Located in the heart of the city, this microgrower supplies the Côte d'Azur's top restaurants
Thanks to aquaponics, the cultivation of plants in symbiosis with fish, "La Pousseraie" produces quality microfoams, leaves and flowers for the Côte d'Azur's finest tables.
From the Negresco to the Maybourne Riviera, over 200 restaurants in the Côte d'Azur are already using microfoams. in Nice's Saint-Roch district, La Pousseraie is cultivating a small plant revolution: micro-sprouts, edible leaves and flowers. In this 350 m² laboratory, everything is under control. LEDs mimic daylight, while dehumidifiers stabilize humidity.
On huge racks, intensely flavored coriander, sapid parsley, fresh pea shoots, spicy mustard, tangy hibiscus and aniseed shiso grow on coconut fiber mats, irrigated by an aquaponics system. This method is "unique in France for microgrower production", says co-founder Blanche Duncombe. "Today, other producers have followed suit, as in the Hérault and Jura regions.
Fish as workers
The heart of the system relies on an unexpected ally: fish. Here, water circulates in a closed circuit between a pool of 150 carp and the plants. A high tide floods the racks two or three times a day for a few minutes. Enriched by the faeces of fish fed with organic granules, this water naturally nourishes the plants, avoiding the need for fertilizers and guaranteeing significant resource savings. It then returns to the pond, where it benefits the "working fish". To avoid the development of diseases that would jeopardize the entire production, each new individual is placed in quarantine before being integrated into the tank.
Guaranteed freshness
Fifteen employees in summer and half that number in winter can respond to requests from Côte d'Azur establishments within 24 hours. La Pousseraie has its own delivery service. The micro-sprouts, flowers and leaves are cut by hand at dawn, packed in small plastic boxes and delivered to the restaurants the same day. The plants retain their taste qualities for around ten days, compared with less than a week for traditionally grown microfoams.
But cutting microgreens is not always the ideal method. La Pousseraie is developing the sale of "living" plants, such as radish micropods, which will no longer be cut, but sold in pots for prolonged preservation.
La Pousseraie, the brainchild of two agricultural engineers and a computer scientist, was created a few days before the COVID-19 crisis. "The timing was finally right, as restaurateurs had plenty of time to come and visit," smiles Blanche Duncombe.
students in Picardy, the three co-founders set sail for the south of France with a simple observation: "there were many establishments but very few, if any, local producers of microgreens to meet this large demand". Their products are now sold direct in the region's METRO stores, as well as at the MIN d'Azur.
- Where to buy? La Pousseraie, 5 rue René Houat, 06300 Nice
- www.lapousseraie.fr
