Duke Landry can shuck 24 oysters in less than three minutes, a feat that landed him in the oyster shucking world championship in Ireland recently.
Landry qualified for the world competition after winning the National Oyster Shucking Competition in Maryland last October. His oyster shucking career began when he worked at Don’s Seafood, a long-time family restaurant in Baton Rouge.
“We did the dirty work at the restaurant,” Landry says of himself and his younger brother Mike Landry. “We had to peel shrimp, clean fish, shuck oysters. It was part of the job.”
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Landry says he and his brother would compete for fun at the restaurant. In 1987, the two competed at the Louisiana Seafood Promotion Board‘s competition in New Orleans. From there, he qualified for his first national championship. Landry now holds three national champion titles: 1987, 1988 and 1989.
“Then I had to quit,” Landry says with a laugh. “There was a rule back then that said you couldn’t win more than three national titles.”
That rule later changed, and Landry went back for a fourth win last year.
He traveled to Galway, Ireland, for the world championship Sept. 26. At the competition, shuckers are judged on how quickly and cleanly they can present 30 oysters on the half shell.
Landry placed 13th in the world with a time of 3 minutes and 45 seconds. He says it wasn’t his best performance, but the competition is more about the experience.
“It’s a really neat thing to be a part of,” he says. “It’s been a blessing to travel and compete, meet new people and promote Louisiana during it all.”
Competitive oyster shucking is just like the Olympics, Landry says.
“You practice and practice every day for a three-minute competition,” he says. “It’s like when runners practice for hours every day to run a 10-second race.”
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Once in Ireland, Landry kept practicing at local restaurants in Galway during lunch and dinner times. He has held the national record for shucking 24 oysters for 25 years, but he doesn’t plan on competing in this year’s national championship Oct. 21.
He and his wife are focusing on their new restaurant, Duke’s Seafood and Steakhouse, set to open in late October in Watson. The restaurant will serve steaks, seafood and other Cajun dishes. And, yes, Duke’s will offer a weekly oyster special featuring various kinds of oysters on the half shell.
Duke’s Seafood and Steakhouse will be open 11 a.m.-10 p.m. seven days a week at 33920 Highway 16 in Watson.