In Ian Fleming’s short story, ‘From a View to a Kill’, published in the For Your Eyes Only collection (1960), we meet James Bond at Fouquet’s in Paris, where he is enjoying an Americano. But that is not where he had been planning to eat in the city before being whisked off by Mary Ann Russell to be briefed on his next assignment. For dinner, eschewing the likes of Tour d’Argent and Maxim’s, Bond would have chosen one of several restaurants that had managed to avoid ‘the tarnish of the expense account and the dollar’: the Véfour, the Caneton, Lucas-Carton or the Cochon d’Or. All are – or were – actual restaurants, and here I will be look at each in turn, starting with the Cochon d’Or.

The Cochon d’Or, or the Golden Pig, no longer exists, but when Fleming was writing was situated at 192 avenue Jean-Jaurès. It was, as the Michelin Guide revealed in its 1959 edition, one of the priciest restaurants in Paris – equal to Tour d’Argent – with meals typically setting diners back between 2000 and 3000 francs. It was, however, merely a very comfortable establishment serving excellent cuisine, not a luxury one serving the best tables. Despite its name, the restaurant was best known for its beef steaks. Among its specialities, though, were grenouilles sautées provençale, or fried frogs’ legs (which, incidentally, appears on a menu in the film of Thunderball), and pieds de porc grillés, or grilled pigs’ trotters.

I suspect Bond would have skipped the specialities and opted for a tournedos or other bit of beef, but for those who wish to experience the taste of the Cochon D’Or in Bond’s day, I present a recipe for grilled pigs’ trotters below. This is based on a recipe included in Samuel Chamberlain’s Bouquet de France, first published in 1952 and reprinted in 1960.

Serves 2

• 2 pigs’ trotters (1 per person)
• Ingredients for a stock, eg carrot, stick of celery, 2-3 bay leafs, a sprig of parsley, 3-4 peppercorns, generous pinch of salt, apple, etc.
• Enough water to cover the trotters
• Breadcrumbs from 1 slice of white bread
• Pinch of salt and black pepper
• Pinch of dried sage and parsley
• Melted butter

Rinse the trotters in cold water, then place them in a large saucepan or casserole. Add the stock ingredients, then fill the pot or saucepan with cold water until the trotters are covered. Place a lid over the top and heat the water over a high heat. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to its lowest setting and allow the trotters to simmer for about 3 hours. (If necessary, top up with water during the cooking.)

Turn the grill onto a low or medium setting. Carefully drain and lift the trotters from the saucepan or pot and place them on a baking tray. Mix the dried sage and parsley and seasoning into the breadcrumbs. Brush the exposed surfaces of the pork with melted butter and sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the top. (The original recipe demanded that the trotters be rolled in the butter and breadcrumbs, but after three hours cooking, with the feet falling apart, this seems like an impossibility.) Grill the trotters as slowly as possible until the breadcrumbs have browned.

Serve the trotters with frites and mustard.