Peter Stein of Peeko Oysters is changing the shellfish game on the East End. (Photo credit: Doug Young)
When it comes to our waters and what lives in them, I sometimes feel like I’m ever-bracing for bad news (man, do I miss those childhood days of complaining about having too many bay scallop dinners — the folly of the ignorant!). Stephanie Villani’s story — “Flipping the Script: Innovations Keep Peeko Oysters Going Strong” — about Peter Stein’s investment of time and effort into an innovative new method of oyster farming had me riveted in the best way.
The technology, developed in New Zealand and called FlipFarming, may well be a game-changer in increasing oyster production, as well as work-life balance for the baymen who farm them. Stein didn’t stop there: he’s also the first to rethink the business model of oyster farming, creating a kind of coop template where his hatchery supplies the seed, the farmers grow them and sell them back to Peeko, which grades, counts and packs them — laborious tasks that oyster farmers working with Stein can eschew. And as an oyster lover, hearing about more of them in our midst just makes my day.
Amy Zavatto is the Editor-in-Chief for southforker, northforker and Long Island Wine Press. She's a wine, spirits, and food journalist whose work appears in Wine Enthusiast, InsideHook.com, MarthaStewart.com, the New York Post, Liquor.com, SevenFifty Daily, Imbibe, Men’s Journal and many others. She's the author of The Big Book of Bourbon Cocktails, Prosecco Made Me Do It: 60 Seriously Sparkling Cocktails, Forager’s Cocktails: Botanical Mixology with Fresh, Natural Ingredients, and The Architecture of the Cocktail. She is a respected judge for the American Craft Spirits Association’s annual small-production spirits competition, and has moderated numerous panels on the topics of wine, spirits, cocktails, and regional foodways. She is the former Deputy Editor for the regional celebratory publications, Edible Manhattan and Edible Brooklyn, as well as the former Executive Director of the Long Island Merlot Alliance. She is a member of the New York chapter of the international organization of women leaders in food, wine, and spirits, Les Dames d’Escoffier. The proud daughter of a butcher, Amy is originally from Shelter Island, N.Y., where she developed a deep respect for the East End’s natural beauty and the importance of preserving and celebrating it and its people.
