Mangetout: the eel deal and revolutionary cakes

We ex-pat Brits occasionally have strange yearnings for traditional British staples that simply don’t exist in France. So whenever I’m in London, I head for ‘M Manze’ in Tower Bridge Road, Bermondsey. Dating back to 1902, it is the oldest eel and pie shop still around.

Their parsley sauce, made with the water that their eels are cooked in, is to die for. Their jellied eels take you straight back to the Elizabethan era, when the humble eel was one of the most ubiquitous foods. In the 18th Century, the Thames was so full of them that a favourite outing was to sail up the river to the Twickenham Ait island near Richmond for lunch of a steaming hot stewed eel pie at the Eel Pie House tavern.

Years later, the island was renamed ‘Eel Pie Island’, although it is now better known for rock ’n’ roll and artists’ studios.

Eels are rum things. Did you know, for example, that they continuously replace their teeth throughout their lives? If they lose one of these rasp-like teeth, a new one pops up quickly, so there’s no let-up in their feeding.

They have small, beady amber eyes. These help newly born small glass eels to find their way from the salty Sargasso Sea to find a home in Europe’s freshwater rivers. Once bedded in, 3,000 miles later, as they grow into adult eels, their eyes degenerate and instead they use their remarkable nostrils and acute sense of smell, together with electromagnetic receptors, to pick up chemical cues to track prey and make their way about.

While Brits like their eels jellied or stewed, Italians tend to grill them, Spaniards serve bowlfuls of elvers doused with garlic, and the French – in a Paris restaurant called ‘Eels’ – serve them smoked with a liquorice, apple, hazelnut, celery and butter sauce. Much though I adore the taste and texture of eels, I do feel guilty eating such an enigmatic and courageous little chap. After around 10 years happily wriggling in our rivers, they decide to up sticks for their once-in-a- lifetime spawn. They swim all the way back to where they started – the Sargasso Sea – lay their eggs and die.

I guess we should really let sleeping eels lie and allow them to rest in peace.

‘Let them eat cake’

Whether or not she ever said it, there definitely is a ‘French Revolution Cake’ inspired by Marie Antoinette. Also known as ‘Vintage Cakes’, they are not only uber-delicious, but the perfect way to celebrate upcoming Bastille Day.

There isn’t a single recipe for them. They’re modelled on pastries served at the French court during her reign from 1774 to 1792. The royal kitchens at Versailles were like fancy dessert factories, where French pastry chefs competed to create the most impressive desserts for royal banquets... architectural wonders made from sugar and cream, full of showy swirls and frills.

So get your ‘Bake Off ’ gloves on ... and conjure up your own brilliant, no-holds- barred creation.

Vive la Révolution!