MERMMELIER

WHAT IS A MERMMELIER?

Shortcut: http://bit.ly/Mermmelier

A MERMMELIER is to OYSTERS, ostreology & ostriculture what a SOMMELIER is to WINE, oneology & viticulture. 

A Mermmelier is both an Oyster Aficionado and a Hospitality Professional. She blends a broad and deep knowledge and experience in hospitality, beer, wine, spirits with a deep understanding of the history, culture, cuisine, economy and ecology of oysters from around the world. 

MERMMELIER VALUE FOR RESTAURANTEURS

A Mermmelier can help to manage an oyster & raw bar program in the same way a Sommelier manages a wine program. They can source and buy oysters for clients and maintain relationships with growers and distributors all over the world. In some cases he may be able to work with a grower to create a private label oyster for your restaurants. He makes sure oysters are received and stored properly. She oversees how they are displayed, shucked and presented to the table. He works with the shuckers continually on product knowledge and on shucking techniques to reduce waste and improve presentation quality. He works with the floor staff to develop & maintain extremely high general oyster knowledge and knowledge of product on hand. She works with your wine, beer and sprits to identify the best pairings on a day to day basis and then trains the staff on how to present those recommendations and describe the characteristics of each oyster on offer. He collaborates with Chef to create and present unique condiments and composed oyster dishes. She engages with the guest where it is appropriate and welcome to do so such that it might elevate the guests enjoyment of the oysters and build value in these offerings and to enhance their overall dining experience. 

MERMMELIER VALUE FOR CONSUMERS 

A Mermmelieris a kind of a very specialized caterer as well as a host and a guide to an oyster experience. His presentation serves to engage, educate and entertain the guest in an exploration that goes beyond the taste of the oyster and (as per the guests interest), allows them to discover the history, culture, cuisine, economy and ecology of oysters.

She can curate an extraordinary collection of oysters and present them raw or cooked, in nearly any setting, for any occasion. Anything from a simple collection of local oysters to an extensive collection of rare and exotic oysters from all over the world can easily be presented elegantly along with various sauces and accutrement that would match or surpass the experience of any raw bar or restaurant. Additionally, he would be able to speak fluently to the region the oysters on offer came from, the farmer or forager responsible for them and to the particular taste profiles of each; their Merroir.

A MERMMELIER IS AN OYSTER AFICAIONADO AND...

… an expert on oyster pairings with beer, wine and spirits.

… well versed in cuisine, but not necessarily a “chef”.

… well versed in wine, but not necessarily a Sommelier. 

… has a broad and deep expertise and experience with various composed and/or cooked oyster preparations.

… a student of and expert on “best practices” for and an innovator in oyster service.

… intimately familiar with the oyster business (growth and supply cycles, price fluxuations, seasonal quality and variability variants, shipping logistics…etc).

… maintains the respect of a vast network of oyster farmers, foragers and distributors which allows him/her to source the best product and the best prices (and more).

… a deep understanding of marine biology and oceanography as well as aquaculture, marine habitat conservation,  restoration initiatives and the life cycle of oysters.

… has supreme table side manners as one who can engage with the consumer in a way that is welcome, interesting and exciting in with the result being that these interactions build advocacy of a restaurant's brand and positioning as a Leading Oyster Destination.

KEVIN JOSEPH IS SINGULARLY QUALIFIED AS A MERMMELIER

Mermmelier is an expression Kevin Joseph coined in 2014. It comes from the term, “Merroir” which is a now ubiquitous term pertaining to the various characteristics of oyster appellations. Kevin did not coin that phrase Merroir but he has used it effectively to engage, educate and “ Edu-Tain" consumers, chefs, oyster producers and oyster distributors. As a Mermmelier, Kevin may have the broadest and deepest complement of experience and expertise in the world. He is in the process of creating Society Mermmelier / Société Mermmelier and a Professional Mermmelier Certification Course for food and hospitality professionals. He owns SocietyMermmelier.com and SociétéMermmelier.fr as well. He owns mermmelier.com and is working on the trademarks and web sites for these entities as well. 

Kevin is singularly qualified as a Mermmelier because...

… he is someone who has all of the qualifications listed directly above, has dedicated his life and career to raising the bar in oyster service and oyster knowledge

… has a broad and deep understanding of the history, culture, cuisine, economy and ecology of oysters, world-wide.

… studied the operations of 200+/- raw bars to identify best practices and missed opportunities in at least 18 states and provinces and six nations.

… visited 40+ oyster farms / farmers  / distributors in at least 18 states and provinces and maintains relationships with them as well

… operated several top-tier raw bar programs of his own creation

… innovated new and interesting styles of service and accoutrement in a way that creates culinary theater and multiple points of discovery for the consumer

… consulted restauranteurs and trained staffs at 40+ Leading Oyster Destinations across the United States including some of NYC’s finest including Mermaid Inn, The Peninsula Hotel, Waldorf Astoria, Oceana, Costada and many others. 

… co-founded & created New York Oyster Week in 2011 and in producing it in 2012, ’13 & ‘14, created, presented, produced, promoted, performed all of the responsibilities of a Mermmelier and SOLD OUT a collection of original oyster events while working with event venues such as James Beard House, The Maritime Hotel, Open House, Hudson Terrace,  City Crab, Aureole and many more.

… contributed to the development of a joint venture and consulted on a vertically integrated "oyster farm to table raw bar” venture soon to open in Denver, CO (Blue Island Oyster Bar). This is a Joint Venture between Blue Island Oyster Company and Concepts Restaurant Group.

… created, produced and/or co-produced 100+ individual pop-up raw bar events, gatherings and festivals as part of NYOW and beyond, since 2011.

… been published multiple times on various oyster / aquaculture related subjects as both a writer and a photographer. Edible Magazine, Rob Report, Mechanics of Style...and many more. 

… been named "Local Hero" by Edible Magazine (2013) through his work with Blue Island Oyster Company.

… co-produced a short film about Oysters & Oyster Divers which was an official selection of the 2014 The NYC Food Film Festival and a finalist in Real Food Media’s Best Food Films of 2014 Contest. View it at www.EmpireOyster.com

… been hired on multiple occasions to address groups as an expert speaker on oysters or emcee at oyster related events and shucking contests including Grand Central Oyster Bar’s Oyster Frenzy (2012 & 2013). 

… created the term OysTourism and currently pursuing a TM and creating travel packages to Oyster Farms and developing Long Island Oyster Trail.

… invested personally in an Oyster Farm on the Hood Canal in Washington State and another in East Hampton, NY.

… co-founded The OysterHood in 2015. The OysterHood is the global brotherhood of oyster consumers, producers, distributors, shuckers, servers, chefs & restauranteurs. Collectively these “Oystafarians”, are a global community of those who trade in, consume and love oysters. 

… articulated, defined and implements for clients the and theory of term Oyster Related Marketing: http://bitly.com/OysterRelatedMarketing

… personally shucked and served hundreds of thousands of oysters.

WHY WOULD A RESTAURANT WANT A MERMMELIER AS PART OF YOUR ORGANIZATION & OPERATIONS?

1. PROFITS  

2. PRIORITY  

3. POSITIONING  

4. PRICE  

5. VARIETY & CONSISTENCY

Having a Mermmelier will raise the bar for oyster bars as having a Sommelier or Master Mixologist has for wine and cocktails. At this moment, we are ahead of what will become a trend for sure. We are creating it, in fact. The best oyster destinations in the United States and the world have what can be called a Mermmelier. The best oyster destinations in the world also tend to be some of the highest grossing and most profitable restaurants per square foot in the world. Waterbar in San Francisco and Old Ebbitt's in DC have Eric and Noaman, respectively. There are really only a handful of other restaurants that take oysters this seriously and have a chef or a manager dedicated to this critical role. These places are where aficionados go oysters. And where they spend real money on other food & bev. They also host great oyster festivals which further supports their positioning and protects their market share as a Leading Oyster Destination. They manage their raw bar programs as seriously as they do their wine program. It’s effective and has provided them with a great return on their investment. 

The Mermmelier is a story teller. He is a marketer. She is a host and a guide to the experience of ordering and consuming oysters. He is a leader among the staff on the floor and in the kitchen. She engages guests and keeps them coming back and advocating for the establishments she works with. His efforts will “raise the bar” for both service and a heightened sense of discovery and enjoyment to the dining experience. This is a key component of outstanding hospitality. 

The restaurants with a person functioning in this role simply sell more oysters because it attracts and retains bona-fide Oyster Aficionados. And these (like Wine Aficionados) are the most valuable consumers. They usually bring other qualified customers with them. They often photograph their oysters and then post those pictures to social media. Top tier oyster programs create advocates and raving fans. Advocacy like this builds value and attracts better similar customers. 

Oyster Aficionados tend to have higher check averages in comparison to diners who don’t eat oysters. As oysters are not filling AND expensive, an oyster course does not typically come at the cost of another dish later in the meal. After surveying over 200 chefs across 6 nations on this subject Kevin has has never had a chef or restauranteur disagree with the value of catering to Oyster Aficionados. 

Having a Mermmelier will create economies of scale. Kevin's purchasing power will soon be enormous. He will be buying from producers in 15 states and directing that product to hundreds of restaurants and dozens of distributors. This will allow him to get better pricing from any given producer or distributor. As importantly in certain times of the year, it will allow Kevin to have priority in product allocations where a restaurant or restaurant group ordering directly or through could never qualify for.  

One of the common denominators of the best of the best Leading Oyster Destinations is how they manage multiple oyster varieties from season to season. Variety among oyster choices is a best practice because it attracts and retains outstanding consumers or "Oyster Aficionados" who are ALWAYS looking to try a new oyster. It also gives a restaurant something to promote and a story to tell on social media. A Mermmelier will help you to do this better. To be sure that your oyster offerings are constantly changing and that these choices are the best in both price and quality requires careful management, relationships, knowledge, experience and a little luck at times. As providence favors the most prepared, superior preparation and planning supports a diverse offering, making your raw bar more profitable and more in the favor of the most vocal, influential, affluent and loyal customers. 

As important as variety is, so too is consistency. Finding 2 or 3 farmers who will be able to guarantee price and availability of a House or Private Label Oyster AND an inexpensive "price point oyster” AND maybe one other "constant” or “favorite” is important too. Some Oyster Aficionados will return over and over (with friends) because they love your “House Oyster”. They’ll be pleased to know they can always get 6 of those and then experiment and explore with 2 or 3 other varieties they’ve never had before. 

OYSTER EVENT AND FESTIVAL CURATION & MANAGEMENT FOR RESTAURANTS & MARKETERS   

To some degree the role of Mermmelier overlaps this but really only in the procurement of oysters. To those ends Kevin can be of tremendous value in the development and management of a calendar of new and existing events (5 - 10 per year) per restaurant or restaurant group. Some can and should be limited to 30 people (a special oyster pairing experience). Others for 100 or 300 or 500, depending on the opportunity, occasion and objective. In a collaboration with the restaurant partners, Kevin can bring enormous value to an organization in this way as both a Mermmelier and a professional event producer and marketer.

OYSTER EVENTS, TASTINGS & CATERING FOR CONSUMERS, ORGANIZATIONS & COMPANIES

Since 2011, Kevin has created, produced and/or co-produced 60+ individual pop-up raw bar events, gatherings and festivals as part of NYOW and beyond. When it comes to pop-ing up a raw bar, nobody does it better. This can be a simple presentation of one local variety or an elaborate curation of many rare and exotic varieties from around the world. Raw bars can be set up virtually anywhere from a private home to a private yacht, a corporate conference room, a hotel rooftop or a restaurant. 

MERMMELIER? PRETENTIOUS?

Mermmelier may sound like a POSH word some arrogant Chef came up with to flatter himself. However, the entomology of the word may be of some interest to those not put off by it. Also, in understanding the reason for creating the term / title and the meaning of it, readers may come to appreciate that there really is a lot of value in it because it explains clearly what the value of our services are. It also illustrates a NEED for this kind of expertise. 

The term is an amalgamation of words and terms. It comes from Le Mer (French for The Sea), Merroir (A term commonly used by oyster aficionados to describe the factors that influence oyster appellation flavors) and the rest is a derivative of the word Sommelier. 

In classic French Cuisine a fine kitchen would employ what is referred to as an Écallier. An Écallier is a person who handles the shellfish, crustaceans and some of or all of the fin fish. Écallier means “to scale”, in French, like to remove the scales of a fish or to open an oyster. They handle a station. In essence, they are like a fish-monger or Poissoneur in the kitchen. Chef Eric Ripert is, perhaps, the most famous Écallier. Either way, the distinction of a niche position in a kitchen for the resident expert in fish and shellfish is an OLD story rooted deep in French Cuisine. 

Since American or English speaking countries / cuisine do not typically make this culinary distinction, we have chosen to play with words that best describe what we think restaurants (in English speaking countries) should strive to do to Raise Their Raw Bar. And that is to retain a professional to develop and deliver excellence with oysters and other raw bar items as well as to train staff to do so. We steered away from Poissoneur in the development of the term to describe our specialization because it seems too similar to Poison in English. And Écallier is just too difficult of a word for English speakers to relate to or pronounce. At least with Mermmelier we get to riff on Le Mer and Sommelier, words that are somewhat familiar to English speakers.