march-2010

FAST FOOD
“It is a revolution in
French cooking,
the likes of
which hasn’t been
seen since
nouvelle cuisine”
cult of hedonism and food is a
central part of this pleasure. It’s a trend
that has been appearing in all the big
cities.” But perhaps the key to the
growth of what is becoming known as
‘fast dining’ is the fact that speed and
convenience are not being surrendered
for the rise in quality.
The Millau Viaduct roadside diner
currently only offers a take-away
service, but there are plans to set up
tables outside so that customers can
enjoy a proper break. This is also the
idea at Ouest Express in Lyon, a new
outlet from the octogenarian master of
modern French cooking Paul Bocuse, a
man famed for pioneering nouvelle
cuisine and earning three Michelin stars
at his restaurant L’Auberge Du Pont De
38 Holland Herald FAST
LEFT: Roadside service
with a difference at the
Millau Viaduct
BELOW: Guy Martin’s restaurant,
Miyou, along with one of his
popular take-away salads
Collonges. Ouest Express is something
very different, however, and is possibly
the most successful high-end fast food
restaurant in the country.
Opened in January 2008, its success
lies in the marriage of two very different
worlds, bringing the effi ciency of a fast
food chain into the fl air of a high-end
kitchen. The cooking is done by a
proper chef with a proper chef’s hat
(the chef in question being Sylvain
Girot, once of Bocuse’s Brasserie Le
Nord) and a whole brigade of sous-chefs
who lovingly cook his dishes to order.
Morning means croissants and freshly
squeezed juices, while dinner brings
daily specials (including beef
bourguignon, tajine and veal provençal)
salads, quiches and homemade desserts.
Accused of trying to “do a
McDonald’s”, the chef irreverently
delights in putting a Charolais
beefburger on the menu or Burger
Rossini (fi let mignon with foie gras and
truffl es) at Christmas.
But those familiar with the golden
arches will also recognise some
elements of the McDonald’s set-up, as at
every till the menu is available on a tray
to eat in, or in a bag to take out.
Consequently, 600 meals are sold
per day – mainly to business people at
lunchtime, and families or 25 to 40
year-olds in the evening and at
weekends. The enterprise has been an
unprecedented success, and a second
restaurant opened in Lyon in October
last year.
This trend – traditional chefs
modifying their methods to use
American fast food models – heralds a
revolution in French cooking the likes
of which has not been seen since
nouvelle cuisine burst on to the
international culinary stage. And it’s a
change that was driven in part at least
by the assault by fast food culture on
the traditional French way of life.
Claude Fischler, who has spent years
studying eating habits for the French
Centre for Scientifi c Research, explains.
“In southern Europe, one’s everyday
social life is punctuated at regular
intervals by meals,” he explains. “In
the English-speaking world, people
eat while they work, while they drive.
They eat on their feet.”
Perhaps now the two can be
combined. As Miyou’s Guy Martin says,
“We offer customers with little time or
money to spend, the chance to really
savour and enjoy their food.”
Certainly, those who have ever
endured eating a cardboard-textured
burger in a grey service station car park
will hope it catches on. And fast.