Issue No. 19

The snails take 150 days from egg to
maturity. “It’s a lot of work” he confesses, “I
doubt if I’ll ever get rich doing this, but I love
what I do, it’s my passion”.
but has help at busy times of the year from
students who gain valuable work experience
for planned careers in the catering and
restaurant industry.
The snails grow all through the summer and
are harvested in autumn. They are killed by
being dipped in boiling water, “it’s
immediate” says Mike. The meat is
separated from the shells and blanched,
then it’s rapidly chilled or goes into dishes
which are frozen “it’s the best way to retain
the nutritional value and the taste”. The
shells are scrupulously cleaned and used
for presentation.
“In theory, we can keep the meat for up to
18 months” says Mike “but that never
happens, we always sell everything well
before that”.
All the work at the farm is done by hand,
from harvesting to cleaning and preparation
of the dishes. Mike does everything himself