)
sustainability
)
What a weekend! Narooma Oyster Festival 2025 delivered in every way: bluebird skies, record-breaking crowds, and lots of good vibes and oyster appreciation.
This year saw a staggering 67,000 oysters consumed (and counting!), and at one point, the festival almost ran out… luckily, we had live oyster bags stashed away just in case. Huge thanks to the legends from the Oyster Shucking Competition who stepped in to help open those extra oysters – true heroes of the half shell.
As the official oyster supplier to the festival, we were honoured to be part of so many incredible moments and activations across the three-day celebration. From hands-on chef tours and premium dining events to bustling tasting stands and raw bars, festival oyster bars, Champagne and oyster cruises and masterclasses, we were proud to showcase the magic of our estuaries and the passionate people behind our oysters.
Highlights from a Big Weekend
Oyster Farmers’ Alley
Our stand was humming with activity all day Saturday. We teamed up with Yarra Valley Caviar to serve freshly shucked Rock and Pacific Oysters topped with smoked salmon pearls - a combination that stopped people in their tracks. The native finger limes were also a popular topping!
Seared & Salty Dining Experience with Appellation Oysters
Friday night’s fire dining with Terra Firma Dining and Olsson’s Salt was nothing short of a visual feast. We had an Appellation Oysters raw bar set up as part of the evening, and guests were treated to a sensory journey of salt, sea and smoke. Our very own farmers Waite Derwent and Braden Joiner even had the spotlight for a Meet the Producer Chat with James White from Olsson's Salt.
Oystersmiths in the Rock Oyster Lounge
Saturday saw us showcase our newest brand, Oystersmiths, in the luxe waterfront lounge setting - a space dedicated to indulgence and discovery. It was the perfect way to introduce this new chapter of our business to seafood lovers.
A special thanks to Harley and John's Seafood for running our raw bars in the Seared and Salty and Rock Oyster Lounge premium experiences.
Ultimate Oyster Experience
This ticketed session was a sell-out and a crowd favourite. Featuring our 2025 gold medal-winning Merimbula Rocks as part of the Ultimate Oyster Experience, it celebrated the best of the Sydney Royal Fine Food Show.
Champagne and Oyster Masterclass
Led by John Noble from the Champagne Bureau Australia, this masterclass explored the synergy between the terroir of Champagne and the merroir of oysters with five vintage Champagnes matched with Appellation Oysters.
Australia’s Biggest Oyster Competition
We were once again proud sponsors of this light-hearted and much-loved event that brings big smiles and even bigger oysters to the festival crowd. This year, Bernie Connell took out the title again with his latest giant pet oyster, Jack Junior, tipping the scales at an impressive 2.53kg. Many will remember Bernie’s 2024 champion, Jill, who sadly passed away this year but not before claiming a place in the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s heaviest oyster at 3.01kg. A true legend of the shell. We entered our own pet oyster Banga from Shoalhaven with Farm Manager Waite Derwent, but looks like Banga still has a bit of growing to do!
Australian Oyster Shucking Championships
We were thrilled to support this hotly contested and crowd-favourite event; a high-stakes race that truly stops Rock Oyster Country in its tracks.
Congratulations to our 2025 champions:
Sally Maclean of Jim Wild’s Oysters – Women’s Champion
Greg Carton of Broadwater Oysters – Men’s Champion and overall fastest shucker
Greg now earns the honour of representing Australia at the World Oyster Opening Championships in Galway later this year - go Greg!
Farm Tours for Chefs & Media
We hosted festival chefs including Al Brown and Nornie Bero on a special tour of our Wagonga Inlet farm, led by our Narooma Farm Manager, Tim Andersen. We also welcomed media from Destination NSW, eager to learn about what it really takes to grow a world-class oyster.
VIP Trade Experience – South Coast Tour
We again hosted our annual VIP Trade Experience South Coast Tour, timed to coincide with the Narooma Oyster Festival. We welcomed guests from the Gold Coast, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to experience the South Coast in true AOC style.
Across four days, our VIPs (including head chefs, executive chefs, seafood agents and culinary professionals) visited our farms in Merimbula, Wapengo and Narooma and met our Farm Managers Braden Joiner, Waite Derwent and Tim Andersen. It was a chance to deepen their understanding of our business, our farming practices, and the care that goes into every oyster we grow. More than that, it was an opportunity to connect: to meet our people and experience the communities we’re proud to be part of.
A heartfelt thank you to the many local businesses who helped us deliver this experience, including The Oyster Barn, Bermagui Beach Hotel, Mimosa Wines, and Merivale venues Quarterdeck and Lynch’s, among others.
It’s a special moment when we can open the doors and give our customers a rare, behind-the-scenes look - the kind usually glimpsed in passing on an Instagram story, but here, experienced first-hand. Thank you to everyone who gave up four days to be part of this journey. We loved every moment of it.
A Festival That Fills Our Cup
While Narooma Oyster Festival is our biggest consumer-facing event of the year, and a rare moment where our B2B business steps into a D2C spotlight, it always leaves us filled with pride.
We’re proud of our team. Proud of how far we’ve come. And proud to be part of such a passionate, collaborative and progressive oyster industry. Events like this help us share our story, build relationships, and inspire more Australians to eat more oysters, more often.
Until next year, Narooma.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)