Moules frites at Chez Hortense, Cap Ferret

Last year I enthused about Chez Hortense, a favourite restaurant of generations of visitors to Cap Ferret. The Cap Ferret peninsular and the town of Cap Ferret itself is the kind of place that people return to year after year for their summer holidays, and Chez Hortense oozes the kind of reassuring, traditional charm that draws people back. Perched on the water's edge at the very tip (La Pointe) of Cap Ferret, and with stunning views across to the Dune de Pyla, it's rather dreamy. It ticks those fantasy French holiday boxes. (This little film on You Tube sums it up delightfully.)

Well, I returned this summer and wasn't disappointed second time around. What's more my husband and daughter, who missed out last year, were fully in agreement, with 6-year-old Alice declaring "This is a superb restaurant!". We had a selection of dishes including some magnificent langoustines, but my favourite is their decadent mussels enriched by jambon de Bayonne and almost certainly goose or duck fat. Our reasonably priced bottle of Graves, Graville Lacoste 2010, was appetisingly fresh and zesty with all this rich seafood and kept things nicely local.

Apparently, the moules frites recipe has been a well guarded secret at Chez Hortense for several decades, but this should result in something similar:

Wash and de-beard 4 litres of mussels. Mince or finely chop 4 thick slices of Bayonne ham (prosciutto, Serrano or thick cut smoked bacon would be fine) or a skinned Toulouse sausage. Add 4 tablespoons of oil (or goose or duck fat) to a large sauté pan and briefly fry the ham, bacon or sausage with 5 crushed garlic cloves. Finely chop half a bunch of flat leaf parsley and add to the ham and garlic, along with 2 tablespoons of breadcrumbs. Leave to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Over a high heat, quickly cook the mussels in some white wine (about a glass) – dry white Bordeaux is the authentic choice, but any other crisp, fresh white would be good (whatever you fancy drinking with the finished dish). Once the mussels have opened up, add them and their juices to the other pan, stir well to combine everything thoroughly and serve hot – ideally with mounds of frites and a sea view.

Cap Ferret: oyster heaven

As I mentioned in an earlier post, we spent some of our summer holiday with friends on the Cap Ferret peninsular, an hour's drive from Bordeaux. Attracting well-heeled French holidaymakers with a taste for healthy outdoor pursuits and good living, it is not unlike The Hamptons in the United States: relaxed, understated, but still rather chic and bourgeois. However, it has an distinctive local industry that prevents Cap Ferret from getting too chichi as it becomes increasingly fashionable.

Cap Ferret is a thin tongue of land that runs between the Atlantic Ocean curling around, almost embracing, the 37,000-acre Bassin d'Arcachon. This is one of the country's most important oyster farming areas and the primary breeder of oysters that go on to be reared elsewhere in France. Ostreiculture or oyster farming has been present here in various forms since Roman times, and strolling around some of the small towns offers a picturesque glimpse of this industry (along with, of course, the opportunity to taste). The oyster parks and beds – marked by groups of upright stakes that punctuate large parts of the Bassin – date back to the mid 19th century when Napoleon III encouraged organised oyster farming as wild oysters were dying out. The native flat oysters (Ostrea edulis) were gradually replaced by Portuguese oysters (Crassostrea angulata) and, more recently in the 1960s, Pacific oysters (Crassostrea gigas).

The attractive wooden cabins used by oyster farmers date back to the late 19th century and several incorporate attractive waterside terraces for customers to enjoy local molluscs with crisp, refreshing local wine (usually Entre Deux Mers) for just a few Euros. To the south, beyond the resort town of Arcachon, the spectacular Dune de Pyla will be visible in the distance. Other local seafood is excellent, especially the small, sweet local mussels. Chez Hortense at the southerly tip of Cap Ferret serves enormous portions of moules frites with a meaty sauce enrichened with duck fat; I don't know how their chic regulars remain so trim. (This footage on YouTube is one family's take and shows the glorious location.)

Here are some photographs taken around the villages of Le Canon and L'Herbe (where we had the bargain 15 Euro set lunch at the Hotel de la Plage).