“And he likes it, he likes it, he likes it, he likes it, he liiiiiikkkes it, liiiikkkkkes here we goooo-oooooo, he’s shucking all over the world”.

Jerry Fraser, King of the Oysters, grew up in Peru, has shucked all over the world and now, luckily for Perth, plies his trade at the excellent Print Hall, the city’s first multi-level dining and bar precinct. His is the definitive word on the subject, shucking 5,000 oysters per week and if you want absolutely fresh, delicious oysters, there’s no other man to see. Visit Jerry.

Word of warning, just be careful not to mention the two words he detests most…the K word and the F word.

K is for Kilpatrick (a TERRIBLE way to cook oysters, hiding all their delicious flavour with fried bacon. Basically it’s a way to get rid of old stock).

And F is for Frozen. Like Jerry says “Don’t waste your money on frozen oysters. They’ve gotta be fresh otherwise there’s no point.”

Although extremely busy, he made time to give us a master class on shucking.

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So far on my Taste Master travels, I’ve had Rich Keams, Rich Kearn, Rick King and all last weekend up at Kalamunda I had Reg Kemp! But that’s OK, I don’t mind at all because my alter ego and I had a fantastic time.

Kalamunda is about 20 minutes’ drive outside of Perth up in the Hills. It was pouring with rain when we headed up on Saturday arvo but that just added to the spectacular drive. It was like travelling through a tropical rainforest, which was unexpectedly so close to the city.

There’s a real artistic and entrepreneurial flavour to the region, with lots of creative new businesses. Just behind the town, the Bickley wine trail, comprises 10 boutique wineries and a bio-dynamic cider house (which we visited on the Sunday, delicious food and great views over the orchard).

But we were there to stock up on our fruit and veggies (and cheese, olives, bread, oil, honey, eggs, the list goes on!) at the Kalamunda Farmers Market held every Sunday.

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Hello folks, last week I went on a Roving Dinner. “What’s that?” you may possibly cry, well it’s a four course meal with a difference. It’s a progressive feast, with each course being served at a different restaurant along the brilliant Beaufort Street in Perth.

It’s all in conjunction with the Beaufort Street Festival, an all-dayer attracting heaps of people with loads of live music, art, bands, a food stage, entertainment, and local restaurants and bars selling their wares out the front of their premises.

Jolly good show, so let’s get on with it! First stop is Mary Street Bakery for canapés and a good chat with Courtney the Head Baker.

Courtney’s been working here for about a year and is a great asset to the business. Knowledgeable and affable, he takes great pride in his work. At Mary Street Bakery they source their flour from Western Australia’s Eden Valley and it’s bio-dynamic, organic, stone ground and milled especially for them. The place is a great stop for breakfast, a real vibrant hub with a ton of freshly baked goods. Tonight’s canapés were a great way to kick the evening off, delicious and plentiful. It was like being in the kitchen at a house party, no chairs, everyone mingling and meeting their fellow diners. Always the room you wanna hang out in.

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