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“La rock attitude” – the French restaurant revolution
There was a time when the French establishment protested against the slightest corrupting of their elegant language. The Academie Francaise may still fulminate against the use of Anglicism’s, but now young executives can describe a colleague as “tres people”, a chef can have “la rock attitude”, and a fashionable Parisian bistrot can be called “Frenchie.” This would have been unthinkable 20 years ago.
A new mindset is apparent, more global in its outlook, and it is affecting the way the French eat out.
Back in 2005 French vignerons woke up to the fact that well-made wines from all over the world were stealing their traditional markets. It was the middle ranking wines that were worst affected, the ones which had perhaps been coasting on the reputation of the greatest wines. These wine makers were forced to try harder. Rallied by the Institut National des Appellations d’Origine, this mainly took the form of focusing on the ethic of terroir, and cultivating a new respect for the customer who had to be wooed, a novel idea for some.
Then it was the turn of French cuisine. By 2007 its seemingly unassailable reputation as the best in the world was threatened. “French cuisine seems to have an old image in a world where youth is a virtue and as a result does not interest the wider world. It is stuck, congealed, embalmed in principles and rites”, said a well-known French commentator at the time.
It was true. Spain’s Ferran Adria of El Bulli and the UK’s Heston Blumenthal of the Fat Duck were making headlines with their innovative food. In London, New York, California, Sydney and Melbourne great new chefs were developing their own styles. Gastronomes were losing interest in French restaurants.
Simultaneously, the traditional indigenous restaurant-going client was becoming an endangered species. The bourgeoisie, upon whose support the starred kitchens had relied, had less money to spend. At the same time much fiercer drink and drive laws were being enforced which impacted on old habits. A younger, high-earning clientele was more cosmopolitan and not inclined to worship at temples of gastronomy. Intimidating formal settings were out. They wanted innovative food in a relaxed place where they didn’t need to dress up.
Along came a new magazine, Omnivore. It not only chronicled the crisis, it flew the flag for a new generation of chefs, under the banner of “Jeune Cuisine.” “The 80s and 90s were a great time for French gastronomy but now we don’t really know who we are” said editor Luc Dubanchet, explaining the reasons for founding Omnivore.
It appears monthly and is written in a fresh, hip style. It champions cooking which is young in spirit and attitude. In its guide, the Carnet de Route, chefs are asked to nominate their favourite wine maker. It applauds wine lists which feature little known good regional wines. It favours small restaurants with a maximum of 30 covers, minimalistic décor without tablecloths and the kind of cooking which gives free rein to chefs’ imagination, especially in the use of humble ingredients. None of this may seem revolutionary, but to the French, at a certain moment it certainly was.
One of the standard bearers for the movement is Thierry Marx. He made his name at Chateau Cordeillan-Bages in Pauillac, and is now at the Mandarin Oriental in Paris. He feels that today’s chefs are different from the rather chauvinistic, inward-looking people of the past. “This generation has grown up with the internet, global communication and travel. We are open to ideas from other cuisines”. The influence of Japanese and other Asian cuisines on his own cooking initially shocked the Bordelais who were used to their great reds being served with traditionally cooked local produce, but before long the word was out amongst an international clientele that there was a chef doing interesting things in Pauillac.
For the last six years Omnivore has organized an annual food festival, bringing together the brightest and best chefs from around the world to give master classes and demonstrations. When I went to one of the first of these, held in a kind of dockside hangar in the bleak, northern, coastal city of Le Havre, members of the public mingled with cooks, restaurant designers, glassware suppliers, wine makers and journalists. At the time this in itself was seen as innovative. I saw potentially hostile French commentators and chefs pack an auditorium to hear Ferran Adria, in his strong Spanish accent, explain his ethos. The audience rose as one at the end and gave him an ovation. It seemed quite a pivotal moment.
Now that French cooking is no longer in a rut, are they in danger of throwing the baby out with the bath water? There are still great three star chefs, like Piere Gagnaire and Michel Bras - they just do things differently with a more international outlook. The latter has just handed over the reins of his restaurant to his son Sebastien, as documented in a rather charming film, “Entre les Bras” currently showing in Paris. As well as demonstrating the strong family ethic of hard work which goes into running a world class restaurant which is essentially in the middle of nowhere in wild countryside, it gives insight into just how much thinking and experimenting goes into the creation of a perfect dish.
But can you still find the archetypal bistro or brasserie that we visitors to the French capital crave? There are posh versions; famous chef Alain Ducasse took over the failing erstwhile top brasserie Benoit, faithfully restoring the charm of the dining room, and serving beautifully prepared old dishes at a price. For my money I would rather eat at Camille in the Marais district where you can get traditional food like leeks vinaigrette, pot-au-feu, blanquette de veau, sweetbreads etc more modestly. Or the Café des Musees near the Place des Vosges, surely the most beautiful square in this most beautiful of cities, where the brusqueness of the waiters is as authentic as the dishes.
In a wonderful Art Nouveau building next to the Madeleine, is Alain Senderens; when he took over the iconic Lucas-Carton, he surprised some by re-naming it and lowering the prices. The food is modern but still definitely French; the eclectic wine-list is interesting, and they have gone to the trouble of matching wines by the glass to the dishes, something quite rare in France.
Le Chateaubriand embodies the modern cool buzz espoused by Omnivore. The chef here is Inaki Aizpitarte – he’s the one with la rock attitude, according to Luc Dubanchet. There is no choice, it’s difficult to get into (although if you go at 9.00pm and don’t mind standing at the bar with a drink till they turn the tables at 9.30, you’ll get in), but I think you’ll think it worth the journey, as they used to say in the old Guide Michelin.
Last year UNESCO gave recognition to the French Gastronomic Meal; it is now on the list of the Cultural Heritage of Humanity. What does that mean? I am not sure, but it sounds like something to celebrate.
Rosi Hanson
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