“It’s all about the water quality…”

Meet Nellie Wu, the oyster specialist and General Manager of W&T Seafood, a family-owned and operated seafood distribution company based in Brooklyn, New York. Nellie’s company has been the link to connecting great NYC chefs and restaurants to West Coast shellfish farms, namely Taylor Shellfish Farms, for the past 25 years – supplying premiere oyster hubs like The Grand Central Oyster Bar with famed West Coast oysters like Totten Inlet Virginicas, Pacifics, Kumamotos, Fanny Bay Oysters, Kusshis, Olympias and European Flats.

Nellie’s passionate about West Coast oysters not only from a sustainability standpoint, but also from a taste standpoint. She firmly believes they are some of the best tasting oysters you can get in North America. And with the local food movement inspiring more NYers to eat locally, she just wants people to understand the need for supporting regionally grown food as well, especially ones with a good mission behind it.

So, I hope you enjoy this piece on West Coast oysters with Nellie Wu, the first of many pieces on seafood and shellfish farming I’ll be sharing this summer.  We traveled together to Hood Canal and Southern Puget Sound and boarded ferries all the way up to Vancouver Island in British Columbia to make sure you saw for yourself where good shellfish comes from.

And to join Nellie in her quest to teach others about oysters, check out the New York Oyster Lovers MeetUp and get started on your own Oyster Life List. Sign up here: New York Oyster Lovers Meetup.

Thanks for watching food. curated. Happy Eating!

**And many thanks to the Taylor Shellfish family who helped make this trip possible.**