PEI in the winter

It is the dead of winter, the snow is piled up, and we're slippin' and slidin' around town. Yet, we can get lovely oysters out of the fridge, just about any time we want. Or can we?

This Colville Bay oyster by Johnny Flynn - fat, plump, and crisply toothsome with a hint of salty ocean, is sound asleep at the bottom of Johnny's beds, covered in a thick layer of Ice and snow. There they'll lay, hibernating,  'til the spring thaw, when the ice leaves the bay, and Adam (Oyster Boy) will go out and "tend the beds" on a spring clean up, and we'll get them once again.

Well, there are a few intrepid, truly hardy Canadian Oyster Growers out there that have come up with a way of harvesting through the ice, and frigid temperatures.

Lucky me - I'm going to do that on Thursday - in PEI. 

I've been asked to speak (I've been known to spin a few in my time) at the annual Island Oyster Grower's Association's annual meeting. It is an honour (as a Toronto boy) to be asked to share my thoughts, and really, your comments - of how the Malpeque oyster is  perceived in this and other Oyster towns across the world.

While I am there, I'll be taken out tho the water, and actually harvest oysters through the ice. I will be taking pictures, and report back, after I thaw out myself.

I'll also be shucking at the Claddagh Oyster House in Charlottetown, home of Liam Dolan, publican, oyster shucker, and now, Matchmaker, like myself. We will be holding interviews, and an intimate Matchmakers - Hartwarmers Festival on the 13th. All are welcome, if you're in the area.