Daniel May first met Shane Buckley of Wapengo Rocks oyster farm at Rootstock wine festival in 2014. May was there in his role as head roaster for Mecca Coffee when he made his way over to the oyster table.

“Shane cut me off from oysters because I’d had too many,” May tells Broadsheet. “After that we became great friends. Because I love oysters so much I ended up getting him to send me some each week.”

It’s a meet-cute that led to more than a friendship. In addition to working Monday to Friday as the green buyer and head roaster for Mecca Coffee, May now runs a stall selling Sydney rock oysters at the Kings Cross markets every Saturday.

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“I live just down the road and I’ve always wanted to come up to the markets and have a freshly shucked oyster – a good one,” says May. “And it just didn’t exist. So I thought … I have the connections, I live here, I’ll just start doing it myself.”

Once his stall is set up for an 8am start, May shucks a small number of oysters and stores them in custom-made containers. He dry-shucks the oysters in a way to ensure that none of the natural brine inside is lost. He also sells French-made oyster knives, live unshucked oysters (which can be kept in the fridge for up to 10 days), and two house-made dressings. Those keen to DIY shuck can find a tutorial on how to open an oyster on his Instagram; he’s also happy to demonstrate and give helpful tips. If you’re anxious about missing out, you can pre-order and collect on the day.

“The people who know about it come every single week,” he says. “People who love oysters really love oysters.” And May really loves oysters – he can tell you your oyster’s entire backstory, from the conditions and location of the estuary, to the water quality at the moment your oyster was taken out of the water. He’s also passionate about the independent oyster farmers that line New South Wales’ far south coast.

“The most awarded farmers are always the independent producers,” he says. “They are the ones I want to work with, to tell their story in the area where I live.”

As well as Buckley’s Wapengo oysters, May also sells (depending on availability) Broadwater oysters from Pambula and the Rodeley family’s oysters from Tathra.

Rock Oyster Depot is at the Organic Food Markets at Fitzroy Gardens in Potts Point from 8am every Saturday.

rockoysterdepot.com.au
@rockoyster_depot

This article was originally published on February 11, 2022. Some details may have changed.