The Cookery to Host Oyster Fest at Captain Lawrence Brewing Company

The increasing popularity of oysters has not gone unnoticed by David DiBari, Chef/Owner of The Cookery in Dobbs Ferry. Last year’s oyster celebration at the restaurant sold out and because more guests can be accommodated at the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, The Cookery will hold its fourth annual oyster fest at the Elmsford venue. This event, featuring unlimited oysters and New Orleans-style Jazz, will take place on Sunday, August 23, 2015 from 1 to 4 p.m.

The total ticket cost including tax and a processing fee is $69.97 per person — this includes food, Captain Lawrence’s seasonal beers, carbonated drinks, chowder, and live jazz.

“The Bottoms Up Dixieland Band brings to life the energetic romps of 1920s’ New Orleans style jazz, á la Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory,” said DiBari. “Featuring some fun modern twists, this band is the perfect backdrop to an oyster-filled frenzy.”

An oyster shucking and eating contest is also part of the festivities. Four teams drawn by lot will have two contestants participating.To win, a team member must eat a dozen oysters in the shortest time.

One team member shucks; the other swallows. Before the competition begins, Chef DiBari and expert shuckers will coach the contestants on proper shucking technique. He will also serve as a contest judge along with Scott Vaccaro, owner of the Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. The winning team will earn a gift certificate for dining at The Cookery.

Food includes:

The food to be offered will include the following.
Stations: Three types of oysters; smoked cocktail sauce and grapefruit Sriracha mignonette; seafood gumbo with crustaceans and bivalves stewed together with rice, house-made chorizo, animal legs and necks and pork

Passed small plates: Fried white bait with salt and pepper in garlic mustard sauce; salt baked pork belly and oyster sauce on a stick; chicken and waffles with maple syrup, basil and blueberries; maple fried egg on buttery toast; cheesy cheddar grits and 64-degree eggs; poutines with gravy and cheese curds; wood roasted corn on the cob with house-made bacon mayo and Espelette.

In addition: salt baked whole fish; roast pig head with maple Sriracha; smoked tender pork ribs on bone; roast carved suckling pig.

Chef DiBari is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. He trained under Mario Batali at Babbo and with David Bouley at Danube. He also cooked at Windows on the World, Patroon and Five Points. He was the Executive Chef at Eastchester Fish Market and at Zuppa in Yonkers.

The Cookery opened in Dobbs Ferry in March, 2009.

Oysters are gaining favor in restaurants nationwide according to a survey conducted by a menu research firm. Oysters appeared on the menus of 9.6 percent of restaurants throughout the U.S.A. at the end of 2014, Datassential found — an increase of nearly 16% in four years. The survey results were reported by Nation’s Restaurant News in its May 12, 2015 issue.

Tickets can be ordered and charged to a credit card account at www.mothershucker.eventbrite.com. The event location: Captain Lawrence Brewing Company, 444 Saw Mill River Road, Elmsford, NY 10523. For information, call 914-305-2336.