In June 2023, the young Lille chef Lucas Tricot had an unpleasant surprise. The monthly bill electricity from her restaurant Suzanne, which has been increasing steadily for several months, suddenly went from 1,500 to 3,500 euros. “Between that and the increase in product prices, my profits fell to 2 000 euros monthly. And the slightest unforeseen event becomes dramatic. » Lucas Tricot is not the only cook to find himself in this delicate situation. “Between energy and raw materials, costs increased by around 30% between the end of Covid [la réouverture des restaurants post-confinement en juin 2021] and now “estimates Alexandre Mazzia, three-star chef in Marseille, who was offered green beans at 44 euros per kilo. “Everything has increased, except my profits”he sums up with a smile.
In Paris or in the provinces, starred or not, all restaurants must manage a tighter budget. But some find a way not to blow the bill, without giving up their gastronomic ambitions. At their place, the price of the menu or the menu has increased a little, but does not reflect the increase in costs on the restaurant side: for example, Lucas Tricot increased his menu from 45 to 54 euros and expanded it with appetizers. -mouths; at Alexandre Mazzia, prices remained stable for all menus with the exception of the largest which increased by 15% (435 euros).
The first solution consists of doing without certain products whose prices have skyrocketed too much. Disappeared from the menus are those which are not essential to taste or for which others can replace them. Thus, Bruno Aubin, chef of the Cléo restaurant at the Le Narcisse Blanc hotel, near the Eiffel Tower, in Paris, has given up on young shoots “sold for 5 euros per tray, and which fade very quickly” ; while Ecaterina Paraschiv, who runs the Balkan restaurant Ibrik Kitchen in Paris, has given up on fresh truffle (she only uses it in infused oil) and citrus fruits, which she replaces with sorrel in her cakes (“we find the same acidity”she assures).
Contrary to what one might suppose, caviar is not necessarily ruled out because its price has remained stable, and it has the advantage that there are no losses or failures during cooking. On the other hand, all the cooks interviewed mentioned the crazy inflation which affected the most delicate fish, such as turbot or John Dory. “They have become inaccessible to us, even in our wildest dreams”laments Lucas Tricot, who turned to cod and pollack.
You have 75% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.