Shucking on the Seine
GEORGETTE MOGER • Regarding Oysters
WORK • Friday Routine
GEORGETTE MOGER • author & host • Regarding Oysters
Neighborhood you live in: 11th arr
It’s Friday morning. What’s on the agenda for today?
I’ve just wheeled my wicker basket back from the Marche d’Aligre, where I’ve piled it with oysters, flowers, produce, cheeses, and charcuteries. I host a weekly oyster shucking and wine and spirits pairing salon in my living room called Regarding Oysters, but tonight I’m hosting my guests on a clandestine corner of the Seine for sunset shucking and a picnic. Afterward, I’ll take them to a tiny secret garden that once belonged to François Mitterrand. I’ve packed dessert cocktails and sweets from Tapisserie for the guests to enjoy. When we finish, I’ll leave them across the street at my friend Vanessa’s store, Messy Nessy’s Cabinet, so that they can shop for some treasures to bring back home.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m fighting the urge to sleep in, but I get up to polish a chapter on my next book, an oyster-themed follow-up to Regarding Cocktails. There’s also some prep to be done for the evening. Tonight’s stormy forecast means my four guests will be attending here in my home. The salon is extra beautiful at dusk when it rains, filled with flickering candlelight, abundant grazing platters, and overflowing arrangements of flowers near the edible perfumes, which we’ll pair with our oysters. That precious 15 minutes before guests arrive is my favorite moment of hosting. I’ll sample the welcome cocktail, survey the mise en scene, put on my lipstick, and place cookies in the oven. My go-to recipe is one from David Lebovitz’s new cookbook, Ready for Dessert, that I add flaky salt and dried cherries to.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I love starting an evening out with an apéro at my favorite local spot, Bluebird. Paris nights are still a little chilly so I might go for something hearty at L’Alchimiste in the nearby 12th. It’s one of those tiny, disappearing family-owned bistrots where if you’re waiting under the awning in the rain, the host comes out with a warm apology for the delay and hands you a Kir. Later in the spring, I already know I’ll be perched at Le Dauphin with friends sharing oysters, gnarly weirdo pét-nats, and the most gorgeous artichokes.
How about a little leisure or culture?
Many of my guests are tourists, so their vacation days aren’t necessarily on weekends. This can mean I’m hosting on a Tuesday but off the next three days. On Wednesday, my beloved, Arnaud, made a gorgeous picnic with homemade focaccia and whipped feta for us to enjoy in Luxembourg Gardens before taking in the Leonora Carrington exhibit at the museum in the park.
Any weekend getaways?
Arnaud and I recently spent a long rainy weekend in the Loire Valley. We stayed at a stunning Airbnb on a truffle orchard with a massive kitchen and fireplace stocked with wood. The valley was flooded during much of our time there, forcing us indoors, just cooking and reading.
What was your last great vacation?
My first press trip as a journalist was in 2014 to French Polynesia. Admittedly, this set a high bar. Spending 10 days on motorboats, catamarans, and puddle jumpers puttering across the Society Islands opened my eyes; simply doing what I love, writing about locally produced spirits and traditional cocktails, could mean a way to see the world. Tahiti remains one of my favorite places I’ve ever traveled. In 2024, I went back as a visitor (not as a journalist) to see if everything had remained unchanged. It was just as I remembered it.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
My apartment. After the stress of renovating, it was so satisfying to find unconventional ways to fashion it together on a tiny budget into the dream home I always wanted. I went on a treasure hunt at Le Bon Coin, a secondhand site where I found everything from my stand mixer to a baroque secretaire desk to the Belle Époque clawfoot tub, the focal point of the salon.