Grading day is when you really see what you've got. We pull the baskets up and sort them — cocktail, bistro, plate grade. Every oyster gets handled individually. People don't realise that. Each one is picked up, turned over, checked. The shape matters, the cup depth, the shell strength. A good Sydney Rock oyster should have a deep cup and a clean, briny flavour with a mineral finish. We grade thousands in a day. My kids help on weekends now. They complain about the early starts but I can see them learning the same thing I did — how to care about quality, how to take pride in what you produce.