Get ready to shuck, sizzle, and savour at the Knysna Oyster Festival!

KNYSNA NEWS - The countdown has begun, and in less than six weeks, from 21 to 30 June, the Knysna Oyster Festival will be underway, promising oyster aficionados and foodies a shucking good time!

This year, the festival is dialling up the oyster love and putting the spotlight firmly back on Knysna's very own shellfish superstar.

Despite rumours to the contrary, organisers are setting the record straight: Knysna is indeed the place for oysters!

Elizabeth Vertue, spokesperson for the Quartet of Cuisines in Knysna, explains that while Japanese oyster spats might not call the Knysna Lagoon home anymore, the Knysna common Cape rock oyster, aka Crassostrea margaritacea, that occurs naturally along the coastline between Cape Agulhas and the Transkei, has been stealing the show for many years.

"We offer the common rock oyster in all our restaurants, and many of our foreign visitors believe that these local molluscs are the best and tastiest oysters in the world," says Vertue.

They are harvested locally by experienced oyster pickers who are licensed by SANParks to collect one 40kg bag of oysters each day over seven days during spring low tide only.

This is how to shuck'em!

These delicious coastal oysters, as well as oysters that have been cultivated further along the coast in Saldanha Bay, will be available at many of the Knysna Oyster Festival events this year, including an exciting new event especially for oyster lovers on Tuesday 25 June: Oysters – Roasted, Dressed, or Naked? Hosted at the Castle Lite Tent at the Festival Hub (on the Knysna High School sports fields), the event will offer guests the opportunity to indulge in a feast of coastal and cultivated oysters prepared in every way imaginable by Knysna's talented local chefs.

Oyster pickers. Photo: Rose Bilbrough

Oyster pickers at their craft: Susan Avery and Elizabeth van Rooyen.
Photo: Rose Bilbrough

That evening you can also witness the skills of local shuckers in the thrilling Oyster Shucking Championships when participants attempt to smash the world record of 38 oysters shucked in one minute!

At the heart of the festival, the 12 Savanna Oyster Hotspots will be serving up oysters in a symphony of flavours. Tantalise your taste buds and satisfy your oyster cravings with baked garlic and parmesan cheese oysters; take a shot of Margarita oyster delight; indulge in oysters with limoncello sorbet and cracked black pepper; or, if you’re a purist, enjoy raw oysters served with lemon wedges, black pepper and Tabasco Sauce.

Original oyster picker Andrew van Rooyen. Photo: Rose Bilbrough