A magnum of Cognac Louis XIII.

Truffles, oysters, an aged side of beef or a three-star dinner by a top French chef: a mouthwatering line-up of festive delicacies were the star lots of an offbeat charity auction in Paris.

Dubbed “Fine Food”, and held for the second year running by the auctioneer Artcurial for the benefit of the French Red Cross, the sale raised €57,015 for the charity’s Paris soup kitchens and aid missions.

A 58-month-old Spanish bellota ham, billed as a Rolls-Royce for meat lovers, fetched the highest amount at the pre-Christmas sale, reaching €2,600.

A three-star meal for two rustled up by chef Michel Troigros was snapped up for €450, one of a string of similar lots put up by chefs from Alain Ducasse to Rene Redzepi of Copenhagen’s Noma, rated the world’s best table.

Many of France’s top fine food suppliers took part, like the star French butcher Yves-Marie Le Bourdonnec who offered a side of Wagyu beef, aged for 100 days, and described by one admiring punter as “a work of art.”

Two fresh foie gras went for €160, a lot of aged comte and gruyere cheese fetched €300, while 250 grammes of Perigord black truffles reached €450 and half a wild salmon €1,250.