Instructions: To humanely kill a lobster -freeze it for about 1 1/2 hours, put it in cold salty water and bring to the boil. Cook for 3-4 minutes, this way the flesh stays more tender than throwing the lobster into ready boiling water.

To check if the shellfish are safe to eat before cooking them, if they are open squeeze them, if they dont stay closed, discard them. Once cooked, if they dont open, discard these also.

To cook the fish, fill a large saucepan with water and a lot of salt

(enough to allow an egg to float). For the classic Fruits de Mer, all you need to taste is the sea. Put the lobster in first, followed by the langoustines, then the mussels and the clams. All of these will take aout 2-3 minutes to cook. Be careful not to over cook them or they will come out like rubber bullets.

Remove the fish from the saucepan with a strainer and serve. You can eat them hot or cold. If you want to let them cool down, place a damp tea towel over them to prevent from drying out.

If you would like to email yourself the recipe for later use, or share the recipe with your friends or family, enter the email addresses below and this recipe will be emailed to you and others as well.