18 Years in the oyster business from tide to table

Bobby Groves is the Head of Oysters at London restaurant Chiltern Firehouse. He was born in Maldon, Essex in the lowlands of the east coast of England. In 2006, he began working on his local oyster farm Maldon Oysters cultivating, delivering and exporting shellfish, and as an oyster shucker in London food markets for both Maldon and West Mersea shucking thousands of oysters a day.

In 2018/19, Bobby completed a 5000 mile journey on a Triumph motorcycle around the coasts of the British Isles and Ireland for his book Oyster Isles (published Aug 2019 by Little,Brown/Hachette).  Oyster Isles is a celebration of oyster culture past and present with themes of nutrition, reef restoration, environmental factors and associated history.

Bobby has strong working relationships with the oyster farmers and fishermen and women throughout the British Isles and Ireland and is an advocate for the industry.  He lives in London, supports Newcastle United and also plays the music with folk band Beans on Toast.