Getting to know…Don Burgoyne, Port Stephens Oyster Farmer

Getting to know…Don Burgoyne, oyster farmer

34 years ago, Don Burgoyne didn’t eat oysters! He was living with his wife in Sydney and working in a laboratory.

However after one fateful visit to his father-in-law’s oyster farm at Port Stephens, Don packed up his family, moved to the Bay and joined XL Oysters.

Don quickly acquired a taste for oysters and farming life, and today is ready to hand the family business of 60 years over to his eldest son. Don loves living on the water and ventures everyday with his six employees to farm their 30 hectares, harvesting arguably some of the finest oysters in the state.

But how can you tell? According to Don, there are a few reasons why the stock from Port Stephens is better than anywhere else in NSW.

“This place is paradise, it’s so clean and pristine, it’s a great place to grow oysters,” Don explains.

Selling in excess of 1.5 million oysters in Sydney each year, XL Oysters works hard to ensure their oysters are the cream of the crop.

The climate, size of the Bay and abundance of food that gives our oysters such a great taste,” Don says.

More importantly though, Don reveals how the experts eat their oysters, “there’s only one way – natural and fresh, opened in front of you and eaten straight off the half shell.”

We’ll take a dozen freshly shucked Port Stephens oysters from the co-op please for tonight and another for Jamie Oliver’s masterpiece!

Interesting Facts… Like a fine bottle of wine, oysters differ in taste depending on where they are grown.

Find out more about Port Stephens Seafood on our website www.portstephens.org.au/seafood