While you take a mussel and open it with both hands until you reveal the mussel, bring it to your mouth and bite it, discarding the empty shell, she, the véritable parisienne, will, with unparalleled class, select a mussel and hold it between her index finger and thumb, taking advantage of its ability to open and close elastically.
Only then will she eat the tasty prey as if it were caviar or foie gras and (watch this move!), she will not discard the empty shell but will hold it in her right hand to use immediately after as a natural pincer to extract the next mussel from its shell. And so on, until the casserole is empty. All with the nonchalance of a princess.
And the empty shells? If you expect her to split and throw them away, you will be disappointed. Your guest will not split the two shells but, keeping them together, will arrange one empty mussel after another on the plate to create a harmonious and voluptuous decoration, thus transforming a pile of waste into a small work of art. Believe me, it's a small spectacle worth seeing at least once in your life.
Bonne soirée, Maxime
© Pictures: front page istock, inside: Bepi Marzulli