Chez Léon's reputation is based on its speciality - mussels and chips.
It is for this reason that Léon pays so much attention to the quality of the supply of this crustacean.

Mussels, a delicious crustacean and a healthy meal. 
There is hardly any sea where the mussel cannot thrive.
The cultivation of mussels is done all over the world. However, there are several varieties which do not all have the same gastronomic qualities. 
Mussels are also a dietetic product sought after for its protein content and mineral salts with a very low fat content.  

Calorific value: 57 calories or 242 joules
Albumin: 10 grams, carbon hydrates: 2 grams, fat content: 1 gram, sodium: 300 mg, phosphorous: 250 mg, iron: 6 mg
Vitamin C: 2 mg, vitamin B2: 0.17 mg, vitamin B1: 015 mg, vitamin A: 0.05 mg

1 ton of mussels per day are consumed at Chez Léon in Brussels or 360 tons per year.
For gastronomic and for geographical reasons, Chez Léon gets its regular supplies from the Netherlands, a country known for the quality of its large-size and high quality Zealand mussels.

These mussels are the only ones allowed on the tables of Chez Léon during the season, i.e. from mid-July to Easter. A halt to mussel harvesting depends on biological criteria and so that the animal can reproduce from Easter to mid-July. 
Outside the season, Chez Léon gets its stocks from nearby countries such as Denmark or the UK, which are also known for their mussel cultivation but whose quality is not quite that of the Zealand variety.

In the depths of the Wadden Sea, protected by the western part of the sea and fed by many small streams which have created a slightly salty environment where mussel cultivators look for spats or baby mussels and allow them to mature in the East Scheldt. 
Thousands of larva, under 1 cm in size, swim along the coast and in the sea.
Collecting the spats is only allowed for a few weeks a year, in May and June, i.e. about one month after the mussel's reproductive period and this is done by dredging.
As the spats are still in floating bunches and not yet fixed, the movement of the sea currents is essential for detecting the location of these tiny creatures.
The skill of the mussel cultivators is judged by their ability to find the location of the spats quickly.

Situated in thick layers in warm and ecologically protected basins of the East Scheldt, the spats mature quickly and soon the mussels are heavier than water and they fall to the bottom. 
The byssus, the beard of the mussel, is then secreted and the small mussels attach themselves to any object they can find at the bottom of the sea. Using their foot, they move about until they find a place to their liking. Once fixed, they hardly move. 

After this first step, the mussels are collected to be transported to other beds richer in vegetable plankton. There they wait until they have reached the commercial size of about 6 cm.
These beds are constantly cleaned, maintained and inspected for food quality. They must above all be protected against the mussel's natural predator - the starfish. Some storms and sea currents wash up large numbers of starfish which results in a great deal of damage.

After one or two years, the mussels are ready for the market. They are placed on the consumer market at the mussel cultivation Trade Centre at Yerseke.
As soon as they are sold, the mussels are transported and careful placed in the protected beds of wholesalers in the East Scheldt. These beds, called overflow beds, are found to the east of Yerseke, in the immediate vicinity of the dispatching installations.

Mussels can remain alive for four days. In order to survive and maintain their indispensable humidity, they close their shells. To prevent damage, they have to be kept in a clean and fresh environment at a temperature of at least 10°C. Nice to know: large mussels do not necessarily have a better taste than small ones and their flesh to shell ratio is not particularly higher.  At Chez Léon, the star product is the mussel.

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