Plateau de Fruits de Mer

Our first meal in France, at Avranches or Mont St Michel, or our last before the boat at Cherbourg, is a vast platter of shellfish with a bowl of mayonnaise and a little pot of mignonette sauce. Togo with this feast there is a basket of bread, butter and a bottle of white wine from Alsace.

The oval metal dish is placed ceremonially in the centre of the table on a stand. Arranged like a still-life on top of a bed of crushed ice and seaweed there will be winkles, whelks, opened clams