One of the benefits of living at the Jersey Shore is that we get to eat sea food straight out of the water. Let’s not take that for granted! Have you heard of the Barnegat Oyster Collective? Let’s show them some love…and the restaurants supporting them by keeping oysters on the menu. Especially with this year’s Oyster festivals cancelled in both Red Bank and Asbury Park.
When it comes to restaurant support for the local oyster industry, Chef David Burke leads the pack, selling fresh oysters in all six of his NJ restaurants. This isn’t always an easy task for restaurants, since NJ oysters are highly perishable, labor intensive, and need specialized storage and care.
Oysters are an expensive product to serve, as well, and are usually the first item to be taken off restaurants’ menus during hard times. Still, Chef Burke has kept them on during the pandemic — especially oysters from the Barnegat Oyster Collective, because he believes oysters are important to his world-class restaurants’ concepts, to our maritime heritage and to the farmers who diligently raise and harvest them.
The Barnegat Oyster Collectives is very appreciative of Chef Burke’s support. They say it’s restaurateurs like David who are keeping the industry afloat during the pandemic.
Visit any of David Burke’s restaurants to get your oyster fix. This Top Chef knows that these briny ‘gems of the sea’ are a luxurious staple on any world-class menu. Super fresh and immediately shucked to order, oysters are the perfect food. They come in their own container, they can be eaten raw, their flavors subtly express the clear ocean waters where they are harvested and they are fun, even sexy, to eat.
Chef Burke learned early in his culinary career that the closer the ingredients are to his restaurants the more his dishes stand out. So, when he was approached by the owners of the Barnegat Oyster Collective to sample their oysters, David tasted them and said, “Sign me up!”
Click here to read the entire article on 94.3 The Point.