In A Half Shell

New product launch! Introducing OYSTERQIU: the world’s first regenerative chewing gum, made with real oysters.

I’ve always insisted that to truly appreciate an oyster’s merroir, you have to chew it. Even my last name (Qiu) is instructionally pronounced like chew. 🤣

So I started wondering: what if I could isolate that specific sensory experience to places that don't have access to fresh oysters?

We’ve spent the last year working with food scientists to stabilize authentic oyster liquor and protein from the adductor muscle into a chewable, shelf-stable format. Each pack features a curated selection of sticks made with fresh oysters from distinct regions, allowing you to experience a side-by-side comparison of different water profiles without the need for a shucking knife.



Which flavor are you the most excited to try?

Care for a cup of Oly's?

I absolutely adore the Olympia (Ostrea lurida) oyster. Despite their demure size, they offer a lot of complexity in flavor. Flat, roundish to guitar pick-shaped shells, with an olive green iridescent sheen on the inside. The best quality Oly meats should have a light cream color, fully opaque. Mild to moderate salinity with mineral-forwardness, nuttiness, and notes of maittake or cremini mushroom or copper. Not terribly sweet, though it can give a buttery or sweet cream impression in the finish. Metallicness will vary by location.

Endemic to the Pacific Coast of North America, they were once very abundant and could be found from Washington through California. Nowadays, they are considered a "specialty" varietal that oyster aficionados actively seek out. Difficult to find on the regular on the East Coast (they don't travel well nor have great shelf life), it's an oyster to special order in for your five species flight.

This was taken at

Spending some time with 7th generation oyster grower Jonathan Dugas out on Caraquet Bay, New Brunswick, taught me a little bit about the art of doing less. By scaling back and slowing down, he's able to let mother nature do the heavy lifting.

Extensively cultivated using natural set in shallow waters, amongst the eel grass meadows, these Caraquet Bay oysters take five years to reach market size. Mature oysters are collected by hand, graded by size, and held in cages for easier packing-to-order.

Decidedly more mineral-forward and gamier than surface-grown oysters, it's a story of how oysters used to be. I'm slowly combing through my photos, videos, and audio footage from last fall to put into a new specialty course focused on showcasing the beautiful merroir of New Brunswick. Available through soon!

Have you tried an oyster from Caraquet Bay before?

No judgement, just facts! 😎

As far as oyster quotes go, this one is an instant classic for me.

All credit goes to Davin of for imparting these words of wisdom on a random Zoom call while we were planning out the oyster experience component of an event about oyster service. (So meta!)

Looking forward to bringing some hot takes and cold oysters to the upcoming Oyster Educators Summit.

2025 was quite the year! From moderating dream-team panels to planting baby geoducks, touring oyster farms to teaching oyster classes, shucking at Landlocked to sauna-ing at super Glidden Point, here's some of my favorite memories with some of my favorite oyster peeps.

I'm SO ready to take on some major personal and professional projects in 2026, and continue to create space for new oyster service pros & producers.

Happy New Year everyone!!!