Blue Island Shellfish Farms To Co-Sponsor Professional Shucking Championships at Oyster Frenzy

Online, August 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - The Professional Shucking Championships at the ninth annual "Grand Central Oyster Frenzy" on Saturday, September 24, will be co-sponsored by the Grand Central Oyster Bar and Blue Island Shellfish Farms, lifting the first prize to $3,000.

Shuckers world-wide will converge on the historic Grand Central Terminal seafood eatery to vie for the biggest pot ever, thanks to Long Island-based Blue Island's co-sponsorship. Second prize will be $1,000, and $500 will go to the third place finisher.

Luis Iglesias, the brilliant shucker based at the Oyster Bar, has captured six of seven championships, including five straight, and will defend the title on the home turf. With the first prize doubled from the previous $1,500 payday, this will be the sternest test for the "Mexican Menace."

"Blue Island is delighted to co-sponsor the Professional Shucking Championships and double the ante," said Christopher Quartuccio, Blue Island's Founder and CEO. "This is sure to attract a tremendous group of shuckers from the U.S. and beyond."

Oyster Bar General Manager Jonathan Young said: "We welcome Blue Island aboard, and this will undoubtedly be our toughest competition ever with first prize doubled, and a four-figure second prize, as well."

The Grand Central Oyster Frenzy will feature professional shucking championships, chef demonstrations and tastings, the slurp off eating competition open to the public, 16 varieties of oysters and championship wines at the historic Grand Central Oyster Bar on Saturday, September 24, 2011, from noon to 5:00 p.m.

About Blue Island...
Blue Island Shellfish Farms was founded in 1995 with the aim of providing Manhattan restaurants with the highest quality shellfish available. It all started when Chris Quartuccio began scuba diving for natural oysters in the Long Island Sound and delivering them fresh daily to chefs in New York City. This business has grown substantially in 16 years and is now recognized as the number one oyster and clam distributor in the New York area. Blue Island has recently expanded its marketplace and is now shipping oysters all over the world. Blue Island's oysters and clams can be found on restaurant menus in Las Vegas, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Chicago, Houston, Montreal, and even Beijing, China.

In addition to producing Great South Bay oysters on its farm located on the south shore of Long Island, Blue Island is a distributor of some of the most sought-after oyster varieties in the United States. The oyster varieties Blue Oyster carries are the "genuine article." Many of the oysters it distributes are protected by legal trademarks such as Naked Cowboy®, Hama Hama®, Pemaquid®, Hog Island®, and Shibumi®. When chefs request an American Kumamoto from Blue Island, they can be certain it's not a Meximoto or Gigamoto. The Kumamotos delivered by Blue Oyster are the sikamea species direct from the Pacific Northwest

The dedication of Blue Oyster Shellfish Farms to consistent quality and adherence to proper oyster appellation has landed its shellfish in virtually every oyster bar and seafood restaurant in Manhattan. Numerous James Beard Award winners, 3 and 4 star chefs, and large restaurant groups have designated Blue Island as their primary supplier.

About Grand Central Oyster Bar
The Grand Central Oyster Bar first opened its doors in 1913, in what was then a brand new, state-of-the-art, Grand Central Station. With its cavernous architecture and sweeping white tiled ceilings, it evokes this old N.Y. in all its grandness.