LE CHEF
“Snails aren’t for everyone,” admits Le Chef’s duty manager Edouard Le Goff. “But everyone in France eats them.”
Le Goff should know: the French native started his O’Connell Street bistro four years ago, and it’s become a popular destination for those seeking traditional Parisian fare. It’s since expanded into a second room over the footpath.
Snails aren’t on the menu all the time, but Le Goff says customers complain when they’re not there. They are imported from France and he saves them for special occasions, like the Curious Food Festival, where he’ll sell a plate of about a dozen snails for $12.
They’ll come with sliced pears, walnuts, garlic, parsley butter, sourdough, and a red wine reduction. As he serves them up to Weekend, Le Goff predicts a sell-out.
Today, it’s our first time eating snails, and we made a nervous start that was noticed by a table of rowdy neighbouring diners, who saw the bowl of snails and chanted “Escargot! Escargot!”
For the first few mouthfuls, those nerves got the better of us and we disguised the snails between slices of bread and pear. But we soon got our confidence up and by the end, they were being spooned in and chewed up by the forkful.
“It’s just like eating beef,” said one of those diners. He’s not wrong, but, cooked properly, Le Goff’s snails are closer in texture to a firm mushroom. The flavour is more delicate than beef too, and that herb butter really sets them off.
We’d happily devour another plate — but maybe not as a Christmas entree, grilled with butter and spooned straight out of the shell as, Le Goff says, they do back home.
Le Chef, 13 O’Connell St, www.le-chef.co.nz