Gillardeau Oysters

At the end of the 19th century, in the heart of Marennes-Oléron pool, driven by his passion for oyster farming, Henri Gillardeau founded Maison Gillardeau. In 1928, renowned for their quality, Gillardeau oysters quickly experienced a tremendous success. Maison Gillardeau already delivers at this time its oysters to the Halles de Paris. During his time at the head of Maison Gillardeau, Gérard Gillardeau gave birth to the iconic Gillardeau oyster. Oysters lovers quickly associated “La Gillardeau” to excellence for its recognizable quality and appearance, as well as the generosity of its flesh.

Generation after generation, Maison Gillardeau kept on preserving its savoir-faire for the past 100 years, bringing you the most refined oyster in the world through the commitment of a whole family.

In 2004, facing a growing demand for its oysters, Maison Gillardeau opened ten additional nursing parks to reinforce its production capacity. In its fight against counterfeit, Maison Gillardeau decided to equip its packing chain with a laser allowing to brand each oyster with its logo to certify their authenticity.

Maison Gillardeau has always cherished excellence during its whole history.
From Henri to Thierry and Veronique, this value dear to us is transmitted from generation to generation. To ensure you the finest of our production, from our nursing parks to your tables, we submit each day our oysters to rigorous analyzes.

From their shell shape to their flesh rate, La Maison Gillardeau daily checks every oyster from our parks to certify that they met our requirements, and therefore those of our clients. Since salinity level as well as the oxygen rate can affect the well-being of oysters, to ensure the optimal conditions for our oysters’ growth we regularly verify the waters of our development pools.


Many times a day we examine the waters quality by conducting several analyzes. Once all those requirements passed, and after a vigorous cleaning aiming to get rid of parasitic shells, each oyster bag is then sorted manually during our packing process.

Many renowned Chefs have been seduced around the world by La Gillardeau’s appearance as well as the quality and generosity of its flesh.
For its unique and refined flavor La Gillardeau became a worldwide reference in gourmet products. All Chefs agree that La Gillardeau must and should always be treated with respect while elaborating a dish that incorporates it. Enhancing without altering its flavor being the secret to achieve a sophisticated and perfectly balanced dish.

Internationally recognized and called “The Rolls-Royce of oysters”, Gillardeau’s oysters will always have their place on the most refined tables.