Fish Fridays - Master Shucker

For 36 years these hands have held the keys to our local waters' greatest treasure. The journey began in 1974, when Michael "Hollywood" Broadway strolled past the Desire Oyster Bar on his way home from his shift as a dishwasher at the Court of Two Sisters. "I peeked inside Desire and saw the shuckers joking and talking to the customers. It looked like fun." But after taking a job as a busboy at Desire, the current shuckers were not so keen on mentoring a protege. "I asked the guy to teach me, but he told me that I would have to pay him. So I taught myself, and then after a few weeks I took his job."

After breaking into the trade at Desire, Hollywood moved to the Hilton Hotel where in 1978 he shucked oysters for Muhammed Ali just a few weeks before he went down to Leon Spinks. A few years later he moved to the Acme Oyster House on Iberville, where he has been a fixture behind the bar for the past 28 years.

His technique for shucking is characterized by more finesse than brute force. After grabbing an air-tight oyster - which ensures both freshness and a reservoir of salty liquor inside - his knife enters the hinge while the weight of his body presses down on top of the shell. "You pry, not push," are his words of wisdom. While rocking his knife back and forth, he scrapes the oyster from it's shell, allows the excess liquor to wash away any of the residual dirt inside, and swipes it clean with the blade before placing it high side out on the tray. He can shuck a dozen oysters in just over 60 seconds.

Hollywood has passed down his tried and true technique to a countless number of oyster shuckers. First, to his co-workers at Desire - including a gentleman named Gus, who has been behind the bar at Desire for 34 years - and now to a whole new generation at Acme via his post as Personal Trainer. He was named to Gourmet's 50 Best Chefs and serves as a member of the Louisiana Oyster Task Force.

True to his profession, Hollywood loves oysters but only eats them raw with just a squeeze of lemon and a touch of Tabasco. He lets his hands do the cooking.