Oyster Master Guild 2024 Scholarship Recap

We were excited to join forces with the Oyster Master Guild in 2024 to provide 8 scholarships to recipients with varying backgrounds from all over the world to further their oyster knowledge.

We caught up with a couple members of our inaugural class to see how the Level 1 Certification Course: Oyster Appreciation Fundamentals went for them.

We posed the students with these questions:

What was your favorite part of the course?

What was one thing you learned that you didn't previously know?

How will you use this knowledge in your professional or personal life?

Any other thoughts or tidbits you'd like to share

Stay tuned as we launch the 2025 Scholarship Opportunity with Oyster Master Guild as we continue promoting oyster education.

Ramsen Slewa - Toronto, ON - Owner, The Shuck Truck

• One of my favourite parts of the course was learning about the history and culture that highlights interesting stories such as the Kumamoto oyster being off the market for some time then making a return and being farmed again due to flavour profile demand.
• One thing I learned I did not previously know about oyster pairings is to contrast the texture pair with beer or bubbly, to balance the minerality pair with white wine, to enhance the umami pair with sake or vodka. I'lll use this personally and professionally.
• I will use the knowledge acquired in this program everyday as it applies to my business at The Shuck Truck as well as restaurants I work with like Born and Raised and more.
• I believe the oyster is a beautiful thing that we should appreciate considering it is a healthy, delicious food that when farmed has a net positive result on the environment.

Betsy Stewart - Florida, USA - Student/Founder of The Zip Project

• My favorite part of the course was learning about oysters in my home state, Florida!
• One thing I learned that I didn't previously know was that oysters all taste different, and it varies on where that oyster is located that determines its taste.
• I will use this information when discussing restoration efforts and figuring out what type of oyster is best for certain environments and regions. 

 

Ian Altschul - North Carolina, USA - Wholesale Seafood Sales

• I think the best part of the course is hearing two knowledgeable oyster experts from completely different backgrounds talk shop. You get a really well-rounded deep-dive into all things oysters.

• There was a ton of new information for me, but I think all the info surrounding the oyster farming process is the most useful for me. 

• Being able to confidently and knowledgeably talk about oysters in the context of pop-ups and oyster roasts. I would repeat things I'd heard before, but now have confidence in the information I'm conveying and I'm able to articulate a little better, while also being fully confident that my information is accurate.

• I just think it's really special that Jetty Rock Foundation gave these scholarships out. I've been able to expand my knowledge in a personal and professional capacity, learning and studying in my free time.

 

Isabelle Pearl Love-Dack - Victoria, AUS - Owner, Finn's Oyster Bar

• My favourite part of the course was probably the way it was designed, the video classes were seriously engaging and easy to navigate and use. There is so much content covered and an intimidating amount of learning to take in but it's broken down into such interesting and rich segments per module that I couldn't get enough (and I have ADHD and didn't get distracted at all).
• One thing I didn't know is a tough question to answer because I just learned so many new things. Something that I've continued to revisit almost daily is learning all the Latin names for the various species and varieties of oysters. I had no idea that pacific oysters which make up a huge proportion of the industry in Australia were introduced from Japan!
• I’ve been teaching others how to shuck properly and educating customers and friends and family frequently with the knowledge I've gained and it's lead to me getting new avenues of paid work including being hired to coordinate venues for our local shell recycling program Shuck Don't Chuck which is just incredible to be part of.
• I can't wait to do Level 2 and continue learning as much as possible! Even being in Australia and the OMG course being largely Northern hemisphere focused I would recommend to anyone wanting to learn about oysters.