Far from the Parisian bistros serving Burgundy snails, a Japanese man has discovered how to cultivate these slimy species – a feat that has long eluded the French.
Toshihide Takase, 76, says he is “the only person in the world” who creates this specific delicacy after four decades of trial and error to find the right conditions.
The French embassy and industry insiders also believe that Takase, who invested a small fortune and taught himself everything about the creature, is a unique case.
Stuffed with butter, garlic and parsley and then roasted, Burgundy snails – or escargots de Bourgogne – have been part of French cuisine since the 19th century.
But they are notoriously difficult to cultivate because they do not adapt well to crowded conditions and grow slowly, usually taking two or three years to reach adult size.
The mollusk, whose scientific name is helix pomatia, has been a protected species in France since 1979 to save it from extinction.
The vast majority of the several thousand tons of snails consumed by the country each year come from forests in Central and Eastern Europe.
About five percent are grown locally in France, but this is a different species, helix aspersa, which is easier to grow and does not have the name “Burgundy.”
“My sister gave me canned escargots as a gift after a trip to France” 45 years ago, Takase told AFP.
“But they didn’t taste good and smelled bad,” said the retired businessman.
Takase became obsessed with producing them himself, although “at first everyone acted like I was stupid”.
– Perfect conditions –
He stubbornly devoured books on the subject and met French helix aspersa breeders to learn more.
It’s a niche interest anywhere, but highly uncommon in Japan, where sea snails are part of the rich cuisine but land snails are seen as a pest that can harm crops.
After seven years of bureaucratic wrangling, Takase obtained permission to breed helix pomatia and imported 100 specimens from France to start his farm.
The indoor facility in Matsusaka, a city between Osaka and Nagoya, is called the Mie Escargot Development Laboratory.
Boxes of live burgundy snails are stacked three layers high on custom metal racks, with humidity and temperature carefully controlled.
Next door is an active metallurgy foundry – the first business created by Takase, who managed several ventures.
He says the farm can produce up to 600,000 snails a year, with growing time reduced to just four months.
To achieve this, he adds a calcium-rich powder made from oyster shells to moist soil, which helps the gastropods grow big and strong quickly.
“They love it,” said Takase, who spent 20 years developing his own nutritious snail food from soybeans and corn.
Feeding containers are hand-washed every three days because “snails love cleanliness,” he added.
– ‘At what price?’ –
Visitors to the “lab” have the opportunity to try Takase snails, which cost 9,900 yen ($60) for a pack of 30. There are different prices for restaurants or bulk sales.
For now, the business is small-scale and domestic, but he is interested in passing on his knowledge to French snail farmers and has started talks with the embassy in Japan.
William Blanche, co-president of France’s National Heliciculture Federation, told AFP that the species has a “reputation for being impossible to breed.”
It’s “ironic” that the Burgundy snails consumed in France are nowhere near the province of the same name, he said, which is why he’s intrigued by Takase’s project.
Still, Blanche questioned how successful it could be.
“Would our consumers, who are used to different snails, be interested – and at what price?”
A French member of the snail industry, who spoke on condition of anonymity, also raised a very important question.
“They should taste good,” he said, skeptical that farmed Burgundy snails would be as delicious as wild ones, with their “strong forest flavor.”
But “I dream of one day seeing Bourgogne escargots made in France,” he added. “The marketing buzz would be huge.”
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