Chew don't swallow: oyster lore at annual champs

Much excitement at Boisdale in Canary Wharf for the annual Oyster Championships, with judges including Tom Parker Bowles, whose uncle Simon founded Green’s oyster bar in St James’s, and Rowley Leigh, whose Le Café Anglais includes an oyster bar.

Cornish restaurateur Rick Stein turned up late so he was banned from voting. Cumbrae won the rock category and Whitstable was triumphant among the native oysters.

Robin Hancock, of the Wright Brothers oyster merchants, said: “In the Dickensian era, oysters were a massive part of our food culture. We want to get back to that.” Leigh agreed. “I’m selling a lot more to young people, especially girls. It’s better to chew them and not just swallow them down. What’s is the point?”

Concerns were voiced about the sustainability of the native oyster supply, to which Parker Bowles added: “Also the eels. I’m worried about the eels all sliding away.”