FRESH FROM THE FARM Local Chefs Rave About French Hermit Oyster Company

Local Chefs Rave About French Hermit Oyster Company

by ju ian brunt

Anita and Mike Arguelles own what is arguably Mississippi’s most successful off-bottom oyster farm, French Hermit Oyster Company. Situated just a few hundred feet south of Deer Island, near Biloxi, the nutrientrich waters that flow by the floating cages are producing some of the most sought-after oysters in the South.

French Hermit has only been in production less than two full years, but in that short time, their oysters have been embraced by Mississippi chefs, as well as chefs in six other states, and have been served in 28 restaurants around the country. Vestige in Ocean Springs, White Pillars and Thirty Two in Biloxi, as well as The Manship in Jackson and Snackbar in Oxford, to name just a few, have all wowed their guests with these uniquely delicious oysters.

The amazingly-rich environment, the floating cages that allow the oysters to feed near the surface where the food they consume is most abundant, and the technique and skills French Hermit has developed have resulted in oysters that are so fat and delicious, chefs are raving about them. Beau Rivage Executive Chef Kristian Wade said of the first one he tried, “This is Biloxi butter.”

In the beginning, there were many skeptics, and many

Seed oyster

ABOVE - Oyster tumbler at the small craft harbor in Biloxi; OPPOSITE, TOP - Mike Arguelles (left) and a fellow farmer sail into Biloxi’s small craft harbor;

OPPOSITE, BOTTOM - Oyster farm and floating cages.

a supplier and restaurant owner said they would never pay the prices off-bottom oysters demand. It is a labor intensive process, with the oysters being divided as they grow larger, cleaned and tumbled in a machine that separates them by size, and knocks off the thin outside edge of the shell, forcing the oyster to grow deep and round. But attitudes soon changed, and many fine dining chefs declared that they didn’t care what the price was, that had to have them. Once customers tried them, they agreed. In fact, the best oyster I have ever had, was a French Hermit served to me by Chef Austin Sumrall at his White Pillars restaurant.

The Arguelles got started in the summer of 2018, and had market size oysters by February. But it has not been an easy road, not by a long shot. The great Mississippi River flood of that year, and the ensuing opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway, meant the end of the fourteen thousand acres of on-bottom oysters off of Pass Christian, and the death of at least 90% of the Deer Island Oysters. Mike and Anita had just set 20,000 new seed oysters when fresh water began filling the Mississippi Sound, but were able to pick them up and move them to Bayou Batre, Alabama. They were able to bring them back, when water quality allowed, and soon had oysters 2 ¾ to 3 inches in size, ready for the half shell market. But it was a close call, to be sure.

The demise of the traditional on-bottom oyster reefs and the success of the off-bottom farms has many people thinking that the future is in aqua farming. And that is exactly what Mike and Anita are betting on. If fact, they see the day when Mississippi will be famous for their oysters around the country.

But Mike and Anita have not kept their success to themselves. They formed a co-op with the other four farmers on the state run reef to jointly market the crop, and hope to have a million oysters in the water later this year. The state of Mississippi and the Department of Marin Resources are responsible for the training of new farmers, and they must attend training classes and successfully grow oysters on a test plot, before they can start farming their two acre farms the state leases to them. At first, farmers each tried to market their oysters individually, but it proved a daunting task. Mike and Anita’s idea to form the co-op was absolutely brilliant and helped all the farmers find success. There is a new group of farmers completing their training now, and soon there should be ten Deer Island farms.

The French Hermit logo aptly says “We grow delicious Gulf Oysters, off the Coast of Mississippi, in the rich waters surrounding Deer Island. We would love to share them with you.” I think you can count on it. edm