From Tasmania, to Narooma and Ireland
Seven years after picking up an oyster knife for the first time, Zoe Jacobson is preparing to represent Australia at the World Oyster Opening Championships in Galway, Ireland on September 26.
The Tasmanian earned her place on the world stage by winning the 2026 Australian Oyster Shucking Championships at Narooma Oyster Festival in May this year. A self taught shucker, Zoe topped an impressive field of 17 competitors which included three former national champions, intergenerational oyster farmers and one aspiring amateur.
A new oyster, a new challenge
As an Australian debuting at a global level, Zoe faces a unique challenge that most competitive shuckers never encounter.
In Galway, she will have just a few days to become acquainted with an entirely new species for her, the native Galway Flat Oyster. She is already adapting her technique for a flatter shape, and thicker and more brittle shell, than the oysters she has worked with throughout her career.
She’ll also have to forgo ‘the flip’, a career-long practice and a uniquely Australian technique of turning the oyster over in its shell for presentation. In the northern hemisphere, oysters are left unturned, and while leading Australian chefs like Josh Niland are adopting this style here, it is not yet widely practised.
A new species, but not her first rodeo
It won’t be the first time Zoe has had to become acquainted with a new species of oyster before a competition.
Her career was founded on Pacific Oysters, and Zoe opened her first Rock Oyster just one day before her debut at Narooma Oyster Festival in 2023. Native to Australia and endemic to New South Wales, the Rock Oyster demands more force and precision due to its tougher shell and smaller adductor muscle (the muscle which holds the shell closed when the oyster is out of the water).
The oysters were beautifully cultivated too, grown by renowned Rock and Angasi growers Dom and Pip Boyton at Merimbula Gourmet Oysters.
In preparation for Galway, Zoe is practising on another Australian species: our own flat oyster, the Angasi (Ostrea angasi). Its flat shape and tendency to flake under pressure make it a useful bridge to the Galway Flat.
The Angasi is a story in itself. Its similarity to European flats meant that it was heavily overfished in the 1800s and early 1900s. Today it is being cultivated for reef restoration and culinary use by a handful of growers in Australia, including The Oyster Province in Boomer Bay, Tasmania, where Zoe is sourcing hers, and Dom and Pip at Merimbula.
A delicious, culinary sport
When it comes to competitive oyster opening, speed matters, but so does presentation. Competitors are penalised for shell or grit left on the oyster, damage to the meat or poor presentation. A cut to a finger during competition can mean disqualification.
Zoe uses an opening technique known as “stabbing”. She works her knife through the oyster’s ‘beak’ towards the adductor muscle, which she cuts by feel before lifting and removing the top shell.
Oysters are specially cultivated and graded for competition at this level. Uniformity is critical for a fair playing field.
In Australia, competition oysters are provided by the nation’s largest producer of Rock Oysters, Australia’s Oyster Coast. And, as any Rock Oyster lover will know, they are available year-round.
In Galway, flat oysters are seasonal, traditionally available between September and April, and the competition oysters are supplied by Kelly Oysters, Ireland’s longest-established oyster growers.
The World Oyster Opening Championships form part of the Galway International Oyster & Seafood Festival, one of the world’s longest-running oyster celebrations. On September 26, national champions from around the world will line up to open and present Galway Flat Oysters against the clock, with speed, precision and presentation all determining the final result. For Zoe, it will be the culmination of a journey that began at a packing bench in Tasmania, took her through four attempts at the Australian title in Narooma, and now places her on the world stage representing Australia.
Regardless of the outcome on September 26, Zoe has already proven herself a champion, a passionate ambassador for the oyster industry and the craft of shucking. Find out more about the World Oyster Championships.
Save the date: Narooma Oyster Festival 2027
Narooma Oyster Festival is Australia’s iconic oyster celebration and home to the Australian Oyster Shucking Championships and Australia’s pathway to the world stage in Galway.
The Festival returns for its 20th event from May 7 to 9, 2027, save the date and join us in Rock Oyster Country to celebrate oysters, growers, producers, culture and the craft of shucking.
