RETURN TO CANCALE

The world is your oyster

Cancale, the oyster capital of Brittany, has already been A French Education's blog subject, but we love the authenticity of the small port town so much that we can't help but return there again and again. It's the real thing.

©2014 P.B. Lecron

LUNCHING ON THE HALF SHELL

From the oyster capital of Brittany

Les creuses de Cancale

For centuries oyster lovers, including French royalty and intellectuals--François I, Louis XIV, Marie-Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte, Voltaire, Rousseau, to name a few-- have had a preference for oysters from Cancale, a small but bustling fishing port on the western end of the Baie du Mont-Saint-Michel. 

"Life is good" is what the septuagenarian from Massachusetts sitting at the next table said as we sat outdoors bay-side in the delectable Indian summer sun savoring these creuses de Cancale. And, less is indeed more; a dozen fresh oysters on the half shell, bread, butter, and a free glass of white wine make a memorable one-course meal.

Expression

moins est plus:  less is more

Vocabulary

une huitre: an oyster

l'ostréiculture:  oyster farming

une demi-coquille:  a half shell

Photo courtesy of Thomas W. Byrd

©2014 P.B. Lecron

MARINE FARM

Oyster farm beds in Cancale, across the bay from the Mont Saint-Michel.

Expression
Le monde est à vous.
The world is your oyster.

Vocabulary
une huître:  an oyster
l'ostréiculture:  oyster farming
une ferme:  a farm