Experience the Oyster Brings Raw Bars, Top Chefs and Football to Gulf Shores’ Hangout Nov. 7

GULF SHORES, Ala. — Tickets are on sale for Experience the Oyster, a celebration of Gulf Coast oysters set for Saturday, Nov. 7, at The Hangout in Gulf Shores. The afternoon festival pairs fresh raw oysters from regional oyster farms with dishes prepared by more than a dozen of the region’s best-known chefs.

The event is presented by Murder Point Oysters, an oyster farm based in Bayou La Batre, and kicks off the night before with a VIP party in Orange Beach.

Gulf Coast oyster farms on the menu

Guests will be able to sample raw oysters from several Gulf Coast oyster farms. In addition to the presenting sponsor, Murder Point Oysters, participating farms include:

• Murder Point Oysters, Bayou La Batre
• Grayson Bay Oyster Co., Pensacola
• Isle Dauphine, Dauphin Island

Tasting oysters from different farms side by side is part of the appeal. Like wine grapes, oysters take on flavor from the waters where they grow, so salinity, temperature and the food available in each bay can give oysters from farms only a few miles apart a noticeably different taste.

A lineup of Southern chefs

The Hangout’s own chef, Dylan Feenker, will be joined by a long list of chefs from restaurants across Baldwin County, Mobile Bay and the Pensacola area. Scheduled participants include:

• Randy Harris of Jesse’s in Magnolia Springs and Jesse’s on the Bay in Fort Morgan
• Ricky Brimlow of Zeke’s in Orange Beach
• Robert Kraatz of The Gulf in Orange Beach
• Ryan Stroup of Kiva Dunes in Gulf Shores
• Will Sams of The Pearl in Fairhope
• Bill Briand of Little Bird
• George Lazi of Perl & Horn in Pensacola
• Jeremiah Matthews of Southwood Kitchen in Daphne
• Larry Agnew of The Grand Marlin in Pensacola
• Mike Wehner of Southern Roots in Point Clear
• Pete Blohme and Nick Demarco of Sunset Pointe in Fairhope

James Beard Award winner Tony Messina will also attend the festival.

The chefs will prepare oyster dishes for guests to sample, giving festivalgoers a chance to taste how cooks across the region approach the same local ingredient, from classic Gulf Coast preparations to more creative takes.

VIP soiree kicks off Experience the Oyster weekend

The festivities begin Friday, Nov. 6, with a VIP soiree from 6 to 10 p.m. at Zeke’s Restaurant in Orange Beach. The party will feature fresh Murder Point oysters along with appetizers, beer and wine. A cash bar will be available for other spirits.

What to expect at The Hangout

The main event runs from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, on The Hangout’s campus at the Gulf Shores public beach. Along with the oysters, the day includes:

• Live music
• Hand-crafted cocktails
• Chef demonstrations
• A big-screen football viewing area
• Gumbo

The football setup means fans will not have to choose between the oyster festival and the first Saturday in November’s college football slate.

Tickets and prices

• General admission: $90, including 10 tasting tickets that can be used for oysters or steak bites
• Additional tasting tickets: $49 for 10
• VIP options: Saturday VIP and weekend VIP tickets are also available
• VIP soiree: Friday, Nov. 6, 6-10 p.m., Zeke’s Restaurant, Orange Beach
• Main event: Saturday, Nov. 7, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m., The Hangout, Gulf Shores

Tickets are sold online through the event’s ticketing site. Prices and availability for VIP packages can be found there.

The rise of farm-raised oysters on the Gulf Coast

Experience the Oyster shines a spotlight on an industry that has grown significantly along the northern Gulf Coast. Wild oyster harvests in the region have faced serious declines in recent decades because of hurricanes, changes in freshwater flow, disease and overharvesting. Off-bottom oyster farming, in which oysters are grown in floating cages or baskets rather than on the bay floor, has emerged as a way to produce consistent, high-quality oysters for the half-shell market.

Alabama has been a leader in developing the practice. Research and training through Auburn University’s Shellfish Laboratory on Dauphin Island and partners such as the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant helped launch a farm-raised oyster industry along the state’s coast, and Bayou La Batre, Dauphin Island and Portersville Bay have become home to several oyster farms. Farms in the Florida Panhandle, including the Pensacola area, have also grown in number.

Farm-raised oysters have become a staple on menus at upscale restaurants across the region, and events like this one introduce diners to the farms by name, much as wine tastings showcase individual vineyards. Oysters also benefit the waters where they grow, since each one filters seawater as it feeds.

A fall food weekend on the coast

Early November is a popular time for food events on the Alabama coast, as cooler weather arrives and oysters come into their prime season. The Hangout, a beachfront restaurant and event venue at the end of Highway 59, regularly hosts festivals and outdoor gatherings and is one of the best-known landmarks at the Gulf Shores public beach.

For seafood lovers, the weekend offers a chance to meet the people who grow and cook Gulf oysters, try farm-raised oysters side by side and enjoy an afternoon by the beach.