“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.**
Once again — great information in a well-produced video. I learned something I didn’t know today and that’s always a good thing.
Now I want to have oysters, but it’s 10:40pm in the ‘burbs and that’s just not possible around these parts.
Hey Fran! All I can wish for is to share the cool things I’m learning everyday too! I was such an East Coast oyster snob until Nellie convinced me to come out there. Amazing to walk on all the oysters at low tide. Seems so wrong to do…but their shells are so tough even with grown men walking over them
Once again — great information in a well-produced video. I learned something I didn’t know today and that’s always a good thing.
Now I want to have oysters, but it’s 10:40pm in the ‘burbs and that’s just not possible around these parts.
Hey Fran! All I can wish for is to share the cool things I’m learning everyday too! I was such an East Coast oyster snob until Nellie convinced me to come out there. Amazing to walk on all the oysters at low tide. Seems so wrong to do…but their shells are so tough even with grown men walking over them
Nicely done, Liza!
So glad you watched Tovar! What’s your favorite oyster BTW??
I’m afraid I have almost no oyster experience to draw on!
Have you read *A Geography of Oysters*? The author is a local acquaintance here in Vermont. Nice guy.
Nicely done, Liza!
So glad you watched Tovar! What’s your favorite oyster BTW??
I’m afraid I have almost no oyster experience to draw on!
Have you read *A Geography of Oysters*? The author is a local acquaintance here in Vermont. Nice guy.
I.LOVE.OYSTERS. My favorite restaurant in DC is Hank’s Oyster Bar.
Great, professionally-produced, highly informative video. Nellie makes a good case for the West Coast oyster. And now I’m dying for the briney-mellon goodness of a Kumamoto.
Thanks for sharing!
I.LOVE.OYSTERS. My favorite restaurant in DC is Hank’s Oyster Bar.
Great, professionally-produced, highly informative video. Nellie makes a good case for the West Coast oyster. And now I’m dying for the briney-mellon goodness of a Kumamoto.
Thanks for sharing!
It was fun and educational at the same time. I love watching animals and eat eat eat! The series is genius, I definitely wanna share with others!
It was fun and educational at the same time. I love watching animals and eat eat eat! The series is genius, I definitely wanna share with others!
You find the most articulate people. Nice production. I’m glad you took the time to come to the Northwest.
You find the most articulate people. Nice production. I’m glad you took the time to come to the Northwest.
Great video! Thanks for this info.
Great video! Thanks for this info.
It was great to meet you and watch you in action. Braude and I will never forget the look on your face after the geoduck squirted into your mouth.
You captured the essence of West Coast oysters in this video, and I look forward to catching the rest of the series.
It was great to meet you and watch you in action. Braude and I will never forget the look on your face after the geoduck squirted into your mouth.
You captured the essence of West Coast oysters in this video, and I look forward to catching the rest of the series.
Great Job Liza! It was wonderful meeting you yesterday and hope we’ll run into each other again soon! I LOVE this video– and it’s not just because I heart Nellie. I do have to point out that while there are no good oysters in the five boroughs, there are plenty of wonderful oysters found right outside the city in the Great South Bay and Long Island Sound. I’m going to be writing an entry about the Blue Island Shellfish Farms soon so stay tuned!
Great Job Liza! It was wonderful meeting you yesterday and hope we’ll run into each other again soon! I LOVE this video– and it’s not just because I heart Nellie. I do have to point out that while there are no good oysters in the five boroughs, there are plenty of wonderful oysters found right outside the city in the Great South Bay and Long Island Sound. I’m going to be writing an entry about the Blue Island Shellfish Farms soon so stay tuned!
This video is great! Super informative and interesting. I want to eat oysters so badly right now.
This video is great! Super informative and interesting. I want to eat oysters so badly right now.
An excellent example of paying attention to the flavors of the food. In my work and exposure to backyard cooks – I find too often people are heavy-handed with sauces and spices and call it “adding flavor.” Learning to suss out the flavors with your ‘tastey buds” is so integral to fully enjoying the food.
Thanks for this. I’ve re-posted and links back so my readers can benefit and get to know your work.
An excellent example of paying attention to the flavors of the food. In my work and exposure to backyard cooks – I find too often people are heavy-handed with sauces and spices and call it “adding flavor.” Learning to suss out the flavors with your ‘tastey buds” is so integral to fully enjoying the food.
Thanks for this. I’ve re-posted and links back so my readers can benefit and get to know your work.
GREAT VIDEO AND INFO ON OYSTERS. THANK YOU LIZA
Thanks Ron So glad you stopped by to watch!
GREAT VIDEO AND INFO ON OYSTERS. THANK YOU LIZA
Thanks Ron So glad you stopped by to watch!
I’m ready to get on a non-stop flight to Seattle for some oysters. In the meanwhile, how do we get these oysters in NY?
For a restaurant or for personal consumption? Nellie supplies the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Union Market in Brooklyn with these West Coast Oysters. I’ve also seen them at The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market!
Or you can join the New York Oyster MeetUp group with me
I’m ready to get on a non-stop flight to Seattle for some oysters. In the meanwhile, how do we get these oysters in NY?
For a restaurant or for personal consumption? Nellie supplies the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Union Market in Brooklyn with these West Coast Oysters. I’ve also seen them at The Lobster Place in Chelsea Market!
Or you can join the New York Oyster MeetUp group with me
Very informative video. I walked the beach with you vicariously and felt the joy of being able to pick up an oyster, shuck it, and eat it right there. Bravo!
Very informative video. I walked the beach with you vicariously and felt the joy of being able to pick up an oyster, shuck it, and eat it right there. Bravo!
Hi Nellie, great video! Just that you look a bit busy there. Wish I could do the eating for you and you just need to do the talking
Hi Nellie, great video! Just that you look a bit busy there. Wish I could do the eating for you and you just need to do the talking
Thanks, Liza.
Your video of Nellie Wu, W&T Seafood, provides an intelligent and fun look at what sensible environmental stewardship can harvest. I hear a plate of Kumamotos calling…..
Thanks, Liza.
Your video of Nellie Wu, W&T Seafood, provides an intelligent and fun look at what sensible environmental stewardship can harvest. I hear a plate of Kumamotos calling…..
If I didn’t know, I would’ve thought that this video taken by a few people, and then edited by yet a few more people… and all this in a matter of just a couple weeks. Love the angle shot and the close-ups. Lovely background scenery. Background music chosen well to keep the video interesting. Excellent Liza, and what an honor to have met you.
If I didn’t know, I would’ve thought that this video taken by a few people, and then edited by yet a few more people… and all this in a matter of just a couple weeks. Love the angle shot and the close-ups. Lovely background scenery. Background music chosen well to keep the video interesting. Excellent Liza, and what an honor to have met you.
And Nellie… excellent job of disecting the flavors of the oysters with your taste buds. Proud of you. Glad to know you appreciate the northwest.
And Nellie… excellent job of disecting the flavors of the oysters with your taste buds. Proud of you. Glad to know you appreciate the northwest.
Liza,
Informative video as the viewer accompanies you to the oyster beds of the west coast. I could smell the invigorating sea air. Nellie’s passion for oysters comes through clearly; she is extremely articulate. Though I’m not an oyster fan, I am a proponent of sustainable living….this is a great example for west coast dwellers. A lesson for all. Nice job!
Liza,
Informative video as the viewer accompanies you to the oyster beds of the west coast. I could smell the invigorating sea air. Nellie’s passion for oysters comes through clearly; she is extremely articulate. Though I’m not an oyster fan, I am a proponent of sustainable living….this is a great example for west coast dwellers. A lesson for all. Nice job!
Wow. I had no idea oyster farms looked like that! I never knew you could walk on them, too!
Very educational video. It’s all about sustainability. Personally, I love Kumamotos.
Liza and Nellie–fabulous job!
Wow. I had no idea oyster farms looked like that! I never knew you could walk on them, too!
Very educational video. It’s all about sustainability. Personally, I love Kumamotos.
Liza and Nellie–fabulous job!
This story stuck with me all week and Saturday we drove up to the Skagit Valley and Taylor Shellfish Farms just off Chuckanut Drive. Fresh Olympia oysters that were oh so tasty and enjoyed there on the beach with a view of the San Juan Islands.
This story stuck with me all week and Saturday we drove up to the Skagit Valley and Taylor Shellfish Farms just off Chuckanut Drive. Fresh Olympia oysters that were oh so tasty and enjoyed there on the beach with a view of the San Juan Islands.
Liza – Great video! Working for a seafood purveyor in Chicago, I am constantly explaining to customers about west coast (and east coast) oysters, and your video will be such a great tool to help me with that. It’s educational and interesting – well done! I’m definitely posting this on our website for our customers to view.
Hey Beth! Oh thanks for stopping by and leaving your sweet message. I think for me it was even an education to follow Nellie around and learn all there is to learn about
oyster appreciation. More oyster videos to come so stay tuned!
Liza – Great video! Working for a seafood purveyor in Chicago, I am constantly explaining to customers about west coast (and east coast) oysters, and your video will be such a great tool to help me with that. It’s educational and interesting – well done! I’m definitely posting this on our website for our customers to view.
Hey Beth! Oh thanks for stopping by and leaving your sweet message. I think for me it was even an education to follow Nellie around and learn all there is to learn about
oyster appreciation. More oyster videos to come so stay tuned!
I follow your blog site for quite a extended time and have to have tell that your articles often prove to be of a high value and high quality for readers.
I follow your blog site for quite a extended time and have to have tell that your articles often prove to be of a high value and high quality for readers.
I was saddened and extremely dismayed to hear your comments on the “food.curated” show last evening.
How incredible that you stated you hail from Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, your business is located here, too! Yet, you chose to discredit an entire industry in your area with one line. You doubt very much that any shellfish from the 5 boroughs is able to be eaten.
Well, Miss Wu, I beg to differ. I have been eating Shellfish off the Atlantic shoreline my entire life, and I have NEVER found shellfish to be better anywhere else in my travels across the U.S. and Europe!
My family is in the fishing business and I totally RESENT and object to your off-the-cuff comment!
Perhaps, you should remember your roots and not “dis” businesses within your own city so easily and readily!!!! These are businesses in your hometown, tsk, tsk, tsk…..
How inappropriate and totally distasteful!
I was saddened and extremely dismayed to hear your comments on the “food.curated” show last evening.
How incredible that you stated you hail from Brooklyn, NY. Additionally, your business is located here, too! Yet, you chose to discredit an entire industry in your area with one line. You doubt very much that any shellfish from the 5 boroughs is able to be eaten.
Well, Miss Wu, I beg to differ. I have been eating Shellfish off the Atlantic shoreline my entire life, and I have NEVER found shellfish to be better anywhere else in my travels across the U.S. and Europe!
My family is in the fishing business and I totally RESENT and object to your off-the-cuff comment!
Perhaps, you should remember your roots and not “dis” businesses within your own city so easily and readily!!!! These are businesses in your hometown, tsk, tsk, tsk…..
How inappropriate and totally distasteful!