WHAT? Oysters in the Okanagan? I’ve been asked far too many times “are there oysters farms in the Okanagan?”  Well no, they don’t yet grow in Osoyoos Lake, but contrary to popular belief, oysters can live outside the ocean for several weeks and I guarantee that all the oysters in this Osoyoos Oyster Festival got there in just days, if not hours, after they left their ocean beds.  Jon and Anne Marie Crofts, owners of my fav Okanagan fishmongers, Codfather’s in Kelowna, certainly ensure this. And why should we deny oysters to those not right on the ocean? It would be unfair! It is also an excellent chance for the hard working oyster farmers to take a break from harvesting and get off their sea legs to head inland and present their incredible bivalves to those who have waited all year to slurp the freshest of the fresh. Oysters belong everywhere and this year West Coast Oyster Farmers Outlandish Shellfish, and The Oyster Man brought their finest to the show and 46 South came all the way from New Zealand. Oysters ranged from Marina’s Top Drawer, Royal Courtesans, and Kushis to Kaipara’s and Tio Point’s from down south.

For the third year in a row I chased my passion for oysters up to the festival in the South Okanagan ( I call it #oysterlove) . This year Destination Osoyoos sponsored the festival I was assisting with media, competitions and events so I did miss out on getting my full oyster slurp on, but I certainly did suck back a few.

For the second year in a row the official Canadian Oyster and Wine Pairing Competition was held. I judged last year and helped produce it this year. Kudos to Claire Sear for coming up with the brilliant idea! And thank you to all our fantastic judges. It was an excellent adventure and a very interesting delve into the exact science of food and wine pairing.

Congratulations to Noble Ridge Winery, named the best Canadian Wine and Oyster Pairing Wine for their sparking, ” The One”.

The next day our craft beer specialists came in to asses the relevance of oyster and beer pairing and it was deemed that The Cannery Brewery’s Blackberry Porter was most worthy of the title Best Canadian Craft Beer and Oyster Pairing. Here we see food writer Dan Clapson in deep thought!

In the evening the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce hosted the Brew and Beast event with plenty of freshly shucked oysters and delights from several Okanagan restaurants and resorts.

Saturday afternoon the winners from last year’s Oyster Wine Pairing Comp showed their best from this year and last and in the evening Art of the Oyster showed more of these sea creatures all prepared by various chefs from around the valley.

If you love oysters this weekend is made for you and if you haven’t tried them it’s a great place to “lose your oyster virginity”. Be sure to see Rob Tryon from Effingham Oysters who will guide you through this right of passage and so you can officially #geteffed. I hope we see all oyster farmers and lovers again next year. It would be hard for me to stay away! #oysterlove