Instructions: 1 Soak the wood in water for about an hour. Rest it on some stones if necessary so that it lies flat.

2 Knock the tips of the nails into the centre of the wood in a 2.5cm/1" square and rest one mussel between each pair of nails, convex side towards you and hinge pointing upwards.

3 Rest another four mussels in between these ones and work your way outwards to create a massive rosette, using the larger mussels first and the smaller ones until last. This will require a little patience but it does work.

4 Carefully cover the mussels completely with a layer of the hay, straw or dry pine needles about 13cm/5" thick.

5 Set light to this here and there, and leave it to burn until the flames die down - you want it to burn quite hot for about five minutes.

6 Fan away the ashes, throw a bucket of sea water over them to get rid of the last of it and discard any mussels that havent opened. Transfer to plates and eat with lots of French bread and plenty of chilled Muscadet.

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