Boutique Oyster Farms Gain Ground

URBANNA, VA. — Deborah Pratt walks purposefully into the Urbanna Oyster House, unsheaths her knives and lays them out on the bar.

She looks nice, but don’t let that pretty smile, the strand of pearls or her sweet-talking ways fool you. The woman knows how to use a weapon.

She thrusts a knife into the lip of an oyster. “I Love You,” she says, punctuating the words with three deft twists of her wrist. Just like that, the shell pops open, revealing a glistening oyster.

“It’s a gift. But there’s an art to it,” says the champion oyster shucker whose prowess has brought her international accolades.

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