Porthilly mussels are very robust, but like all bivalves they don’t particularly like a chilly fridge. Take them out of the bag, pop them in a colander and give them a really good hard shake with little splashes of water. You’ll see them all start to close up. Any that remain fully open without as much as a ‘twitch’ should be discarded. You’ll rarely get any that refuse to move at all, the rest will be prefect to cook

If there are one or two that are open when you go to cook them... DO NOT PANIC! Tim's mussels really are robust and they will all close. Be a little brutal, and give them a good shake about and you will see the shell start to close. As long as there's movement, hey are alive and you can just throw them in the pan and enjoy

Try our Classic Moules recipe, it’s delicious

Allow 500g per person as a generous starter portion or 750g - 1kg per person for a main course