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Helen Herault
Published on
Nov. 22, 2024 at 2:11 p.m.
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It was not easy for the kingdom of scallops and the land of mussels to take the lion's share with oysters.
Nicolas Nonnet did it: he created his oyster farming business in Erquy in 2004, 20 years ago. With the support of his father, François, he made it a renowned production in the sector.
A daring enterprise
When we arrive at theNonnet companyin the Jeannettes area, the first thing you see is the sign The Oyster makes its cinema. An unusual banner for a store selling molluscs.
At Nonnet, we don't hesitate to disconcert the public a little to find our place in the sun. It took a bit of audacity, surely, to open 20 years ago an oyster farming company in the scallop capital.
Parks in Fresnaye Bay
“Nicolas has taken over oyster beds in the bay of La Fresnayebut nearby there was no space to install the company building. »
So we had to be pragmatic too…
It is François NonnetNicolas's father, who recounts the beginnings. He joined his son 2 years after his installation.
“It was not at all planned… I was sales manager for a wine cooperative in the North of France, things were going very well for me. » For Nicolas too. A little too much even… Alone, he could no longer manage the oyster cultivation on the ground, paperwork, marketing…
Father son adventure
“I joined him because he’s my son. And also because it was the right time: at the dawn of fifty, if I had to start something else, I couldn't wait until later. »
This is how thefather son adventure launched, without being premeditated.
While François takes charge of the commercial and administrative part, Nicolas concentrates on production.
“It wasn’t very difficult to get started. There are similarities between wine and oysters. These are local products… »
3 years in Ireland
A real pride for François Nonnet, 20 years later, to have built this family business.
Doing this with your son, of course it counts. Above all, we get along well. Even if we argue from time to time, we are very complementary.
A pride all the greater as the company is flourishing. “From the start it worked well. »
A challenge, in the land of scallop. “The shell was not Nicolas’s thing. He has a degree in marine culture and when he moved here, he was returning from Ireland, where he had worked for three years as a production assistant in a shellfish company. »
A curiosity that we want to visit
Working hard, the Nonnet company highlights the qualities of Fréhel cupped oystera stone's throw from Cancale, the temple of oyster farming in northern Brittany.
Their fleshy flesh, the slight nutty taste and their iodized flavor make them very pleasant products to enjoy all year round.
François knows his product and knows how to sell it very well!
From 2010, the company became a partner of the Rozarmor holiday village: visits are organized for holidaymakers.
” THE visits to oyster bedsit's complicated with the tides. This is where the idea of The oyster makes its cinema. »
The Nonnet oyster on the big screen
In the recent building in the Jeannettes area, two new rooms are being added. One for the projections de films explaining the cultivation of oysters: no need to worry about the tides to attempt a dive into the heart of oyster farming.
fishing
The other room is dedicated to tasting. ” A new store is also open, and an additional pool was inaugurated in 2014.”
It was the following year, in 2015, that Nicolas won his first medal during the general agricultural competition: a gold medal for its special oysters from Northern Brittany. There will be many more after!
Thriving business
“In 2020, we acquired another park, set up an additional building and enlarged the store at the same time,” notes François. For the 20 years of the companyhe had fun making apothecary accounts:
Since the Nonnet company existed, we have distributed more than 1,700 tons of oysters!
Shells sold throughout France“we have large distributors in Alsace, in the Rhône valley…”
The local market is very important, “Lamballe, but especially Erquy and Pléneuf. We supply all restaurants. »
François explains: “We are not cheaper than the others, but we played on the service : in Erquy, Pléneuf, Lamballe, we deliver every day. »
The youngest
Father and son are not about to stop there. Before the summer, the family business took over oyster bar by Alain Audineau. “We did our first season in July and August. »
The Oyster Bistro of Port-à-la-Duc is now managed by the Nonnet company. “It is also a point of sale: it is open from April to the end of December and there are three on the site. »
All in for the holidays
Because if the family business started with our two fellows, there are now around ten of them working at Nonnet. And after the busy summer season, looms the holiday rush.
“We work as much as summerespecially in August, except that we produce over 10 days what we usually do over 31… The end of the year is always a little stressful! »
With the Jeannettes boutique, where other shellfish are sold, which is taken by storm!
Sorting and bagging have already started. “The bags are put back in the water and taken out as needed. » So, to your orders !
Nonnet Company, ZA des Jeannettes, 25 Rue René Duguay Trouin in Erquy. Such. 02 96 63 66 93.Site: www.nonnet-nicolas-erquy.comFacebook and Instagram page
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