PORTRAITS
OYSTERS PASSION IN THE BOURGNEUF BAY
The pioneering spirit is also an integral part of the men and women who act in the
oysters farming sector who are also the actors and witnesses of our French art of living
as I have seen with oyster farmers of "Vendée Atlantique " oysters at the Barre De
Monts Fromentine and Beauvoir Sur Mer in the heart of Bourgneuf Bay in Vendée.
"The production area of the oysters labeled "Vendée Atlantique" mainly covers the departments of Vendée and Loire
Atlantique on a journey along 80 kilometers of the coasts of these two departments”
Clarisse DAVID tells me who is
oysters farmer at La Barre De Monts Fromentine.
» The Vendée Atlantique oyster is mainly located in the Bourgneuf Bay
and this since the 18th century, knowing that, since then, production sites have been developed mainly on the Vendée
coast, notably in Talmont Saint Hilaire, on the island of Noirmoutier and in the Aiguillon Sur Mer Bay in the south of
Vendée. »The “Vendée Atlantique” variety is an oyster very popular for its authenticity and its salty aromas expressing
all the freshness of the Atlantic coast"
Clarisse tells me while adjusting a pocket." The technical farming for Vendée
Atlantique oysters are very specific, with, initially, the farming of oysters at sea followed by their immersion in less salty
water basins incorporating plankton that we call in our profession “Clear Refining”
Jean Louis HERIAU told me with a big
smile who is oyster farmer in Beauvoir Sur Mer while accompanying me to his workshop with a superb view of the
Bourgneuf Bay and its oyster parks which give these natural places atypical and mechanical forms. One of the
particularity of this flagship product of the Atlantic Coast is that it must be aged for a maximum of 4 years before
garnishing our plates, often accompanied by lemons, personalized sauces, especially based on shallots in addition to the
various recipes of preparations and also cooking because the Vendée Atlantique oyster can also, like products from the
Nouvelle Aquitaine, Brittany and Occitanie regions, be cooked in oven and served hot during delicious starters that
enchant our great lunches or dinners and delight our guests.
Freshness, Love of a Job Well Done and Friendliness
"Refined in salt water basins and designated "Claires Ostréicoles" for several months during phases of growth, the
Vendée Atlantique oyster has beneficial properties for our daily diet. Knowledge making the 300 producers of oysters
labeled "Vendée Atlantique" is often passed down from generation to generation and this in order to perpetuate the
traditions of our exciting profession " Clarisse DAVID tells me while inviting me to follow her along her pockets
positioned near the Gois road not far from the island of Noirmoutier."At beyond being a simple mollusk, the Vendée
Atlantic Oyster represents our gastronomic heritage combining
freshness, love of a job well done and friendliness"
Another specificity that is worth highlighting is represented by the hatcher-nurse function which is the first phase of
oysters production as Jean Louis HERIAU explains to me."Nurse hatchers are pioneers in production because they
master technical hatching breeding in the early stages of oyster development up to the spat that can be cultivated by
oysters garmers and in particular in Pays De La Loire which is the leading region producing hatchery spat in France".
Our beautiful country which has radiant territories with often surprises at every step and where are combined in
permanence history, art of living and gastronomy with this particularity of maintaining ancestral traditions that it is
always exciting to discover through the very lively expression of the men and women who compose it.
Report: Gabriel PAGE
Photos Credit: Gabriel PAGE
