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Good Food

Good Food

Oyster Olympics

By Zachary D. Lyons


Omar Flores of Anthony's Homeport--Kirkland, on his way to a third place finish in the shucking contest. Zachary D. Lyons photo.
Apr 11, 2002 -- Whether you consider them a delicacy and aphrodisiac, or you simply look upon them as a disgusting, slimy puddle of snot, there is no denying that oysters are king in Puget Sound. And every year for the last 13, on the last Tuesday of March, Anthony's HomePort celebrates the slippery little bivalves with the Oyster Olympics.

The Oyster Olympics, held at Anthony's-Shilshole, raised $33,000 for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance, while hundreds of enthusiastic attendees slurped down some 16,000 oysters donated by Washington's finest oyster farmers. A dozen oyster farms and 20 seafood restaurants and grocers were represented at this year's event. "Keeping our environment clean is essential to the whole Pacific Northwest economy, including the oyster business, and the Alliance is working to do so," said Tom Diller, director of operation at Anthony's. Diller is also president of the Soundkeeper Alliance. "It is our pleasure to support the Alliance's programs by hosting the Oyster Olympics."


John Duran in the Oyster Costume Contest as "Ichiroyster." Sara Longley photo.
Mayor Greg Nickels proclaimed March 26 Oyster Day in Seattle, encouraging "all citizens to enjoy and celebrate oysters from the Puget Sound, the best oyster-producing place in the world." Governor Gary Locke cited the Soundkeeper Alliance for its dedication "to preserving oyster habitats and maintaining good stewardship of our shorelines."

In addition to the slurping masses, five competitions were held. Two--the Celebrity Slurp and the Oyster Fashion Show--were mostly held for fun, but the other three--the Wine ID, Oyster ID, and the Oyster Shucking competitions--were serious serious. The shucking event is considered by many the most difficult on earth. Shuckers are judged on quality of presentation as well as speed. In five heats, they must open a dozen Olympia, Pacific, Kumamoto, European Flat and Eastern oysters. The top shuckers were David Leck from Elliott's Oyster House in first place, Mark Bulzomi from Ray's Boathouse second, and Omar Flores from Anthony's HomePort-Kirkland third.

Tim Omstead Anthony's HomePort-Olympia won the Oyster ID, and Andy Gross from Anthony's Pier 66 won the Wine ID. In the team trophy category, where the overall scores from all three events for each team member were added up, it was a sweep for Anthony's restaurants, with Anthony's HomePort-Olympia repeating as overall team winner, Chinook's claiming second, and third going to Anthony's Pier 66.



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