Raw oysters are a big part of Center Square Grill in East Longmeadow, making it a natural component of the business’ new restaurant coming to The Big E.
NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar is a new restaurant at The Big E operated by Bill Collins of Center Square Grill. The menu will include raw oysters, shrimp cocktails, shellfish towers, Maryland cajun crab cakes, fried crawfish tails, Jamaican jerk chicken served with dirty rice and jambalaya, according to the press release.
Chicken Etouffee from NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar on New England Avenue. The media got a sneak peek at some of the new foods at The Big E in 2024.(Nick O’Malley, MassLive)
But raw oysters, shrimp cocktails and shellfish towers at a state fair might make some people pause and wonder, “Is that safe?”
“We feel very comfortable with our [Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points] plan that we’ve already made and presented to the Board of Healthcare to show them how we’re going to operate safely,” Collins told MassLive.
A Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, or HACCP, plan is a written document that goes over the identification, evaluation and control of food safety hazards.
But the plan wasn’t just an afterthought. The building, which housed the former Craz-E Burger, was redesigned with the plan in mind to keep seafood safe.
Some of the renovations include three overhead doors that open to a brand-new kitchen, a beer garden along the Front Porch that can accommodate up to 70 people and the bar counter with two raw bar troughs designed to serve raw oysters, shrimp cocktails and shellfish towers. They also bought “state of the art brand new refrigeration,” Collins said.
Then their plan includes rotating every piece of shellfish on ice with the tags from the oyster farm, “so we know exactly where it came from, exactly what’s being served at all times,” he said.
“And that’s exactly how we also operate in Center Square Grille in East Longmeadow,” Collins added. “So, if you’re looking for oysters, you can feel safe coming to us at Nola Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar.”
Additionally, The Big E and West Springfield make sure each food vendor is held to the same standards as any other restaurant in West Springfield, under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration food code and the state sanitary code.
In order to be able to sell food at The Big E, each vendor has to apply for a permit, be inspected and then be allowed to be a part of the fair given there are no significant violations.
The vendors are later reinspected based on their level of risk, which is determined by the food products they serve and their food-handling practices, according to Jeanne Galloway, the director of public health in West Springfield.
And it’s not the first time raw oysters have been sold at The Big E. The Matunuck Oyster Bar sold them in 2014, bringing them in fresh from Rhode Island every morning.
In her almost 18 years with the public health department, Galloway told MassLive last year that she hasn’t known of any Big E food safety violations incurring a fine.
NOLA Cajun Kitchen and Raw Bar plans to serve an array of oysters, including Wellfleets and Blue Points.
Collins suggests pairing them with champagne, which they’ll also offer at The Big E. And if you want to take your oysters to go, then they’ll pack up some ice to go with them, he said.
