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• Oysters and tielles: discover the gastronomic specialties of Sète

Sète does not fail the reputation of the Great South: we eat a lot, and very well. At the edge of the beach or around the port, in the small streets of the city center as in the Halles of the city, the small producers' shops and the restaurants compete to open our appetite. Around Sète, we discover with joy the opportunity to taste oysters Bouzigues at the edge of the Thau Pond.

So let's go for a little tour of the local specialties, and places to taste them.

Enjoy oysters in Sète: oysters from Étang de Thau

The first specialty of Sète is the oyster. Oyster farming was practiced very rudimentary in ancient times, but it was at the beginning of the 20th century that the proud "shellfish farmers", the oyster and mussel breeders, developed a new technique: the technique of oysters stuck. Antoine Louis Tudescq, whose small village of Bouzigues still keeps the memory, develops an ingenious process, which consists in sticking the young oysters by the shell to a support, thanks to a little cement.

Indeed, Thau Pond, being a pond, has no tide: in this environment comparable to a lagoon, oysters must be raised in suspension. After several technical attempts more or less successful over the years, we "stick" today oysters on ropes. This gives the very particular landscape of the Étang de Thau, with its oyster "tables" and their ropes hanging in the water.

The oysters, permanently immersed, obtain a beautiful and very regular hollow form, as well as a flesh firm, fleshy, with a good taste of iodine. They take advantage of all the richness of the waters of the pond, which are brackish, both fresh and salt water.

If the idea of ​​eating a crustacean still alive does not please you more than that, know that there are delicious recipes cooked oysters (butter, for example). And be aware that the oyster is not the only shellfish raised in the Thau Basin: the mussels of Bouzigues, they are as fleshy and tasty, are a little larger than the mussels of the Atlantic Ocean.

Where to eat oysters and seafood in Sète

To enjoy fresh oysters at the edge of the water, nothing better than to go directly to Bouzigues, or Port Saint Felix Loupian.

The town hall of Bouzigues gives a list of local producers on its website; we will take the opportunity to walk quietly through the streets of this lovely little fishing village with a Mediterranean charm.

Chez Petit Pierre

As for many producers in the region, at Chez Petit Pierre oysters are a family affair: the love of the profession is transmitted from father to son. In his shop-studio on Avenue Tudescq, Pierre offers oysters and mussels from his production, as well as regional products, such as tielles, and homemade dishes, soups, stuffed squid, small octopus salad, all to be tasted accompanied by a few sips of Muscat de Frontignan, with a magnificent view of the Étang de Thau.

Chez Petit Pierre - Avenue Louis Tudesq, 34140 Bouzigues - Tel. : 04 67 78 30 50

Pascal Migliore

Pascal Migliore deliberately chose the quality and maintains a small craft production that surrounds it with a constant care. In his workshop on the port of Loupian, he proposes two varieties of oysters, Bouzigues' oyster with a pronounced taste, and Generra, with a more subtle taste.

Oysters Migliore - Port Saint Felix, 34140 Loupian

Licciardi et fils

On the port of Loupian, Licciardi and sons are busy to provide beautiful oysters to individuals who crowd in front of their stall, but also the many fishmongers, and restaurants of Sète and of Marseillan they supply. You can taste Licciardi oysters at the restaurant La Ola! and the fish shop L'Étoile de Mer, Marseillan beach.

Licciardi and son - Port de Loupian, 34140 Bouzigues - Tel. : +33 7 81 01 47 19

The Ola - 201 Lido Promenade

The Starfish - Rue du Commerce, 34340 Marseillan

Huîtres-Bouzigues

Simon and Philippe have joined forces to create the company Huîtres Bouzigues, and their success is unstoppable. Their stall at Les Halles de Sète is a treat, but do not forget their oyster bar, l’Annexe, rue André Portes. In a simple and relaxed, we come to taste their beautiful oysters Philémons, as well as mussels, whelks and knives, directly from the producer. We also find their products at Bistrot du Marché, rue Alsace Lorraine.

Les Huitres Bouzigues - Halles de Sète, Rue Gambetta, 34200 Sète - stand open every day from 7.30 am to 1.30 pm

The Annex - 16, rue André Portes, 34200 Sète - Tel. : +33 7 81 03 16 36 - open from 11h to 22h every day except Monday

Where to eat a real Selleoise octopus?

The tielles is a delicious octopus pie, in a spicy sauce with tomato and spices (paprika, saffron). The garnish is slowly cooked slowly to reduce and become unctuous; it is then poured into a pie dish before baking. On arrival, a beautiful golden pie, whose dough crispy on the outside, has remained soft inside, with a gourmet garnish whose fragrance is immediately mouthwatering!

But beware, any seafood pie is not a trivial one! The best products are found at Dassé and Cianni. These two families are the descendants of Adrienne Virduci, the cook who, in 1937, created the recipe of the tielles by adapting the culinary tastes of Italy, her native country, to the local products of Sète.

The real tielles are, of course, in Sète, directly at the producers or at the restaurants that buy their goods at home.

We find the Tielles Dassé in the city, rue de Copenhagen, but we can also enjoy them at the Halles des Salins, Quartier Villeroy, and Mèze, in the workshop-shop which is open until 20h at night, even on Sunday. .. In other words, perfect for a little gourmet stop on the way back from the beach!

As for Tielles Cianni, they have a shop at Les Halles de Sète, rue Gambetta; another, at Sophie Cianni, high street Mario Roustan, and finally Tielles Cianni-Marcos have their own shop rue Honoré Euzet.

Tielles Dassé - 1, rue de Copenhagen, 34200 Sète - Tel. : 04 67 43 77 01 - Workshop and shop, departmental road 613, Mèze - Tel. : 04 67 43 12 98 - Halles des Salins, 153, road to 4 songs, 34200 Sète - Halles de Sète, rue Gambetta, from 8h to 19h30 from Tuesday to Sunday.

Tielles Cianni-Marcos - Halles de Sète, rue Gambetta - every day from 8h - 24, rue Honoré Euzet, 34200 Sète - Tel. : 04 67 74 16 23

Tielles Sophie Cianni - 19, high street Mario Roustan, 34200 Sète - Tel. : 04 67 43 60 62