POC Grand Opening Aug 18, 2011!!!

We have booked the Winnipeg Squash and Racquet Club to host our grand opening on Aug 18, 2011 from 4-6pm. Details and ticket info to follow but we are looking forward to officially launching our venture with an oyster tasting party. If you are interested in attending send us an email at peter@prairieoystercatering.ca or marshall@prairieoystercatering.ca.

We will be bringing in different varieties of oysters for you to try so bring an appetite and a shucking knife... just kidding, we'll shuck em for you!

PWR

We're home!

I haven't had time to write up our trip to BC last weekend for the BC Shellfish Festival yet but here is a good article on the festival... http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/whatscooking/default.aspx.

Pics and stories to follow... best weekend ever btw despite the fact that a car burning festival broke out in Vancouver the first night I was there ;)

Priceline

I had some issues with Priceline this morning... this is what I emailed them after spending an hour on the phone with their hapless call centre staff...

I am very unhappy with my transaction with Priceline. I booked a vehicle through Priceline for a 8am pick up at a cost of $145. I checked my itinerary today and Priceline changed my pickup time to 6pm. I tried to modify the pick up time back to 8am but the prices were $100-+400 more.

I called customer service and spent an hour talking to 3 people and no one was able to help me. All I wanted was a similarly priced car for an earlier pick up.

Thanks for wasting my morning and wrecking my first day of my trip. Unless this is rectified I will never use Priceline again and will speak badly about your services for the rest of my life to everyone I know. Actually I probably won't... it's only $100 and I'll spend the day in Vancouver drinking good coffee and enjoying the scenery until I can pick up my vehicle at 6pm while whoever does or doesn't read this works at their shitty job in a shitty office for a shitty company.

See you in hell Priceline!

BC Shellfish Festival

After spending the last month working on flood issues, I am starting to get excited about our trip to BC next week for the http://bcshellfishfestival.ca/. The plan so far is for me to fly to Vancouver on Wednesday, June 15th, pick up the rental unit and spend the day visiting wholesalers, suppliers and restaurant's, etc. If my BC friends are lucky I will bring some Manitoba love and cook them some menno food (farmer sausage, verenikje, holubtchi, Bothwell cheese curds, kielke, schmont fat, crackles, etc.)

Marshall flies in to YVR Thursday morning and I will attempt to wake up early and pick him up so we can catch the ferry (BC Ferries - Cruising the Straits!) to Nanaimo. We are hoping to meet Andrew Dryden at Evening Cove Oyster and then drive to Fanny Bay to tour Fanny Bay Oysters with Ray Silvey before we drive to Courtney and check in at the Old House Village Hotel.

Friday will be a busy day because we want to drive up to Read Island and visit Steve Pocock at Sawmill Bay before the 5:30 BCSF Chefs’ Dinner at Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park in Comox. It looks like an amazing evening of... here, I'll let them describe it - The Chefs’ Dinner is a unique culinary experience. Served outdoors along the banks of Baynes Sound amongst the beautiful gardens of the historic Filberg Heritage Lodge and Park, this six-course gourmet supper is prepared by some of BC’s top chefs who have been partnered up with a local shellfish grower to bring you the best of BC. Included in your meal is a selection of Okanagan based Hester Creek Estate wines expertly paired with each course. During the reception, guests will be treated to the intoxicating sounds of Emily Spiller, recently nominated for 5 Vancouver Island Music Awards. Pretty cool hey?

Saturday - we will probably need some spa treatment and a hike up a mountain after the 6 course dinner because Saturday is oyster day at the Festival... oyster shucking contest, chowder contest (what the heck?), music, oyster vendors... be still my beating heart! I may never eat again after this trip... wowsers is all I can say!

Sunday - this should be a fun day... we plan on taking the Comox to Powell River Ferry and then tour Organic Oysters and other producers in the Okeover area with Andre Comeau. Their place looks amazing and we can't wait to learn about their product and harvesting techniques on the Sunshine Coast!

Monday - fly back to Winnipeg, hopefully with our heads full of stories, our stomachs full of food, our phones filled with contacts and our luggage filled with product!

Big Announcement in Winnipeg Today!

I know lots of people have been waiting for this for a long time so I am happy to report that...... Prairie Oyster Catering has rescheduled their Oysterpalooza Tour and will be attending the BC Shellfish Festival June 17 & 18 in beautiful Comox, BC!

Details to follow but we are also looking forward to touring lots of oyster farms and connecting with local west coast producers so we can source the best product possible for our clients!

Have a great day... PWR

PS - Congrats to Smoke's Poutinerie on their grand opening today... can't wait to try them!
PPS - oh yeah the Jets are coming back to Winnipeg

Good news.. oysters are good for you and the environment!

The Vancouver Aquarium has a program called Ocean Wise, which is aimed at promoting sustainable seafood in restaurants, markets, and other food service facilities. Ocean Wise works directly with food service companies to select sustainable seafood and actively promote them to the general public. The options are highlighted on participating restaurant menus and display cases with the Ocean Wise symbol, to help consumers make environmentally friendly seafood choices. Today, well over 300 restaurants in Canada are participants in the Ocean Wise program. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_Aquarium#Ocean_Wise

Ocean Wise’s recommendations are based on 4 criteria. An Ocean Wise recommended species is:

1.) Abundant and resilient to fishing pressures
2.) Well managed with a comprehensive management plan based on current research
3.) Harvested in a method that ensures limited bycatch on non-target and endangered species
4.) Harvested in ways that limit damage to marine or aquatic habitats and negative interactions with other species.

All farmed oysters are Ocean Wise recommended. http://www.oceanwise.ca/seafood/oysters

Seafood Watch is a program of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, and is a partner of SeaWeb's Seafood Choices Alliance. Seafood Watch is one of the best known sustainable seafood advisory lists, and has influenced similar programs around the world. It is a program designed to raise consumer awareness about the importance of buying seafood from sustainable sources.

Oysters, Farmed
Farmed oysters account for 95 percent of the world’s total oyster consumption. Most oyster farming operations are very well managed and produce a sustainable product.

Consumer Note
Farmed oysters are available year-round and can be served raw, smoked, canned or frozen. Oysters are known as kaki when prepared for sushi.

Summary
Like clams, mussels and scallops, oysters are filter-feeding shellfish that are extremely well-suited to aquaculture. Farming oysters brings little risk of pollution or escapees, and habitat effects from the farms are minimal.

Unlike some farmed fish, oysters minimally impact marine resources as they don’t rely on wild-caught fish – in the form of fishmeal or fish oil – for food. And, thanks to the oyster’s filter-feeding action, oyster farms can actually benefit the surrounding coastal waters.

With their low habitat impacts, farmed oysters are a “Best Choice.”

oyster links

how oysters are cultivated... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUDLOj4JBZc

and the BC Shellfish Festival... http://bcshellfishfestival.ca/BCSF/Welcome.html

hoping to make this one!