how many oysters

[cheflusch]

Alright...I'm finally lost on this one. I'm at a country club and have a fairly large wedding this weekend, 380ish. $44/head. Which is huge compared to this small town. They are having an oyster bar. Before I arrived here they were getting frozen oysters on the half shell. I was hoping to go the live route and have someone manning the shucking station. BUT....here's the toughy...I don't want to have a couple hundred extra oysters because we don't have the weekly business to unload them....nor do I want to run short....Thoughts on how many to order? Thx all!

[shroomgirl]

What's the rest of your menu?
How much time are people going to have to eat them?
What if you have shrimp too? or shrimp salad or seafood salad etc...

[cheflayne]

I love fresh oysters on the 1/2 shell, so inside I screaming buy them, buy them; but reason persists in asking me...
If I figure 1 1/2 oyster per person, they will work out to about 10% of my food cost. Do I want to allot that much to an item that maybe 1/2 the people (in reality probably less) will partake of?

[Cat Man]

I absolutely love the NZ Pacific Oysters, IQF half shell.
The flavor is amazing and you get 100% yield with no waste and zero health risk (since they've never had any vibrio down there)

Live and fresh is great, but why bother with the health risk?

[tastygourmet]

I say 1/2 the people will eat them and they will have at least 3 each... go from there, just make sure there is something else to serve, so if and when you run out there is still something good...running out in and of itself is not bad as long as you have something else, like......
bring on the california rolls....
you can have two people working, one shucking and one rolling
do you have a competent person who can make roll after roll, it is pretty easy as long as you have good rice.... and the price point is good.

[cheflusch]

Finally just getting back online...(little too late) but appreciate the responses...
Scrapped the live and went with the frozen iqf's...
My count was right on but the gm is screaming.."can't run out, can't run out"...so ended up with a 1000 extra
Good thing they love the oyster pudding in NC.

[shroomgirl]

bet that shifted the food cost.....
Frozen oysters, were they any good? Guess I could ask for a sample from the fish guys, didn't even realize they were an option.

[shroomgirl]

bet that shifted the food cost.....
Frozen oysters, were they any good? Guess I could ask for a sample from the fish guys, didn't even realize they were an option.

[GiovanniFanara]

Hello, i'm new around here,
but to help with your question, i have done lobster parties for hundreds of guests and usually the fish monger lets me get 20 caisses in, use what i have to, and return the unopened caisses to
him on the same night...Very easy, but will yours do this for oysters...
He will surely need guarantee that you are keeping the oysters safely...
If you have a good business relationship with him it might be possible.
Ciao...

[cheflusch]

From my understanding, frozen is sometimes the best option. I was told once that scallops are sometimes shucked on the boat and frozen immediately to preserve them on the boat so the boat can stay out longer. (can anyone verify this?)

I've always had a hard time telling the difference...I think its more a mental block (frozen=no good=old) but the oysters were good. These were more commercial than say...Penn Cove mussels or a specific region so taste was......plainer? best way to describe..not as ocean..y....

Not sure why I didn't think to ask the vendor...appreicate the thought...live and learn

[Fishmonger Ran]

Well, I have never been a caterer, but let me see if I can help if only just a little.
I have, in the past, taken care of few of my catering customers when it came to fresh oysters. I would order what the chef felt they needed. Charge them for the entire order with the understanding that if they ended up having 5 or more dozen left over, I would buy them back at my cost. (When my catering or restaurant clients do large orders, I only charge them a tiny markup, so they are not loosing much when I buy them back)
Now, there has to be an understanding between myself and chef/organizer. They are not able to pick-up the oysters until the morning of the event. The left over oysters must be returned no later than the next morning. Oyster must be kept buried in ice at all times.
With those conditions met, I have no problem buying them back. The nice thing about oysters, they have a pretty good shelf life (6-10 days if taken care of), and I know I could blow through 15 -20 dz in that amount of time.
SO, go to your local fishmonger, develop a relationship, scratch his/her back and they will do the same for you.
I hope this helps.
Let us know how it goes.