3 February 2020

FÊTE DE LA MOISSON

 
We have been to many outdoor summer events in France but in terms of the unusual this one is at the top of the list.  It seems that many years ago, some residents of the village of Boussay witnessed this kind of annual event taking place in the south of France, brought the idea back home and decided to hold something similar.  The popularity has grown with each year and we were very privileged to be invited to it last August.
 
 
Moules (mussels) are fixed to large boards by the villagers, laid out along the street and then cooked by setting fire to them.  The moules have to be placed endways in order for them to cook properly.  Then they are covered with dry pine needles.
 

 
They are set alight and allowed to burn for long enough for the moules to be cooked.  It's quite a spectacle. 

 
The boards of the cooked moules are placed on the tables so that they can be shared.  The portions are generous and it only dawned on me after a while that they were actually a starter, not a main course!  After that there was steak and chips, a cheese course and a dessert.
 
The moules would not be everybody's cup of tea.  They are more well cooked than you might get as say moules marinières and the shells crumble into ash when you pick them up.  This inevitably results in very black fingers and the eating of a certain amount of ash. 
 
 
There was a huge crowd of people.  Goodness knows how long it took the villagers to fix the thousands of moules to the boards but they deserve a medal for it.  As well as the food there was a raffle which seemed to go on all night.  Each person had a raffle ticket and there was a prize for everyone.  
 
It was one of those evenings when I had no idea what to expect and it was, in many ways, typical of life in rural France in summer.  I'm not sure we would rush to do it again for the food, but in terms of the richness of our life in France it was pretty special.
 

4 comments:

  1. RAIN...pas de problem.... salle de fetes... boards included!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Tim, as long as they can fit 200 people or more in the room!

      Delete
  2. I've never been to this event, but I've been to friends who come from where the tradition comes from (the Atlantic coast, and especially the islands -- my friend Marie-José is from Ile de Ré) and we did it at their place. Great fun. It is pine needles you burn over them. Philippe cooked the ones we had on a big round metal plate that he had found at an abandoned chateau years ago. It was the base of a garden sundial. And yes, you get very, very dirty.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Susan, ah yes, I was trying to remember what it was that they burned over them. I'll amend the post!

      Delete