THE STORY SO FAR
Out of the love of oysters, and the shared experience they bring, The Glorious Oyster was born. Hello my name is Lyndsay and I'm the owner / operator of The Glorious Oyster. The Glorious Oyster has been operating as a mobile oyster and seafood bar traveling the country to food festivals and events for the past 18 months. We champion and promote local shellfish from local sustainable sources. In the spring of 2013 I relocated to North Devon and was able to take advantage of the local fishing industry and obtain locally landed crab, lobster and whelk direct from the fisherman; mussels and oysters from a farm just down the road from me; scallops and squid from a locally processing unit.
THE PROBLEM
For an area with a thriving fishing industry, which lands tonnes of brown crab, lobster, scallop, whelk and squid. Up to 80% of the areas catch can get shipped and sold out of the area before processing. The majority of dressed brown crab and lobster sold in shops and delis is from South Devon or Cornwall. In Westward Ho! a seaside village, just 10 minutes from where the majority of this glorious shellfish is landed, you can't buy your holiday favourites of local dressed crab, small tubs of whelks / mussels / cockles, oysters, dressed lobster.
MY SOLUTION
I am going to change this. I want to keep more of the local catch in the area whilst adding value to the local economy. The council has granted me my street trading license, now I just need to get trading. I want to enhance the seaside experience for everyone and purchase my friends, Katie and Kim's Kitchen horsebox to give it a new lease of life as a sustainably run oyster bar / seafood / street food / beach food shack in Westward Ho! Their beautiful little horsebox will be a unique attraction to the area. I will be staying true to The Glorious Oysters routes and will have a dedicated, hot and cold, oyster menu with a selection of my own dressings and local takes on traditional oyster dishes.
As well as this, there will be holiday favourites that you'd expect at the seaside as well as a lunch menu and daily specials. I'll also be harvesting laver and samphire and using this creatively in my food, as well as making my own range of cordials and juices. All championing and celebrating what the area has to offer.
I also plan to introduce bbq and picnic packs with everything you need in 1 handy box. The majority of shellfish I will be buying direct from the fisherman / farmer; cooking, processing, smoking, dressing it myself. When this isn't possible I will be buying direct from the local processing companies; this will be for scallop, squid and any wet fish.
SUSTAINABLE, LOCAL AND NOT JUST FOR PROFIT
Sustainability, a local supply chain and the local economy are important to me at home, and should be in business as well. I plan to be the first eating establishment in North Devon to have a sustainability rating from The Sustainable Restaurant Association. The SRA will carry out an audit on 14 key focus area of my business, across 3 sustainability categories; Sourcing Environment and Society. I will be giving either a 1, 2 or 3 star sustainability champion rating - The Michelin Star award of the sustainability world. To achieve the best rating possible, as much as I can source will come from sustainable, ethical and fair trading local companies. Disposables will be recyclable, re-usable, compostable and from renewable sources.
As a member of the North Devon Small Producers Alliance my breads, diary products, oils/vinegars, vegetable produce any meat products will come from other producers in the alliance. Charcoal for bbq smoking from a local charcoal maker, I will also sell their charcoal to accompany my BBQ packs. Tea and coffee will be from local blending companies who import the fair trade raw ingredients.
GETTING THEM YOUNG
I am always amazed at how many children and young people try oysters for the first time when I'm at food festivals, and I believe the key is getting to children early to promote, and get them involved with, food before any food prejudices begin to develop.
I'm a youth worker by profession and plan to link with local schools and facilitate workshops and demonstrations in what sea food the local area has to offer, as well as supporting students at the local catering college with employment.
WHAT WILL YOUR MONEY BE SPENT ON?
As mentioned I have been granted my street trading license, I now need a trailer to trade from. With the funds raised from this project I will be buying Katie and Kim's Kitchen horse box trailer. The horsebox is sat in Bristol waiting to be given a new lease of life down here in North Devon. Katie and Kim are friends of mine and I was involved with them at the start when they first converted the horsebox into a fully functional kitchen. I applied for my street trading license at the same time as they put their horsebox for sale. When I heard they were selling it, it just seemed fitting that I try to buy it, and keep it in the family so to speak.
As well as purchasing the horsebox the funding will go towards: transporting it down here, giving it a fresh like of paint and paying for 3 months worth of storage.
THE GLORIOUS REWARDS
As a thank you I've got a range of rewards waiting for you.
EVERYONE will receive A GLORIOUS THANK YOU, which will consist of a massive shout of thanks on Twitter and Facebook, your name on our driftwood wall of fame that will be displayed at the horsebox, and 2 free oysters when you visit the horsebox.
AND A GLORIOUS INVITE to a celebratory event to be held in Autumn 2014. This is planned to be held at Cafe Collective in Bideford. There'll be a Champagne, oyster and canape reception, music and a pay bar for cocktails and local craft beers and ciders.
In addition we'll be offering; oyster and food hampers, having an oyster bar at your event, commissioned artworks by International street artist Mau Mau & The Stencil Shed, The Wooden Spoon Press, oyster tasting experiences for you and friends, vouchers to eat at the horsebox, a boat trip to the local mussel beds, tables at my super club, a day boat trip to Lundy Island courtesy of Clovelly Charters, sponsorship of the horsebox for a year.....
HELP SPREAD THE GLORIOUS OYSTER LOVE - if you can't spare any cash, please spare me 10 seconds....... If you're not able to pledge YOU CAN STILL HELP!! If you like the sound of this project, help spread the word via your social media networks, tell people who you think might be interested in pledging, follow us on Twitter and Facebook and retweet and share our posts. Twitter @GloriousOsyter / Facebook TheGloriousOyster
With your help you can still enable this to happen.
THANK YOU ALL for taking the time to watch and read this.
TGO x
ADDITIONAL REWARD INFORMATION:
A GLORIOUS VOUCHER is a £10 voucher to redeem when you the horsebox.
An oyster tasting experience: We can cater for more than 8 people for an additional charge. This will be held in a venue in North Devon, if you want us to travel to you please contact us before pledging to discuss further. We can arrange to have wine pairing as well, this will be at a extra cost.
An experience day at the oyster & mussel farm: You'll also visit the oyster beds and purification unit and learn to shuck and all there is to know about oysters, and go home with a dozen oysters and an oyster knife. This is in North Devon.
Having The Glorious Oyster at your event / celebration: This is based on 3 oysters per person, cold and hot oyster menu available, we can cater for additional guests at an extra cost, if you live more than 50 miles away a fuel surcharge will apply, the date needs to be mutually agreeable with us both (I might already be booked - but you can contact me before you pledge to check I'm available, the catering menu will be agreed in advance.
Couriering: There may be an additional charge if you live in remote or non-mainland areas of the UK. If in doubt please check first. Non perishable items can be courier outside the UK for an additional charge.
