Squatting in the greenery, Margaux and Charline patiently pick up, one by one, the many sage flowers that embellish this little corner of greenery. “Taste! It has a sweet taste, ”says Margaux. Under the tooth, the flower releases delicate aromas, which make you forget, for a moment… that you are in Marseille, on a roundabout of L’Europe Marcel-Brion in the 10th arrondissement, stuck between a nearby bus and the highway below.
For the past three years, two to three times a week, the members of the Bigoud association, to which the two young girls belong, have indeed set off to attack the smallest nooks of greenery in Marseille and its surroundings, in search of wild edible plants. The idea germinated in the little head of Camille Gasnier, an active member of the association for several years. After a stint in agriculture in Belgium, where she learned about plants and flowers with an herbalist, and experiences in catering, the young woman had the idea of inspecting every corner of Marseille, in search of multiple but still little-known taste treasures, hidden at the foot of historical monuments, or behind a building.
“Oh! There they are, lurking in the shadows! »
Like this grassy slope just below the Bonne Mère, on which Margaux and Charline have set their sights after a few minutes of climbing. “Oh! There they are, lurking in the shadows! Margaux hurries towards a field of magnificent white flowers, Inca garlic, with a very pronounced garlicky taste. And it is known, when it comes to treasure hunting, nothing should be overlooked… Including the most improbable places. The booty of flowers from Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde well hidden in the trunk of the car, the duo headed for the Calanque de Sormiou.
On the way, the eyes inspect the roadside, in case luck smiles on the way, to the budding explorers, always in search of new spots. The car finally stops in a commercial area, in the parking lot of a large sporting goods store, south of Marseille. At the foot of the cars, Charline’s wise eye spotted wild fennel, which she hastened to pick. “The interest of wild plants is that they have a real taste intensity,” says the young woman. If you compare this wild fennel to the one you find at the supermarket… It beats! That’s what’s cool. »
Thirty conquered restaurateurs
Picking is done in silence, in small boxes lined with damp newspaper. “We don’t talk a lot during picking because we count”, apologizes Margaux with a smile. Sold between 5 and 15 euros, each box must indeed contain a hundred flowers. They are then delivered every Wednesday by bicycle by members of the association to around thirty restaurants in the city, including the prestigious Alexandre Mazzia, three-star chef, and Coline Faulquier, former Top Chef candidate elected Young Chef of the year in 2021.
“We also deliver a lot of pop-ups that are set up in Marseille, explains Camille Gasnier. And we deliver more and more people who make cocktails, and structures that deliver boxes for ready-made aperitifs, like caterers. This kind of concept flourished in Marseille. There are plenty now! »
Knowledge she compiled in a book, Areas to pick with Caroline Decque, another pillar of the association, to be published on April 21st by Ulmer editions, in collaboration with the illustrator Amélie Laval. “The idea is to combine, in a book, somewhat like a photo-novel or comic strip, the picking of plants and wild flowers with cooking,” explains Camille Gasnier. Two-thirds of the book is devoted to plant recognition, while the remaining third includes recipes accessible to everyone to incorporate wildflowers into everyday cooking. » On your marks, get set, pick!