Every oyster-producing gold medallist in this year's delicious. awards comes from the NSW Far South Coast.
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The delicious. Harvey Norman Produce Awards is the country's most prestigious food industry campaign.
The four gold medalists, in the From the Sea category, are: Tathra Oysters, Wapengo Rocks Wild Organic Oysters, Mimosa Rock Oysters and Australia's Oyster Coast Appellation Oysters at Wagonga in Narooma.
"The nice thing about this year is the local oyster industry has been given a really good recognition," Tathra Oyster's owner manager Gary Rodely said.
"The beautiful estuaries here have a lot to do with it.
"Everybody wants to live on the eastern seaboard so all the estuaries up the coast are under a bit of pressure, but here at Nelsons [the lake where Tathra Oysters is based] we have the advantage of being surrounded by national park."
He said the clear waterway resulted in a lovely, sweet oyster, but it was also having his wonderful staff Sam Rodely, Ash Burke and Hans Schmidt-Harms that meant they were able to grow their award-winning product.
It is the eighth time Tathra Oysters has taken home a gold medal from the awards and it tops off a difficult year, as the business has faced its challenges through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Rodely said there has been an increase in the amount of oysters in the marketplace as there has been an jump in productivity, but also a dip in demand in city areas in particular due to restaurants being closed.
"So there is the opportunity for people to buy really top notch oysters over summer," he said.
"Some farms didn't sell all their crops last year so they will be anxious to sell them this year, and the oysters will probably be a bit bigger than normal.
"Our oysters have weathered the winter well and we've got some good numbers coming through.
"It's going to be a great year for consumers."
Now in its 15th year, the delicious. awards celebrate the country's new, innovative, native and consistently outstanding Australian ingredients grown, caught, sourced or produced with dedication, passion, knowledge and regard for the environment.