This little-known oyster-farming village produces some of the best oysters in the Vendée!

Published on August 8, 2024 at 4:00 pm

As all oyster lovers know, September kicks off the 'bre' months, reputed to be the best months for enjoying oysters. Let's head for the Vendée, more specifically the commune of Talmont Saint Hilaire, to the port of La Guittière, which deserves to be better known. Take a stroll around the Guittière harbour, meet the oyster farmers, and dive into a setting of iodised flavours to taste some of the best oysters in the Vendée!

La Guittière, le paradis perdu des amateurs d'huîtres

Where does the reputation of the Guittière oyster come from?

Connoisseurs love them for their distinctive flavour, which comes from growing them in a channel with water that's half sweet, half salty. Fines, fines de claires, brunes de casiers or spéciales, these oysters have made the reputation of this village, which switched from salt harvesting to oyster farming at the beginning of the last century.

While a handful of salt-marsh farmers still work the salt marshes, twenty or so oyster-farming huts line the channel, producing almost 500 tonnes of oysters a year. They are known by their position in the harbour: the first, the second or the last, with François certainly having the best position, facing the beach.

Les parcs ostréicoles de la Guittière.

Learn all about oysters!

The regulars keep this timeless place a secret, no doubt to preserve its authenticity and affordable prices. This former saunier village, which became an oyster-farming village in 1915, has everything you need for a break between sea and countryside. As well as tasting oysters and other seafood in the oyster huts and maturing basins, you'll also want to get to know the work of an oyster farmer, which is full of surprises.

Plateau d'huîtres fraîches ouvertes en demi-coquille.

We learn, for example, that oysters are not ready to be eaten until they are 3 years old, but that they travel thousands of kilometres before arriving in the channel to mature. We also discover how it is possible to eat non-oily oysters all year round...

While almost all oyster farmers organise tastings, Freddy Ouvrard from L'Huîtrier Pie gave us clear explanations in a friendly, good-natured atmosphere, where his love of the Talmont region won us over just as much as the oyster platter.