My favourite (lunchtime) restaurant in this area (above) is run entirely by women; they prepare, they cook, and they serve, all to near perfection. I have been both a frequent, and an infrequent, client of theirs for around 45 years. We are on bisou terms.
They seem to have a natural understanding of what it takes to satisfy the hungry, and reasonably gourmet, man or woman, and it surprises me that other less successful local restaurateurs don't visit them, with the idea of copying their simple formula.
It really isn't complicated. A decent soup, a plate of charcuterie, a main course (usually a choice of just 1), a small selection of cheeses, a desert, and coffee. As much wine as one wants is thrown in. No printed menu, just a hastily written exterior chalk board announcing the main course for that day.
On the other hand I have visited many more pretentious local restaurants where they worship at the altar of 'minimum effort'. Entire dishes are bought-in in vacuum packs, and re-heated in those wretched 'hot water baths'. The 'hot water bath' has become the industry's worst enemy, it gives people who know little about cuisine, a false sense of professionalism; TV cookery shows, and even roadside eateries, are awash with such so-called 'chefs'.
A whole menu can now be taken directly from a chiller cabinet, with maybe just one element being cooked to order; a steak, some confit, or a piece of fish maybe. Almost every other element is dropped into the boiling water, then snipped open and emptied onto a plate. I know of one (well respected) local restaurant where exactly the same menu is presented all year round. One is happily served stuffed courgette flowers in Spring, just as in deepest Winter; all, no doubt, originating from some industrial packing factory in Taiwan or Mexico.
Between Michel Guérard (and his ilk) and the 'hot water bath', French cuisine has been dealt a low blow. Can it really be that difficult for a professional cook to produce a decent meal for about 20 to 30 people without resorting to pre-packed ready meals?
Look for the signs. A single chef in the kitchen. A chilled foods lorry delivering once a month. A laminated year-round menu. You've been warned.
Photo by Vivienne Cole. (I hope she doesn't mind me using it)
For further reading on this depressing subject, go to.... http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/29/business/international/in-france-a-battle-to-keep-menus-fresh.html?_r=0
I've always envisioned France as the one place on earth where you could always get wonderful food. How sad to hear of reheated packaged food! A shame!
ReplyDeleteSadly no longer the case.
DeleteJennifer, it has been my experience that you have a much better chance of getting good food in France than any other country I have visited. I like the way they respect food and take the time to sit down and eat together at a table instead of walking around eating some awful fast food on the go.
DeleteI remember having a meal in a place by a fairly busy roadside near Lalinde that looked like a long wooden shed. It was packed with locals. Amazing but very short menu. I bet they wouldn't use plastic bags. I wonder if it is still there.
ReplyDeleteThere are still plenty of places like that around, and they are totally unpretentious. It's the more upmarket restaurants that seem to cut corners; they're giving the others a bad reputation.
DeleteA very enlightening article.
ReplyDeleteYet another great tradition sacrificed to the greater God of profit.
It's not everywhere, of course, but as the article says, 30% admit to using ready-made meals but the true estimate is more like 70%.
DeleteI am surprised and sorry to hear this happening in France, home of fine dining. Local, seasonal and rough red with a certain finesse. The terrible tourist places here have 100 items on the menu and not quite thawed properly in the microwave. At least you have this place to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteThat is half the problem; having a huge array of dishes on the menu. It gives the game away at once!
DeleteSad, not always do restaurant for tourist represent the place. I do not know about France but here, especially in fish restaurant, it must be added on the menu when there are frozen ingredients.
ReplyDeleteWe say if you want to eat like the locals go to those restaurant where there are always lorries (travelling lorry drivers) parked outside; the place may not be chic but the food will be good.
Greetings Maria x
That is exactly what Madame Murat's place is like.
DeleteThere was a government move to make restaurateurs say on their menus if something was 'home made'; one would then presume that everything else wasn't. I'm not sure if this was made into law or not.
Maria, in Australia you stay away from places the truck divers frequent. They exist on huge fry ups loaded with meat, bacon, eggs and chips ....and the drivers soon look like that is the way they eat too !
DeleteYes you may be right there Helsie, I suppose it is not always the same all over the world.
DeleteX
We often get frustrated that an establishment in our tiny village offers countless dishes on a 7 foot long blackboard menu, instead of focusing on just a few basics and making those special and worth a return visit. A good homemade soup and real bread would make a difference, especially to all the walkers who call in for a quick lunch. Grumpy of ---
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more. Better to have just a few dishes on the menu, than trying to impress with 100.
DeleteThey are always the best restaurants .... we went to a wonderful one in the Arsenale, Venice .... the clientele were dustmen, gondoliers and locals and, every now and then, the husband and wife owners burst into song and everyone joined in ..... it was brilliant.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't rate cooking a whole, ready prepared meal in hot water but I have had lovely food cooked ' sous vide ' but that is an entirely different eating experience. XXXX
I think there are two golden rules. Firstly watch where the locals eat, and secondly look at the car park. Obvious but essential.
DeleteA lorry, white vans on the outside, with chaps wearing fluorescent trousers inside are the good tells. But of course we are talking about 'midi'. After 19:00 it's difficult.
ReplyDeleteWe always take The Dog out with us and in the good places he usually gets offered a bowl of water before we are served!
I think one is more likely to get a good meal at mid-day, than in the evening. Lunch is for workers; dinner is for tourists.
DeleteIf you ever find yourself in Florence, there is a great little restaurant tucked away and run along the lines of your favourite in France, called La Casa Linga.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure they exist everywhere, but never where tourists gather or on expensive thoroughfares.
DeleteThe Retired Man and I tend to frequent farm to table restaurants and those with small menus. The large chain restaurants, with their five page menus are very popular and must have pre-prepared food. They may be cheaper in cost, but so is their product. We prefer local where they buy local and having a meal out is also supporting our neighbor's' businesses.
ReplyDeleteQuite right too. Many restaurants here used to be part of a farm, and worked with their own products. Unfortunately the French government have outlawed this, and they are now forced to buy from outside.
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DeleteWe used to eat in places like that while living in France. Uncomplicated, unpretentious and value for money.
ReplyDeleteWhere I live now (Ireland) the term 'homemade' is being misappropriated in most cases. In our village several places sell 'homemade' ice cream from the same supplier. Obviously made in someone else's home. Or rather, mini factory.
The only thing that is done 'in house' is plating up. It drives me insane and dissatisfied.
We had been thinking about starting up something small with a short menu and homely comfort food. Planning issues, health and safety and half the place for toilets didn't seem very feasable so we dropped the idea.
Feck every place with their 'design' burger on a chopping board and chips served in a frying basket, side plates, bowls and flowerpots ... and tables that are too small to accommodate all this crap !
Sorry, need to go and lay down now.
Who actually likes that shit? Certainly not the diners, who probably all just want a decent meal on a plate!
DeleteOh, I don't know. It seems many of my friends think it's cute and quaint. I think it takes the focus away from the very bad food and "oh, aren't we trendy"
DeleteI don't even eat out any more, can't stand all that trendy and pretentious stuff. It's like that round here, all 'gastro pubs' catering for the weekend toffs ...and whatever happened to plates anyway? I completely agree with everything Patricia says and besides, I've found that on the very odd occasion that I have eaten out that I could have done a helluva lot better myself ... and so I do! Oh dear, I'll go and have a lie down in a darkened room as well now!
DeleteI'm with you Sue G. On the rare occasion we eat out my husband look at each other with a "it's better at home" look while others wax lyrical about very mediocre, over priced food. I also have a tendency to say "I could feed us all for week (and better) for the same price.
DeleteWe dont get asked out much, can't think why!
Gill
I was recently served a meal on what can only be described as a floor tile. I asked for a plate. I wasn't given one and my request was treated as a joke.
DeleteDid you eat it from the floor tile in the end. Bet the knife and fork (or was it a trowel) made lovely sounds when they came into contact with the tile. Like nails on a blackboard.
DeleteThis business of 'I could have done better myself at home' is probably the most worrying in a restaurant. One goes out to experience something that one couldn't do at home; not the opposite.
DeleteMme Marat's restaurant sounds like a place to return to many times. Doing something very well on a scale that allows the business to thrive at a level that pleases the owner and the patrons does seem to be more and more rare.
ReplyDeleteOver here, much is made of "small businesses" but they are not always honored. Rather, the challenge seems to be to find ways to grow bigger and bigger and bigger. Just listen to candidate Trump. (Please don't.)
Best wishes and bon appetit.
Madame Murat's restaurant has been operating for just over 100 years; all women from the same family. They must have something right.
DeleteIt's just crazy that the local ferme auberges can no longer use their own produce.
ReplyDeleteWhat do they do at La Serpt? It used to be all their own Ducks.
DeleteThey're suffering at the moment from the effects of the avian 'flu and having to buy stuff in. I was disappointed with my last meal there.
DeleteThis summer I have eaten out with friends every other sunday when the farmer has gone on his walks. We have tried all kinds of places - some have been just about alright (we never go back there), some quite good and one or two excellent (we keep returning). Last Sunday I had the best dessert I have had all year - an orange sorbet served in a hollowed out orange and sitting in a small 'whirl' of cream to keep it upright. It was delicious and I made a point of going and telling the chef so. Folk complain but rarely give praise don't you find?
ReplyDeleteOften people say how nice something was, when they really hated it. I'm like you, I always praise where due.
DeleteThe last time I had a holiday in a gîte (back in 1993!) we ate most nights at a ferme auberge and the food couldn't have been better (or better value). Sadly my experiences of eating out in France since then have been very mixed.
ReplyDeleteIt's getting worse.
DeleteI have mixed feelings about this subject.
ReplyDeleteThe restaurant business must be really hard to get right. How do you cook and serve fresh food every time when you have no idea how many customers if any will turn up?
In our village there are two restaurants, one that serves mainly food made on the premises, as far as I can tell, and will close up without notice for days if things look quiet.
The other serves mainly the ready prepared stuff but is the one that is open all year round, come what may, and you know that even if there are no other customers you will get fed a reasonable meal. This may not be ideal but it's been a godsend for us on occasion.