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Roister for the oyster - event lauds meaty mollusc

BBC A line of men in black T-shirts shuck oystersBBC
Oyster shucking appears to be something of a masculine art

A celebration of all things oyster has been held in west London, with a festival dedicated to the bivalve mollusc.

The event, in Notting Hill, included a shucking competition as well as cooking demonstrations, entertainment and, of course, eating.

The oyster has a long history in the capital, with excavations within the Square Mile routinely finding shells tossed away by Romans.

Oyster Day - a day at the beginning of August when they were brought into the fish markets for the first time of the year - was a highlight in the calendar of the city's Victorian poor.

Oysters on a long table with men reaching for them
"Hands in if you're an oyster bro!"

The shellfish were eaten across the capital, sold by street hawkers from wooden carts, as well as pickled or brined and served in taverns.

However, overfishing and pollution meant oyster beds in the Thames could no longer sustain the demand, so they became a luxury.

Getty Images A 17th Century etching of an oyster seller pushing a wooden barrelGetty Images
"Come and get your bivalve molluscs" as the oysterman probably didn't call - depicted in 1688

Organiser of the Notting Hill event, Christopher D'Sylva, said the once-humble oyster "presents the future of what sustainable protein looks like".

And mayor of London Sadiq Khan recently said he had taken inspiration from a project in New York to return one billion oysters to the Hudson river.

Although he has emphasised the oyster's potential role in cleaning the river, rather than as a foodstuff, Mr D'Sylva is hopeful they will once again become a popular choice for hungry Londoners.

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