Tableau Oyster Shucking Contest & Casse-croûte

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Tableau Oyster Shucking Contest & Casse-croûte

What is Casse-croûte? It's traditionally used to refer to a snack, something eaten in between meals. Take a peek below for an example.

This above Casse-croûte menu is offered by Tabeau Bar Bistro at the Loden Hotel Monday-Friday, 2:30-5:30. It's perfect for a mid-afternoon snack during an out of office meeting or for a pre-dinner/pre-theatre snack. Just think how pleasant afternoon roundtables would be if everyone had a glass of Moët & some Oysters?!

As part of the launch the new Casse-croûte menu at Tableau at the Loden Hotel, they threw an Oyster Shucking Contest featuring some local media celebrities. There are four competitors in total, namely Victoria Chemko (Victoria's Food Secrets), Fiona Forbes (Urban Rush), Fred Lee (Fred About Town), and Bro Jake (Classic Rock 101).

Did you take a close look at the chalkboard above, did you see word "bacon"? Yes, they are serving Bacon Caesars. So here we have the caesar...complete with a slice of bacon. These drinks were all made to order, and was rather mild. I could have had a bit more spice in mine, but I was clearly distracted by the bacon.

And here is the battleground. That is the biggest hourglass I have ever seen, and I was also relieved to see gloves for each of the contestants. Lots of oysters, ice and other garnishes were also at the ready.

Here is Bro Jake having a drink to calm his nerves, oh wait, is that glass on the table his as well? And oh, is Fiona getting some last minute tips from the Chef?

And...action! Now we see all four contestants spring into action. Each picking, shucking and placing their oysters onto a bed of ice. First one to do six oysters gets to take home the trophy.