Give snails an escargot

2:54pm Monday 19th May 2008

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We're more used to seeing them wriggling out from under a bush when it rains.

And, while the thought of one on your dinner plate is enough to put some people off their food, one restaurant is championing our humble garden friends the snail.

To celebrate National Escargot Day on May 24, Cafe Rouge has put together some special snail dishes to tempt people into trying the French delicacy.

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Assistant manager of Cafe Rouge in Esher, Justina Tomala, said people are often put off trying snails.

"Orders for snails are rare but if you like mussels, you would probably like them as the texture is very similar," she said.

"People do seem scared of trying them but they are delicious."

The snails are served with either spinach and goats cheese, mushrooms or garlic butter and, for the squeamish, they come without their shells on.

There are 200 snail farms in France and at least three in the UK - in Yorkshire, Herefordshire and Devon.

The French munch their way through more than 40,000 tonnes of snails each year, importing 90 per cent of them around the world.