Dredged, Not Farmed
Foveaux Strait oysters are lifted from the beds by dredge, the way they have been since 1863. The fleet works a narrow ground between Rakiura and Bluff, in cold, tide-rushed water that keeps the shells small and the liquor sharp.
Shop oystersOyster Bar
Three ways we serve a Bluff oyster, all of them by the dozen.
Foveaux Strait
Three dredge grounds, one narrow stretch of cold water between Rakiura and the south of the mainland.
Three Packs, One Strait
Bluff Oysters, Dozen Live
$54.00
Bluff Oyster Meat, Shucked
$68.00
Bluff Oysters, Frozen Half Shell
$44.00
March to August, No Longer
The season opens in March and closes at the end of August, and nothing we can do makes it longer. Outside those six months there is frozen stock and shucked meat, and neither is the same thing as a live oyster in the shell.
See the packs
A Shed at Bluff, and Nothing Else
We are a two-person operation on the south coast. The catch is opened, graded and packed in a shed at Bluff the same day, then couriered overnight. There is no distributor between the boat and the box.
Talk to usShuck Guide
An oyster, a short knife, lemon, mignonette, ice and a cloth. That is the whole kit.
Oyster
Closed and heavy, with no gap at the lip.
Knife
Short blade, stout handle, no flex in the tip.
Lemon
One drop per shell, and only if you want it.
Mignonette
Vinegar, shallot, cracked pepper. A teaspoon each.
Ice
Under the plate, never touching the meat.
Napkin
A damp cloth in the left hand to hold the shell upright.
Four Things We Will Not Compromise
Foveaux Strait
Seasonal Dredged
Shucked Fresh
Overnight, Chilled
Seasonal Log
The Bluff season runs six months. Which weeks are worth waiting for, and what the Strait is doing while it runs.
Southern Stars
Six things the south of New Zealand does better than anywhere else, and when to buy each one.