Top restaurants in France offering their own versions of fast food
June 19, 2009
Michelin chefs fight recession in France by cutting costs, serving sandwiches and opening snack bars
As the economic climate in France worsens and restaurant diners are watching the tie-clock and tightening belts, many French chefs are adapting, serving up sandwiches to go instead of steaks. “For the past six or seven years, consumers have been unhappy about the high prices practised in certain restaurants. Add to that the current financial crisis and the fact that lifestyles are changing and people want to eat more and more quickly, ” said food consultant Bernard Boutboul at a recent gastronomy conference in Paris.
Even French celebrity chef Paul Bocuse finds himself making sandwiches these days. A year ago Bocuse expanded his more than 40-year-old three-star empire with a fast food joint, Ouest Express, offering
meals between 10 to 14 euros ($14- $19) as well as sandwiches and hamburgers for the equivalent of around $6 – $10.
And other star chefs in France are following Bocuse’s recession recipe. Guy Martin, the chef who runs the high-end Grand Vefour in Paris, recently opened a snack food counter. And Helene Darroze,
another distinguished French chef with two Michelin stars and who now works in at the Connaught in London, is offering a 25-euro (around $34) tapas lunch that serves up specialites like baby broccoli soup, lobster ravioli and scallops “a la plancha.”
“The three key words in the restaurant business today in France are fast, good and not too expensive” said Yves Pinard, the chef of Le Grand Louvre, the busy Paris brasserie. There are fewer and fewer diners today, whether French or tourists to France, who are willing to drop 300 euros ($407) or so for a good meal. As those sorts of customers dwindle and grow older, French restaurateurs are scrambling to attract the 40-something foodie who will still pay a little extra for quality, even if he is watching his wallet and his watch.
According to Boutboul, fast food and restaurants have much to learn from each other and will be borrowing from each other’s cookbooks for business success. He says that while fast food outlets are headed for rapid explansion, they will need to improve on atmosphere, decor and service. For example, Flunch, the French self-serve chain, has hired a top chef as a consultant and offers health-conscious diners five to seven different vegetables a meal.
By contrast, higher end restaurants, he said, will also need to continue reaching out to consumers by offering cheaper, faster “snack” options and take-out meals.
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