We only notice it if we hear a crunch beneath our feet, though it deserves much more attention and… respect! Because it is an outstanding healer, and what is more – it is delicious! Meet Helix Aspersa Maxima– a species of mollusk, and more specifically a snail, but not just any snail, it is the kind of snail raised at the snail farm in Bulgarevo village. These past few years, the “Helix” has grown to be a major attraction in the colourful village on the Black Sea.

Tourists come here to see how the entire process of raising snails unfolds. And then they go to the restaurant for a taste of them. “We farm 900,000 to 1 million snails. We are now in mating season,” says the farm’s owner Pencho Petkov, who has been doing this difficult business for years. Snails are hermaphrodites, but they have to mate to lay eggs which are hatched in an incubator and are then released into what are known as fattening farms. There, in the space of no more than four months, the mollusks reach sexual maturity and are ready for consumption or for sale – tourists are told as they are given a guided tour around the snail farm in Bulgarevo. “We welcome them at the door with snail paté,” Pencho Petkov says and adds:

“After the paté they are given a 30-minute tour of the farm, plus a lecture. In the farm fields they can see the snail-farming processes for themselves, and at the end of the tour, they are shown the reproduction hall where they can see snail mating season and the hatching. After that they are given a taste different snail dishes. We also manufacture snail-mucin cosmetic products – it is a well-known fact that snail slime helps skin heal and regenerate. So, our guests get to know the medicinal, as well as the pharmaceutical properties of snails.”

The snail is the king of gourmet, but in Bulgaria’s cuisine it is not given the attention is rightfully deserves. In Bulgarevo village, visitors can get to know its incredible gastronomical transformations. There is a separate menu for children – of chicken. Because kids immediately fall in love with the snails and absolutely refuse to eat them.

“They look at them and think of them as pets. We have the biggest land snail here, and it makes such a big impression on them. We give them live snails, little babies, and a year later they come back and give us 20-30 snails, as, in the meantime, they have reproduced. We have built something of a snail family network,” Pencho Petkov says. 

His farm recently won a European project for the construction of a Snail Museum. The building, which is on the farm premises, is now almost complete. There are several halls presenting the history of snails in the Bulgarian lands since Neolithic times, as well as their application in the pharmaceutical industry, in cosmetics and in gastronomy. Tourists can see the incredible variety of species here; there is also an exposition of live exotic snails.

Pencho Petkov says that up until 2014, his farm’s entire production was exported to France, Belgium, Italy and Spain. But after a series of major economic shocks, his business reached a turning point and he decided to turn the farm into a tourist attraction, taking advantage of its proximity to Cape Kaliakra, Balchik, and quite a few seaside resorts.

Photos: ecotelus.com