Billi Bi Mussel Soup

Craig Claiborne, the longtime food editor of the New York Times, called this combination of mussels and cream “the most elegant and delicious soup ever created,” and “one of the sublime creations on Earth.” It’s said to be named after William B. Leeds Sr., a wealthy American tycoon who dined nightly at Maxim’s on visits to Paris in the early 1900s. Chef Louis Barthe came from Normandy, and this is his version of a traditional Norman dish. And it really is elegant and delicious—and ma