Every year around the time when the darkness begins to plunge deepest into our days and the falling rain from woolly grey skies seems inexhaustible and permanent, I always feel this strange almost atmospheric wave of anxiety move in.
When it inexorably does extend its unnerving and lethargic-inducing reach, I instinctively know it’s time to escape from the clockwork grind of the city’s masses to a more natural setting for an overdue re-tooling by the elements, it is storm season after all.
This year, the 13th annual Clayoquot Oyster Festival in Tofino was my siren call to the coast.
First stop was the beautiful and well-appointed Long Beach Lodge, just outside of Tofino. Surrounded by towering cedar, fir and spruce trees with the constant and rhythmic pounding of surf in the distance, we made ourselves very cozy in one of their spacious 2 bedroom rainforest cottages, complete with gas fireplace, soaker tub and high-speed internet, three of the four pillars of post-modern civilization, the fourth being quality food and drink, which I will be getting to shortly.
The main lodge building, comfortably perched on the edge of Cox Bay beside Pacific Rim National Park had a Great Room with a large fireplace beside the common dining area, all of which opened toward awe-inspiring views of the mighty Pacific Ocean. Epic on all counts.
My first event of the festival, the “Oysters and Bubbles White Party” at Long Beach Lodge, had long-standing and respected Blue Mountain Vineyards supplying the bubbles, a perfect match for Victor McLaggan’s exquisite array of fresh oysters from Cortes Island (see Outlandish Shellfish Guild).
When most of the evening’s guests kept coming back for more and more bubbles they needed to start opening bottles fast, so out came the sabre, off came their heads, and the wine flowed at a generous pace, sending the party to a higher level of excitement.
The next slightly hazy morning, I gratefully discovered that a warm crackling fireplace, hot black coffee and an unobstructed view of the ocean would become my new all-time favourite hang-over antidote. Or certainly remembered with great fondness as one of my life’s more civilized and contradictory decadent moments of inebriated comfort.
After an afternoon trip into town to purchase some rubber boots and a delicious lunch of smoked wild fish chowder and fish tacos at Sobo, we made our way to the legendary Wickininnish Inn on Chesterman Beach.
Honestly, The Wick was not overtly impressive at first look, considering all the accolades and gushing tales of this Relais and Chateau property that had filled my head prior to arriving for the first time, I was strangely expecting something more gaudy and pretentious, more Vegas-like and over-bearing, but I was quietly relieved and joyful at how simple, understated and elegant the property really was and how calm and genuinely sincere the staff were. 
The true beauty of The Wick was to be found in all the immaculate and subtle details of the property and in the histories they held. From the now deceased master carver Henry’ Nolla’s hand-adzed cedar post and beams of the building’s structure to the many stunning works of art exhibited throughout the space, the custom-designed atmospheric soundtrack of the restaurant, and not to forget the countless invigorating ocean views framed in every window, there are incredible narratives of the region to be explored of both natural history and culture that all weaved together within its walls.
At this year’s festival, The Wick held their annual reception in the Driftwood Lounge with the effervescent Brent Petkau affectionately know as “The Oysterman“. 
His enthusiastic nature kept the party in high spirits and he even managed to coax one of the lovely guests into shucking behind the bar with him.
While Brent and his assistant kept the raw oysters flowing, Chef John Waller and some of his kitchen team used more oysters to create plate after plate of fresh and delicious morsels.
^ My favourite dish of the evening was the smoked salmon wrapped Pacific oyster atop a herb infused dollop of creme fraiche on a slightly crisped pancake. It paired beautifully with Vancouver Island Brewery’s rich, full-bodied limited release, Herminator Ice Bock, as well as the Okanagan’s Cedar Creek pinot noir and pinot gris.
The next morning was another generous infusion of inspired beauty. Located on a rocky bluff, the Pointe Restaurant offered unparalleled wrap around views of the Pacific’s white capped waves roaring onto Chesterman Beach; and it was here where all the elements seemingly come together like a great symphony, invoking visions of the past with tastes of the present and thoughts of what the future would bring to this ageless place at the edge of the continent.
Needless to say, this was one of the most enjoyable breakfasts I have ever had. And really, if the food didn’t deliver, the let down would have been monumental when one considers all the energy and synergy that a unique place like this demands. While this was the most expensive eggs benedict (with Canadian back bacon and white cheddar) I have ever paid for, I would have happily layed out twice as much for this experience as it elevated itself beyond the level of contented dining and into the realm of cherished memory.
So, with a happy belly and new rubber boots on my feet, I was driven into town to catch a charter boat from the good people at Remote Passages to visit a working oyster farm in Lemmens Inlet where retired school-teacher, Roland Arnet, has made his living growing and harvesting Pacific oysters for over 17 years.
He gave us a brief history of the Pacific Oyster (a.k.a. Japanese Oyster) which was introduced to BC around 1912 and explained how they grew well in the cool waters of our Pacific coast. Roland demonstrated the “line-method” he used to farm these tasty mollusks and furthered explained that the oysters need a temperature of above 20° celsius to reproduce, so the spawning process was done manually in a warm tub of water, which also meant that the species remained under control from unchecked growth.
The line-method (also a technique imported from Japan) drops two 15 feet nylon ropes off the sides of a floating barrel and at intervals of approximately 1.5 feet a half shell containing numerous spat (baby oysters) is attached. Over a period of 2 years, these half shells will grow into large clusters of oysters ready for harvest.
Interestingly, there were many sea gulls resting on the barrels, which Roland explained were helpful as the birds fed on the mussels that tend to latch on to the barrels.
The one predator the farmers do have to compete with is the starfish, which latches on to the clusters to feed on the juvenile oysters. Every year the lines must be raised and the starfish removed by hand.
Roland further explained that the oysters he grows are sent to a factory where they are hand shucked and the meat removed with the farmer being paid by the kilogram. At current rates he makes $18 per kilogram of oyster meat. Now, that’s a lot of oysters!
After the 2nd hour on the remote floating farm in the cold wind and rain, everyone, while more learned and certainly more appreciative of one of BC’s most sustainable seafood industries and the hardy people who operate them, were eager to return to shore for a nice hot beverage and perhaps a few more oysters, it was the Oyster Festival after all and it was a time to celebrate.
~ PK
Special thanks to Jane Ince and Charles McDiarmid of The Wikininnish Inn, Perry Schmunk of Long Beach Lodge, Tourism Tofino, Kate Rogers of the Tartan Group, BC Ferries, and Lynda Kaye for their wonderful assistance making this trip possible.
