Q: What’s red and invisible? A: No tomatoes.

About halfway up the trendy surfers’ hangout of Rue Gambetta (just up from Les Halles) is a cool, seafood bar serving fresh oysters and crunchy lobster rolls. But the best bit is the Bloody Mary. “It’s never too early for a Bloody Mary” says the poster, which convinced me to give it a try. It was so amazing I had to ask the barman, an Australian chap, what was in it. He was happy to tell me and I’m happy to share my version with you. No tomato juice! Instead, chop up a load of fresh tomatoes, celery and cucumber and leave this to blend overnight. Strain or squeeze out the juice and use this as your base, with the addition of, of course, vodka, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and a bit of lemon juice and sugar to balance it. It’s really fresh and not as gloopy as the versions made with shop-bought tomato juice. And it pairs really, really well with oysters!