WAKULLA COUNTY, FL — Oyster farmers in Wakulla County are supplying some of Florida's most acclaimed restaurants, and they say the relationship is boosting business and putting Gulf Coast oysters on the map.
Local farmers at Spring Creek sell their oysters to many Florida restaurants, several of which appear in the Michelin Guide. One holds a Michelin Star.
Dewey Houck of Cypress Point Oyster Company says supplying restaurants of that caliber has helped grow business for local farms.
"It creates markets in places where folks need to sell oysters, right? So it starts with who's the restaurant that you're going to, who's going to buy your oysters, then who's going to get your oysters there, and now how do you grow those oysters, and how do you make the connection? So, as a community, we've just started, you know, in the last 10 years here in Wakulla County, we've just started this community of farmers working together for high quality products and getting to the best restaurant in the state," Houck said.
Houck says the natural environment in Spring Creek plays a central role in the quality of the product.
"So the water out there feeds the oysters. It's perfect for growing oysters. All we have to do is make those oysters into the product that these Michelin Star restaurants want to see, so they want consistency, they want a deep cup, and they want a flavorful oyster, and so, so with the husbandry techniques that we use here, that's how we do," Houck said.
Houck added that the recognition also creates broader economic opportunity for the region.
"If you have the right techniques and the people that are interested in growing a very high quality product, then it creates economic improvements or opportunities that weren't here before. Typically these oysters would come from the Northeast, and so now now this new industry that we're hoping to be a part of and participating in is creating an opportunity for jobs in Wakulla and Franklin Counties," Houck said.
Fabio Galarce, an oyster farmer and distributor who works with farms in the area, says the connection between local oysters and Michelin recognition is direct. He described one instance where a restaurant switched from a West Coast oyster to a Gulf Coast oyster from Wakulla County.
"We swapped it with a little honey, which is Cainnon's neighbor farm, Cypress Point. And three weeks later, they ended up winning the Green Michelin star. And then after that, you know, the kind of network effect kicked in, and now we're working with all the Michelin restaurants that serve oysters," Galarce said. "I think that the oyster farms in the Wakulla area are really leading the way and proving that Gulf oysters are premium and their Michelin quality."
Cainnon Greg of Pelican Oyster Company says the Michelin connection gives local farms a powerful pitch when approaching new clients.
"We always say you might not have heard of us, but your favorite chefs have," Greg said.
Greg said the goal extends beyond Florida.
"We want sustainable seafood to be on every menu in America. And so this is just the start. When all the best chefs have these oysters on their menu, it just makes it easier for everybody else to put them on their menu, so we're hoping to see these everywhere. We're taking over Florida's finest oysters grown right here in Wakulla County," Greg said.
Greg and Houck both say when their restaurant partners receive Michelin recognition, it promotes the aquaculture industry in Wakulla County as a whole.
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