Nestled in the lush green countryside of Marseillan in the South of France there is a place called Domaine Tarboriech. Domaine Tarbouriech occupies a charming holiday home dating back to the 18th century. The town of Marseillan dates back to the 6th century BC. Through it passes the Canal du Midi which flows into the pictures port of Herault made famous by it trade in Noilly Prat Vermouth.
Domaine Tarbouriech is a hotel but it is much more than that. It is a unique resort complex devoted to the oyster, from its haute cuisine dining, exceptional spa, and oyster art, to its oyster-tasting restaurants and its colossal oyster farm. The farm is part of a third-generation oyster farming company working with a very specific breeding method: called the Solar tide. Oysters are grown at its farm using a unique rope technique. Young oysters are glued to rope which are then hung from beams a few feet above the eater and raised up for six hours, or sometimes longer depending on the decision of the oyster farmer, twice a day. The system allows a variable elevation for each group of oysters depending on the different sounds of their evolution during the breeding season. This process is patented and is the key to the great success of the Tarbouriech oysters. This process causes the shells to take on a pinkish color from their exposure to the sun and the flesh to be crunchier. The quality of the water in the lagoon allows the oysters grown there to develop generous flesh in size and a delightful taste.
The Tahui lagoon is located between Se’te and Marseillan Bouzigues.at the entrance Marseillan and is really an inland sea. It is shallow with depths of 3 and 6 meters with its water being feed by the Mediterranean through the canal du Midi and several streams and the hot springs of the largest spa resort in France Balar4uc-Les-bains. The water contains high contents of lime carbonate and a blend of fresh water and sea water. Perhaps a great indicator of the quality of the water is the presence of seahorses and other marine animals known to be highly sensitive to pollution.
Tarbouriech Maision describes it this way; “While Thau lagoon is conducive to rapid growth and produces No.3 oysters in one year after the gluing stage, it takes at least three years to obtain a Special Tarbouriech oyster at the rate of the Solar Tide®. Outside of the water, its shell is adorned with a purple pink tint under the influence of the sun’s rays, it also benefits from a “cleaning” of the epibionts that freeze on its shell. Inside, the oyster strengthens its adductor muscle to keep its intervalvaire fluid inherent to its survival. Then immersed in the rich waters of the lagoon, it stores phytoplankton, densifying its flesh and improving the tightness of its shell, thickening its mother-of-pearl and adopting a wavy form of “stoup”. The daily repetition of this exercise develops a larger flesh in proportion and reaches the famous desired maturity. Thanks to this process, the flesh becomes denser and crisper and its taste becomes refined, its shell develops a thicker mother-of-pearl, of an immaculate white inside, slightly dewy outside and cleared by the combined effect of the mistral and the sun of all the algae and colonizers that usually attach to its shell under water.”
In a process developed by Florent Tarbouriech and his son Romain back in the year 2006, their patented Solar Tides is an autonomous innovation in energy. It combines solar and wind-driven energy which is remotely controlled via a simple smartphone. It allows reproducing the phenomenon of lunar tides in the lagoons where it did not exist. The program controls the key parameters of climate, season, age of the oysters and the richness of the water. With it oysters can be emerged for up to 48 hours continuously. This allows the oyster farmed to create the best condition of sun and water, condusive to producing the best oysters.
During the summer months Maison Tarbouriech offers a visit to their oyster farm and production farm house. After a boat ride from St. Barth, where they enjoyed the opportunity to taste the oysters, visitors can see first-hand how oysters are grown on ropes in breeding tables in the Thau lagoon. The fully mature oysters are eventually harvested and become part of the unique cuisine of the hotel and its restaurants. By products are used in the preparations of various art works and cosmetics used in the spa.
In 1989 Maison Tarbouriech became involved in a project with partners to grow mussels in the municipality of Frontignan. La Maison now produces a genuine French Mediterranean mussel from seed to plate.
For seafood lovers the cuisine at Domaine Tarbouriech is just part of the delicious resort experience. In addition to the tasting counters, accommodations and spa, the resort of what they call an agrop-torism where times, space, and transmission are at the heart of concerns. It is said the orchard-vegetable garden uses what the earth offers naturally in combination with the lunar calendar to grow the best fruits and vegetable which inspire the everyday cuisine served at the Domaine Tarbouriech. There is a close relationship between the chef and the gardener which results in exquisite gastronomical creations.
A visit to the unique Tarbouriech resort provides an experience that is both very French and very innovative. To quote the proprietors for 60 years Florent, Sabine and their children Florie and Romain; “Our is to share with you our passion and our test for innovation without denying our traditions, through the tasting or our oysters but also by welcoming you in places that are dear to us.”
For reservation information contact Sarah Mouly, at sarah@tarbouriech.fr.
Website is https://www.domaine-tarbouriech.fr/