Colchester Native Oysters

The Colchester Oyster is a gourmet product found on the menus of the world’s most exclusive restaurants and drawing high praise from many experts - among them TV celebrity chefs Rick Stein and Jamie Oliver.

Dredged from the deeper waters of the river, where they have lain for four years or more, during the spring, they are placed in the warm shallow waters of the creek to enjoy the food streaming from the surrounding marshland. By the start of the season in September they are plump and, when taken from the beds, are carefully carried from the boat to be washed, graded, depurated and packed ready for delivery to discerning connoisseurs.

Gigas 'Rock' Oysters

The edges of the creek, which are only exposed by the tide at its lowest, are where the intruders are laid. These are the gigas or ‘rock’ oysters, which were originally imported from the Pacific and bred in a hatchery before being placed in the sea. These are the successors and Pacific cousins to the Portuguese oysters which were re-laid in these creeks and sold in seaside resorts around the country until the 1970’s.

Due to the very warm sea temperatures during the summer months, the gigas now spawn in the wild most years and we are increasingly re-laying these wild oysters as we gather them from the shores around the estuary.

Did you know?...

The sale of oysters during the breeding season is prohibited by law, hence the expression, "Oysters should only be eaten when there's an 'R' in the month."

However as the gigas don’t theoretically spawn here, and the laws forbidding the sale of oysters during the summer months were passed before they were introduced, they can be sold throughout the year!

Price List

Prices include delivery. All orders confirmed.

Deliveries: Tuesday - Friday

Payment: By cheque or by BACS to 20:22:67 A/c No:53254496 

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