Escargot To Go
Gardeners hate ’em. Grocers hate ’em. Barbie-hugging girls hate ’em. And my Aunt Maggie can’t abide ‘em. But snails are making inroads into epicurean restaurants around the country, albeit slowly.
Snails Bon Appetite is Australia’s first and only snail farm, set up in 2000. This hothouse industry makes it home in Congewai, a short drive from Cessnock in the Hunter Valley.
Robert and Helen Dyball are the snailers involved, feeding their flocks a diet of lime, calcium and other minerals to ensure the flesh’s ideal plumpness and pallor.
As soon as each gastropod reaches three centimeters in length, the morsel is sanitised over seven days and then vacuum-sealed into a 12-snail blister pack for haute cuisine.
Perhaps a memento of your homegrown meal can take the shape of the Dyball’s unique snail-shell pendants or snail earrings. And should you develop an appetite for thise spineless grub you can even purchase special concave tongs from the farm’s website at http://www.snails.com.au/.
Visits to the snailery, situated at 245 Congewai Road, are by appointment only. So call 02-4998-0030, or drop a line online – otherwise you’ll be deemed a pest.