Oyster Isles: A Journey Through Britain and Ireland's Oysters

A great read, we love the book! Written with knowledge and enthusiasm
A clever mix of food history, nature writing, travelogue and restaurant guide
Part travelogue, part social history
A masterpiece. It is so interesting to read about oyster lore on the other side of the world. Being here in America, I tend to forget how many oysters are out there in other places, especially in the UK and Ireland. Thank you, Bobby, for bringing this world of joy to me and all the rest of America
An amazing tome. It's a joy. The stories behind each oyster and location are informative, in depth, but, most importantly, fun. I shall never eat an oyster again in the same way, the knowledge impaired from this book will definitely enhance the eating
Bobby's oyster travelogue is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind piece that shines a spotlight on the extraordinary and the everyday of the industry. It's the stuff that oyster bucket lists are made of
This book is a rolling adventure of bike, sweat, salt, sea and oysters. A book full of history and love; love for the oyster and love for the coasts of the British Isles and Ireland
Bobby's storytelling puts you in his wellies, and makes me want to hop on a Triumph to explore the tastes, characters, and sights of the Oyster Isles . . . An instant oyster classic
To my mind, the best food book to be published this year. Bobby Groves's fascinating and beautifully written history of the oyster in the British Isles is meticulously researched. A captivating and utterly absorbing account of a young man's odyssey. A must-have, if you possess even the remotest interest in seafood and presented in a glorious old-school style. Divine
A super book about a super food! Bobby Groves gives the oyster lover an insight into the social history of the coastline of our wonderful country
'Bobby's oyster travelogue is an ambitious, one-of-a-kind piece that shines a spotlight on the extraordinary and the everyday of the industry. It's the stuff that oyster bucket lists are made of' Julie Qiu, In A Half Shell blog

The Great British oyster is deeply embedded in our geographical, historical and socio-cultural landscape. Five-thousand-year-old oyster shells have been discovered in the northern reaches of Scotland, and oyster shells are littered along the extinct riverbeds deep beneath the London of today. A highly prized delicacy of the Romans, the oyster has always been a class leveller: a food of the poor for the Victorians to a twentieth century food of decadence. It is a superfood; a biological water meter; an ecological superpower. Ostracized, the oyster card - it has even crept into our language.

Bobby Groves, Head of Oysters at the Chiltern Firehouse, takes us on a wonderful journey of the British oyster. He vividly brings to life this strange and marvellous creature, shining a light on its rich and vibrant history, its cultural impact and ecological importance as well as those oyster folk who work so hard to protect them.

'A clever mix of food history, nature writing, travelogue and restaurant guide' The i