SÈTE, France — July 14, 2014 — This Mediterranean port town is famous for its annual Worldwide Festival of electronic music, seven miles of glorious beaches and fish.
Lots of fish.
But the business is suffering. Tuna fishing is limited by strict international quotas; sardines and anchovies have nearly disappeared. The soaring price of fuel has driven many fishermen to sell their boats for scrap. Less than a decade ago, there were 30 large fishing trawlers here; now there are only 14.
Still, as Mr. Llinares said, this was a weekend for celebration. Festivities kicked off on a Friday night with a procession from the fishing port up the narrow streets to the Church of St. Louis. Young daughters of fishermen, in long skirts, aprons and kerchiefs, led the way. Fishermen in white pants and shoes and striped blue-and-white sweaters carried torches. (Except for one woman who fishes on her own, the 1,000 or so registered fishermen are men.) The star attraction was a 900-pound wooden boat trimmed in white neon, filled with red gladiolas and a statue of a serious-looking St. Peter. It took eight men to carry it on their shoulders.
This was also a weekend about eating. For the occasion, the town of Sète published a cookbook with dozens of residents’ favorite recipes; it is already in its second printing.
At ACD, an upscale restaurant on the beach, the owner, Gérard Janicot, wowed customers at the bar with plates piled high with shellfish. First came murex, an elegant snail with a pointed end, served with mayonnaise made with raw egg yolks. Pichiline, a pint-size local scallop cooked with parsley, white wine, shallots and lime, followed.
Then Mr. Janicot brought out a plate of objects that looked like rocks or potatoes. They were a rare, if ugly, shellfish named violet de roche and nicknamed sea potato. They hide under rocks deep in the sea and know how to resist attack. He slashed one open with a small knife to reveal flesh that looked like egg yolk and pale soft cheese flecked with red and black. Loosening the flesh with his thumbnail, he dropped a bit of fine wine vinegar on it to cut the acidity.
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