France: Care for a Frog Tart, Monsieur?

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When it comes to the size of his portions, the avid French gourmet usually avoids the gargantuan in favor of the petit. The merest taste of his favorite cuisine, he reasons, ought to be sufficient. No more. Last week French chefs banded together to challenge the world record for the longest buffet. The result of their labors: an 846-ft. table filled with an appetizing array of food. The creation was unveiled during a Mardi Gras celebration at the World Tourism and Travel Show in Paris and offered dishes representing all the departments of France, including the Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Two hundred chefs served up their specialties by the meter.

Some of the more interesting delicacies on the menu: pigs' feet cassoulet, beaver confit, stuffed goose's neck, eel gratin and frog tart. Other attractions were a 4-ft. 5-in. candied Eiffel Tower, a 10-ft. vegetarian paella dish and a gigantic cooking pot 10 ft. in diameter and 5 ft. deep. The buffet organizers topped off the pot presentation with a pinch of culinary cuteness: they had a jazz band called Haricots Rouges (translation: Red Beans) play music on top of it.