The Central Coast Stars in ‘The Oyster Farmer’

The prolific team of director Jason Wise and producer Jackson Myers — best known for their series of Somm films about modern sommelier life — continue to put out a steady stream of original content on their SOMM TV channel, which launched in 2019. The latest is The Oyster Farmer, a half-hour film that highlights small, family-owned oyster farmers from Westport, Massachusetts to Morro Bay on California’s Central Coast while revealing the fascinating history and life cycle of these shellfish.

The initial focus is on Kerian Fennelly, founder of Westport Sea Farms, who left a declining lobster career to start farming oysters, which enhanced the maritime environment of the surrounding waters. Because they actively clean the water as they grow, oysters are a net-positive benefit to the environment wherever they’re grown, just another reason to take glee in sucking them down.

“Oyster sommelier” Julie Qiu discusses the range of oysters available and why they’re good for you, being high in zinc, vitamin D, magnesium, and other essential minerals. They were integral to the colonization of the Americas, being that the oysters here were larger than anyone had ever seen, and eaten in such masses that they eventually went pretty much extinct in numerous locales.

The Central Coast takes the screen in the form of well-known Santa Barbara Channel uni diver Stephanie Mutz, whose background in biology makes her the perfect teacher for those lessons, such as how the oyster “seeds” go from the size of a grain of salt to fully edible in about a year, with no feeding required. Much of the film features Neal Maloney, who started Morro Bay Oyster Co. in 2009, and now sells his shellfish across the Central Coast, including the “Pacific Gold Reserves” that he tumbles to make the flesh sweeter and plumper.  

For an explanation of flavors, the camera turns to professional shucker Sam Baxter of Connie & Ted’s in West Hollywood. With experience handling oysters of all sizes from everywhere in the world, he opines that the East Coast versions lean toward briny while the West Coasters show cucumber and melon notes. He suggests stout ales with the former and Japanese rice lagers with the latter.

The Oyster Farmer is a quick but potent exposition for this superstar shellfish, and will give you plenty of informational ammo the next time you’re around a dozen friends ready to slurp away.

SOMM TV subscriptions are $6 a month or $50 a year, with annual discounts often available.