Food & Drink

Seven Enticing Southern Oyster Instagram Accounts to Follow

Prying open the amusing, informative, mouthwatering world of Southern oysters

A platter of oysters on ice

Photo: Lowcountry Oyster Company

Oysters from Charleston's Lowcountry Oyster Company.

Holy Ground Oyster Company

@holyground.oysters

Ocean Springs, Mississippi

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In Holy Ground’s “Weekly Shuck” series, oyster farmer Thomas Piecuch, a former fisheries scientist, shares oyster-eating positives—they’re rich in zinc, protein, and B12—along with trivia like where the phrase “the world is your oyster” originated and why the bivalves pair so well with bubbly (hint: it’s about umami). His pearls of wisdom often come with a side of silly. “There’s some nitty-gritty science I love to get into, but I try to get a few chuckles, too. I call it learning and laughing,” he says.


Lowcountry Oyster Company

@lowcooysters

Charleston, South Carolina

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“LowCo” oyster farm’s posts often feature fun, behind-the-scenes content showcasing how the team nurtures growing oysters, but its grid also puts the emphasis on farmed oysters’ benefits. “Oysters are truly mind-blowing in what they provide for the environment, the economy, and the dinner table,” founder Trey McMillan says. “They’re grown in a way that doesn’t take anything; they only replenish.” Followers get the deets on events like oyster roasts and farm tours and tastings, too.


Oyster South

@oystersouth_

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Dedicated to supporting and celebrating the region’s oyster farmers and booming aquaculture industry, this nonprofit’s social media presence spotlights the folks securing a sustainable future for Southern shellfish. Its grid and stories are soaked with oyster-loving chefs and farming families, plus plenty of taste-bud-tempting seafood images.


Kristine Kainer

@kristinekainer

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Oysters’ moody blues, grays, and greens, plus their contrasting textures, move artist Kristine Kainer to capture their beauty in oil paintings. “I’m really oyster-obsessed, and each shell tells a story,” she says. Her creativity isn’t reserved for canvas; she pours it into hand-painted porcelain oyster plates, too. The functional works (they’re food-safe) are often inspired by antique oyster plate designs, and she also does custom orders. Kainer is studying to be an oyster sommelier (yes, that’s a real certification) to help pass along her passion. “I hope the more I know, the more my work encourages others to appreciate oysters.”


Pelican Oyster Co.

@pelicanoysterco

Spring Creek, Florida

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“Oyster farming is so much work but so much fun,” says Cainnon Gregg, a Gulf Coast oyster farmer and owner of Pelican Oyster Co. His posts prove it. Gregg’s humorous memes, interactions with chefs, and farm antics (often with an icy Florida-brewed Oyster City beer in hand) grab attention, and that’s the point. “I want people to try my Salty Bird oysters, but mainly, I want to help build a cool Southern oyster culture.” For all the clowning around, there are struggles. His farm is back up and running after taking a hit from Hurricane Helene, and resilience is a subtle but strong content undercurrent. “When storms come, we don’t want pity, we want you to buy oysters!” he says.  


Chef Chris Hathcock

@chino_noir

Savannah, Georgia 

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When chef Chris Hathcock rolls into your feed, you’re treated to beauty shots of just-shucked oysters and oyster dishes (often including other Lowcountry ingredients) featured at his pop-up dinners, as well as highlights of his work raising Salt Bombs as part of the Tybee Oyster Co. team, Georgia’s first off-bottom oyster farm. He relishes oysters’ taste but also the opportunity to recruit new conservation enthusiasts. “As much as oysters are delicious, the water filtration, habitat creation, and shoreline protection they provide are what I love most and want to spotlight,” he says.


The Oyster Bed

@theoysterbed

Hammond, Louisiana

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Make sure your sound is on when you scroll through this account. You don’t want to miss the sizzle of oysters flame-roasting in the Oyster Bed, a pan designed by two conservation-minded brothers to encourage cooking oysters sans shells, allowing shuck houses to return more shells to the water and restore wild oyster reefs. The account also shows off the Bed’s versatility; its oyster-shaped cups turn out just-right shrimp, scallops, and eggs, too.


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