Seafood heaven

The long-waited demonstration had come! There were prawns, mussels, shellfish, oysters, langoustines and even winkles. Yes, they eat winkles. But I still can't. Everybody told me : "Taste, you have to! It's really delicious! Close your eyes, forget that it's winkle and eat". But I couldn't. May be it will take some time ...

Six years ago I was in Australia for 4 month on business trip from my work (thanks to Amdocs). It was wonderful period. It's a beautiful country. Even now, when I'm thinking about it I'm remembering all the smells, beauty, the peace of this place. May be one day I'll be there again. But it is another dream :-).

Until that time I never tasted oysters. We were travelling along the beaches and some guy bought oysters. The oysters in Australia as a Fish and Chips here in UK, it's just everywhere. So, he offered me to taste the oyster. I said: "No, I can't eat this raw thing!" And I thought - "It's should be disgusting, how he is eating it?"

But you know, when the woman says "No" ,even to food, it means "Yes, but later" :-).

A little bit later I tasted oysters and until now it's my favorite dish.

On that demo session the chef prepared Mussels Mariniere, Shellfish, Deep fried Prawns (I think it was unnecessary to fry them in deep oil, it's killing all the taste) and Seafood plate.

At the end of the demo we are testing the chef's dishes, I was twice in the queue for tasting :-).

For those who likes mussels, there is an annual street fair in Lille that in North of France , called "Braderie". It's on the first weekend each September. It's an unusual fair! There is a long line of pavements throughout old Lille, selling paintings, antiques, furniture and junk of every description.
Part of the celebrations is eating moules-frîtes - mussels and chips. Traditionally, after eating you leave your empty shells outside the stall of restaurant - they compete to see which amasses the biggest pile by the end of the fair. Interesting, isn't it ?!