Louis Parent and Charles Durand had always been passionate about food and driven to create something distinctive in the culinary space.
After an underwhelming experience involving snails at a restaurant in Dunedin, they started to question the availability and quality of escargot in New Zealand.
Their research revealed that all escargots in the country were imported, usually canned and shipped from Europe. They saw a gap in the market for something fresher, more flavourful, and environmentally conscious and something grown locally. This was the foundation for Otago Escargots, New Zealand’s first commercial snail farm.
The pair chose to farm Petit Gris, the same variety used in parts of southern and western France. Already present in New Zealand, the petit gris adapted well to local conditions and offered a finer, more delicate texture than the larger Burgundy snails.
“It suits high-end cuisine beautifully,” they said, pointing out that it was ideal for chefs looking for premium, local ingredients.
Parent and Durand’s day-to-day varied with the seasons. In winter, the snails hibernate, giving them time to focus on infrastructure and prepare for breeding. During the breeding season, they care for the snails indoors under controlled humidity and temperature, ensuring everything, from feeding to hygiene, is just right.
Spring marks the move outdoors, with daily feeding, watering, and predator checks, while autumn is all about harvesting and processing, the crucial final step before delivery.
One of their biggest hurdles came early: navigating the compliance and licensing needed to introduce a non-conventional protein source to New Zealand’s food system.
Farming snails turned out to be a lot more technical than simply letting them roam in a garden. They studied snail biology, adapted traditional European methods to the local climate, and developed bespoke systems from scratch.
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