2023-11-12 12:44:54
Behind a large bay window on rue Eugénie-Carmignat in Bois-Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine), Riad Bouseksou offers a spectacle that will make your mouth water. In his kitchen, the chef of the Cocottes restaurant prepares the mashed sweet potatoes which accompany the steak with red onions offered on the menu. An appetizing image, especially when accompanied by the delicious scents that you discover when passing through the landing.
In addition to preparing lunch dishes, the catering team must, every Tuesday morning, accommodate some of the products that will make up the week’s dishes. Fruits, vegetables, fish, meats, creamery… Exclusively raw products, in other words unprocessed, to meet the motto of the table: du “100% homemade”.
5% of restaurants have 100% homemade cuisine
Cocottes is one of the 7 to 8,000 restaurants that offer completely “homemade” cuisine in France, dishes processed on site from raw products. This represents less than 5% of the total 175,000 restaurants listed, a very meager figure for the country which claims a place on the world gastronomy podium.
With the aim of better informing consumers of what is on their plate and promoting the work of artisans who strive to protect the art of eating well, the Minister Delegate in charge of small and medium-sized businesses, commerce, crafts and tourism Olivia Grégoire announced on October 22 the establishment, by 2025, of a new label to indicate dishes not prepared on site.
A “homemade” dish from the Cocottes restaurant, in Bois-Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine), November 1, 2023. / Kévin Guyot for La Croix
Frozen pizza, canned salad, chocolate cake from Metro… Signage must be written directly on the cards given to customers in front of these “non-homemade” dishes, distinguishing them from those prepared in the kitchen. “When buying a piece of clothing, the consumer knows whether it is “made in France” or not. The idea is the same: he will be able to know if his veal blanquette was cooked by a chef on site, or if it was made elsewhere”, explains Franck Chaumès, president of the catering branch of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih).
Reverse the principle of the current label
Long requested by professional federations, this small revolution reverses the principle of the current “homemade” label, indicated by a logo representing a saucepan under the roof of a house, which identifies the dishes prepared on site. Created in 2014, it included in the law criteria for “homemade” – dishes composed at the place where they are served, from unprocessed or traditional kitchen products (oil, butter, bread, etc.).
“The 2014 label started with a good intention, estimates Alain Fontaine, president of the Association of Master Restorers. More it found itself little used due to lack of communication, clarity and its optional nature. » Jean-Marie Héliot, owner and founder of Cocottes, has discreetly written it at the bottom of his menu, without much conviction: “Homemade makes sense when we take the time to talk about it with customers”he adds.
Deemed vague and complex by restaurateurs, the criteria for the “homemade” label must be simplified in the new regulations, assures Bercy. It will be decided in collaboration with the representative organizations before the end of the year (read benchmarks). The latter are also determined to move as quickly as possible, in order to obtain the implementation of the new label not in 2025 but from the Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
Risk of discredit
Some restaurateurs fear the effect that the obligatory “non-homemade” logo will have on their customers. Because according to star chef Thierry Marx, president of Umih for a year, only 54% of restaurants are partly “homemade”… « The goal is also not to point the finger at those who do little or nothing”, reassures Franck Chaumès, recalling that each type of restaurant – fast, traditional, gourmet, etc. – has its own requirements and customers.
The Cocottes restaurant is one of the 5% of restaurants that offer completely “homemade” cuisine in France. / Kévin Guyot for La Croix
Especially since, for the president of Umih, the decline in “homemade” in recent years can also be explained by structural difficulties affecting the profession, such as the shortage of labor. « The “homemade” requires a lot more staff than it takes to open bags and turn on a microwave, continues the president of Umih. Many establishments have reached this point because of a lack of staff. If we filled the 200,000 empty positions in our sector, many of my colleagues would cook their own food! “, he assures, insisting on necessary support when the future label comes into force.
Franck Chaumès believes that the new regulations could also provide a solution to these labor problems by promoting collaboration between food artisans. “A restaurateur can also have a 100% “homemade” menu without doing everything himself. A full-time pastry chef is difficult to find and is very expensive: you might as well collaborate with your artisan neighbors! »he says.
Identify pricing abuses
Another concern is being heard from customers: will the new label encourage an increase in prices? Not necessarily, respond its defenders, because “non-homemade” dishes will not necessarily convert into ready-made meals and retain their customers. « This will, on the contrary, make it possible to identify abuses, by preventing, for example, restaurateurs presenting industrial dishes from increasing their prices to catch up with those of “homemade” dishes.finally believes Franck Chaumès.
Can we expect a notable return to “homemade” cooking in the years to come? This is what Alain Fontaine hopes, no less realistic: “Today, the majority of French people, especially young people, favor fast food, les fast-foodshe regrets. But studies show that there is, however, a growing desire to eat better and to frequent establishments with more ethics. »
Some restaurants also make it their trademark to attract customers. In Mouchard, in the heart of the Jura, Raoul Habar and his wife Chiaki Koge not only offer 100% homemade cuisine, but also composed of local products and vegetables from the garden. With sixteen place settings and a menu “three starters, three main courses, three desserts”Comptoir Kokagué has been full every day for a year. “Doing things different and making things homemade is more authentic, and that’s nice”slips the restaurateur with a smile.
Jean-Marie Héliot also observes an increasing attention from his customers to the quality of meals. “People no longer go to restaurants just to eat, but to have an experience, testifies the restaurateur. Our role is to offer them quality and, if possible, to give them the right signal about what “eating well” is. »
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“Homemade” cooking allows freezing
The future “non-homemade” labelwhose title and logo are currently under discussion, will designate all dishes which are not made according to the kitchen’s criteria
“homemade”. These will be subject to “simplification”, announced Bercy.
“Homemade” cooking allows preservation by freezing. The obligation to use fresh products only concerns gourmet catering.
The Union of Hospitality Trades and Industries calls for more establishment controls from the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCRF). Currently, in the event of false advertising, a restaurateur risks two years in prison and a €300,000 fine.
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