An English's shucker represented Brighton at the London Oyster Championships

Annia Gawlik, a shucker at English’s on East Street, represented Brighton & Hove at the London Oyster Championships at Bentley’s in Mayfair on Friday 18 September.

She got there by winning the shucking competition at the BITE Brighton Oyster Festival in June. In London she went head to head with 15 shuckers from restaurants across the UK.

Round one was speed shucking, with a time penalty for every broken shell, speck of grit or mangled piece of meat. The fastest five then presented dressed oysters to a judging panel that included the actor Stanley Tucci.

The title went to Fredrik Lindfors of the Notting Hill Fish Shop in west London, who will represent the UK at the World Oyster Championship in Galway in October.

Jonathan Speirs, the oyster sommelier at English’s, said Gawlik “stood her ground as the only female contestant”. “She really did the city proud against tough competition from across the country,” he said.

Bentley’s owner, Richard Corrigan Jnr, said it had been “fantastic to expand this year” and bring in the Brighton winner. “We’re looking forward to seeing more new faces and competitors next year,” he said.