Well, last night didn’t quite end up the way we planned it. Originally we were going to go to our favourite local haunt, La Petite Rôtisserie (65, chemin de Halage, 95610 Eragny). However, M-D has been suffering from a bad back all week (probably a reaction to moving house a couple of weeks ago) and she didn’t feel like making a big effort to get ready and drive a few miles up the road. So we ended up walking 100m to the local Happy Sushi, where she got stuck into a dish of sashimi and I took half a dozen seafood kebabs. Along with the miso soup, cabbage salad and rice that come as part of the meal, we had a good feed, and all for 38 euros ($53 – £33) and that included a drink while we waited to be served and a pitcher of the house rosé with the meal.

We keep hearing of the so-called dangers of eating raw meat and fish, but neither of us has ever suffered any adverse reaction from either. M-D regularly eats sashimi and she also eats carpaccio on a regular basis, and about once a fortnight she will eat a raw steak (no – not blue – raw!). The last time I looked, she still had one head, two arms and two legs.

I firmly hold the view that, as long as you use saltwater fish, you’ll have no problems eating it raw. Freshwater fish may contain parasites that are killed by cooking. Saltwater fish do not contain these parasites. And, as far as mercury levels go, you’re at a lot more risk from filled teeth than from raw fish. On the other hand, if you are eating raw (like M-D’s sashimi) it pays to get the freshest fish available, from a fish market on the wharf, not from a supermarket.

As far as raw meat is concerned, buy only good quality and the risks are pretty minimal. Of course, one way to eat raw meat is to eat horse meat! No, I’m not kidding; remember, for the majority of mankind’s early existence, wild horses were hunted as a source of protein.It is slightly sweet, super-tender, low in fat and high in protein. So get over the taboo and, next time you have a chance to try it, see what you think.

Anyway, we plan going to La Petite Rôtisserie next weekend instead – presuming I can wait that long! I don’t know whether to order the raw horse or raw squid! … Just kidding!!