Oyster aquaculture in the southern United States (especially from North Carolina around to Texas) has expanded rapidly in the past decade, prompting concerns about market saturation. To address this concern, we are conducting a two-year program that targets seafood restaurant professionals to increase their understanding of the differences among oyster varieties and their ability to answer customer questions. Trainings are being conducted in eight southern US coastal states as well as six ‘foodie’ cities across the US. In the training, servers are given an ‘oyster compass’ as a tool to help remember how to differentiate oysters. They also participate in real-time polling to evaluate any change in knowledge due to the training.
We are testing the hypothesis that trained, more knowledgeable seafood servers will increase sales of aquacultured oysters by comparing sales pre- and post-trainings. In addition, we are conducting interviews with participants to assess the value of the trainings beyond sales.
An overview of the training will be provided, and results of trainings to date will be presented. Trainings have been conducted in Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, and Virginia, as well as in Atlanta, Baltimore and Washington, DC. Additional trainings will also be held in Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina.