With the demise of the Knysna Oyster Farm, thanks to the South African National Parks, finding variety in South African oysters is almost as difficult as finding international wines to purchase.
Following global trends, the South African oyster industry is based on the Crassostrea Gigas oyster species, originally from Japan. This species was first imported to Knysna in the 1950s. Presently two other South African estuaries support oyster farms, whereas a further three fully marine farms are based in Algoa Bay, Saldanha Bay and Alexander Bay. Due to difficulties in inducing predictable spawning and subsequent settling under South African conditions, the entire industry has been based on spat imported from Chile, the United Kingdom and France.
Taking this into account when you search for South Africa’s best oyster, you will need to add lesser import criteria to the mix. Were the oysters picked / harvest at optimal size? Who opened the oyster for you? Some hack with a chainsaw at the local Cape Town Fish Market or someone that can put an oyster on your plate without sprinkles of shell shrapnel all over it.
If you need these boxes ticked, we recommend you pay a visit to the Oyster King,Vosloo Pienaar at The Palms Market. Every second weekend the West Coast invades The Palms, in Woodstock Cape Town, to showcase their produce. Somewhere in there you will Mr Pienaar with some of the best oysters this country has to offer.
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