On a beach near Le Croisic (Loire-Atlantique), under a sky that looks like a gigantic gray-blue blotting paper, Valérie and Jean-Marie Pédron, in boots, advance with long strides. They barely slow down as they climb the shiny limestone rocks that block the green rolls of the ocean. Jean-Marie Pédron looks up at a black cloud of geese: “They are looking for algae too! They are like us, they don’t take just anything: they peck at nori, these dark ribbons often used in Japanese cuisine, superfoods made up of 40% protein. »
The job of Valérie and Jean-Marie Pédron is unique: they are algae pickers. There are rare professionals in France, and they are undoubtedly the most relentless among them. More than 250 days a year, in all weathers, they roam the Atlantic coast, armed with buckets and knives (the Mediterranean coast, with warmer waters, is less rich in species). The plants they collect – algae, but also marine plants, which have roots – are all intended for consumption. Some are transformed in their marine farm, Les Jardins de la mer, located behind the Océarium du Croisic. But the vast majority of seaweed is sold still fresh.
“They do not go through cold rooms and are not put in brine, as is still often the case, underlines Valérie Pédron. The salt in the brine attacks the fibers, making them flabby. We sell live products, which have not lost their flavors or their exceptional nutritional qualities – they are full of vitamins and minerals. »
These unique aromas, but also the color and texture of the plants, have piqued the curiosity of chefs for several years, who have become the couple’s main clients. Anne-Sophie Pic uses them at the Pic restaurant, in Valence, to flavor an iodized broth, in which cartons of farmhouse brie are bubbled. Amaury Bouhours, at Le Meurice, in Paris, makes a seaweed tartare with the most tender vegetables (sea lettuce, dulse), mixed with mustard, which he melts on lamb saddles during cooking. “Algae provides natural salinity, explains the chef. And we create an unexpected land-sea association. Ideally, the recipe is made with lambs from salt meadows, raised in iodized pastures: the algae immerses the animal back into its natural environment. »
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