La Fete de la Coquille a Montmartre

This weekend my favorite Parisian foodie celebration is taking place !!

A definite DON'T MISS if you're in town.
PLEASE GO ! MIAM MAIM

Celebrating one of my favorite foods, the lovely scallop (coquille) from Brittany.

Everything and everyone is from Bretagne, l'Armor area.
The REAL thing! Authentique. These are smoked scallops btw.

I went with blogger Solli. We shared 1 brochette (7 euros) fresh off the grill.

No sharing the oysters though.

Just 7 euros for a half doz. fresh, icy, super brinie oysters(huitres).

Solli slurps.

Then on to the soup guys, there every year from L'Ile Bleue. A big bowl is 2,50 but a good sized bottle is 3,50. I shlept 2 home and may go back for more. So delish.

To go with your huitres and soupe - cidre or sparkling apple juice. I got one to take home.

A big variety of Brittany beers and ciders.

On to dessert!

The ineffable kouign Amann, made with Brittany caramelized salted butter. We were told to toast in the oven for 10-15 minutes. I do mine in a pan on top.

I ran the other way when I saw the wonderful crepes

With salted caramel. I overdid it 2 years ago eating 2 crepes with caramel + scallops, oysters, soup, Kouign amman. Lecon learned.

Always the Armor-Luxe stripped Ts and all butter cookies.

The Brittany band played on...many bands.

Just take Line 12 to ABBESSES, the elevator up et voila!
The fete is right in front of you at Place des Abbesses

Do wear something red please. Or bleu...

La Fete de la Coquille

This weekend La Fete de la Coquille is taking place in Montmartre, Place des Abbesses. It's a DON'T MISS if you're in Paris.

As a scallop lover and all things Breton this fete is one of my favorites in Paris. *By the way I got kissed on the Metro by a complete stranger but more about that later.

The fete may look a bit rag tag under l'eglise St. Pierre de Montmartre but never mind.

The first stand offers the typically Breton crunchy cookies in apricot, lemon and bien sur caramel au beurre sale.

The same stand has the Breton buttery, caramelized cake, kouign amann hot straight out of the oven.

I saved mine for later and headed to the oyster table.

I ate these last year at the fete. They were just as good and the same prix/price - 7 euros a half dozen.

The oyster shuckers were having a ball.

You can buy a kilo of scallops/coquille au natural for 6 euros or 20 euros for almost a pound and out of the shell ready for the pan.

Ate the same fish soup as last year, just as good (2.50). A whole bottle is 3.50. I'm returning for this.

Hot from the pot with little croutons and rouille sauce. It's a good idea to arrive at the Fete famished.

Chef Vincent Premorvan of La Cotriade in Paimpol did cooking demos at the degustation/tasting station (3 euros each).

I ate two of his 'Noix de Saint-Jacques a la plancha, embeurrees de choux a la biere et lard/scallops sitting on sauerkraut cooked in beer and bacon. 

A good time was had by all.

A lively Breton band.

Les Commandierie du clos Montmartre were singing up a storm with the help of the vin chaud/hot spiced wine. Note the copper pot.

I didn't taste a galette saucisse or Renne hotdog. You can't eat everything. Nor did I taste the Brittany cider, sparkling apple juice, beers or champagne and wines on offer.

The famous mariniere T-shirts from Amor-Lux are always present at these fetes.

There were fish mongers too. Anyone wearing a red shirt is from Brittany.

Later in recovery I downed my kouign amann if one fell swoop and fell instantly asleep so this post is late.

Speaking of late posts, I've had problems with Feedburner. I'm so sorry many of you haven't been getting your PB. Thanks to brilliant genius Jeanne of 365 dresses things are fixed.

As for that kiss on the Metro - here's the gent what done it - 'je ne regret rien' Bon weekend.

La Fete de la Coquille

Vendredi 1Mars C.B.S. caramel au beurre sale

I went to the annual Breton la Fete de a Coquille in Montmartre in January and was instantly immersed in a bath of caramel au beurre sale much to my delight and horror.

How to resist so much temptation?

Olivier Magny in his book STUFF PARISIANS LIKE has nailed this conflict as he has many other mysterious Parisian ways. This book remains a source of answers in a mysterious town. I'll quote him liberally here:

Sweet in Paris is guilty. Gently. Guilty. Sugar It carries all the afflictions of decadence. It is coating and fattening, sensual and tempting, enjoyable and slippery. Anything sweet in Paris should therefore be consumed in great moderation. (Will I ever acclimate?)

Just enough for the threatening shadow of decadence not to ruin the tender moment of sweet collapse. In that unspoken tug-of-war between good and bad, the Parisian found an ally in caramel au beurre sale.

Le caramel au beurre is as sweet as it gets. Devilishly so. But in all that sweetness and perversion comes a salvatory adjective, a redeeming flavor: le sale/salt.



Taunting and irreverent. Obedient nd rebellious. Le salé/salt makes caramel acceptable.

This is the best koign amann of my life by the way from the fair in Montmartre. Merci deux I only bought one.

I returned to the Agricultural Salon last night to visit the Bretonne section. Le caramel au beurre salé was once a Bretonne oddity.

The uncanny account for the local tradition of salting butter. Salt is one powerful little thing.

The Bretonnes were out in full force last night with plenty of salt on offer.

Caramel au beurre sale can take many, many forms.

At the chocolate salon Henri Le Roux was serving up tiny tarts to die for.

And his classic caramel au beurre sale (C.B.S. for short for the French) caramels.

Olivier Magny's STUFF PARISIANS LIKE has remained on Paris bookshop counters since it came out a few years ago. Evidently Parisians need to bone up on their peculiar habits not just me. It's a terrific reference. His final words on C.B.S:.

...Salt miraculously washes sugar away, brushes off decadence. The Parisian is freed.

USEFUL TIP: When it comes to caramel au beurre, Henri Le Roux is the man.