Billy bi is a traditional and elegant French soup that’s believed to have originated in Maxim’s restaurant in Paris. The soup is made with mussels, onions, wine, and cream as the main ingredients. The broth is made with a combination of scrubbed mussels, onions, shallots, butter, parsley, bay leaves, white wine, salt, and pepper.

Once the mussels open and the alcohol evaporates, the broth is strained, and the mussel meat is set aside. The broth is once again gently heated and mixed with the cream, and sometimes egg yolks – with continuous whisking, and if the soup’s too hot, the egg will cook into unappetizing strands.