority of their energies to reproducing so are not as plump as they could be.

In the news, this weekend was a piece stating an economic impact report has found the first edition of the three-day Stranraer Oyster Festival generated more than £500,000.  About 10,000 people visited the town during the event from 15 to 17 September, so I’m not the only person who is quite keen on them.

If you missed the oyster festival in Stranraer, decent oysters are being served at Loch Fyne or in Whitstable. (Other oyster bars are available…) These are my recommendations, and I’m my father’s daughter.

https://www.lochfyne.com

http://www.wheelersoysterbar.com