Mersea Island, located nine miles southeast of Colchester, Essex, is at the mercy of its tides. Twice a day, water from the adjoining Colne and Blackwater Estuaries can cover the causeway leading to the island, cutting it off from the mainland. It’s a relatively small island too, divided into two parts – East and West Mersea respectively – with a population shy of 7,000. It’s also home to Colchester’s world-famous rock and native oysters, which were introduced to the region by the Romans, although surprisingly few are actually eaten in Colchester today.
Cultivating oysters has been in the Haward family since the 1700s. ‘We’re the oldest cultivated oyster family business in the UK, possibly the world,’ explains Tom, an eighth-generation oysterman who has been learning the ropes from his father, Richard. ‘I can’t think of anywhere else that has a family with eight generations of oystermen.’
For such a small team (just twelve people are working when I visit) the output is impressive, to say the least. More than 30,000 rock and native oysters are processed weekly from the Hawards’ fourteen acres of oyster beds before being sent to markets and restaurants around the world. Outposts include a stall at London’s Borough Market – which sells up to 10,000 in the five days a week it’s open – plus Harrods, Billingsgate Market and further afield: Belgium, Germany, Spain and beyond. Notable chefs regularly placing orders include Chiltern Firehouse’s Nuno Mendes and Hide’s Ollie Dabbous.