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It is an initiative that could become compulsory in restaurants in the birthplace of haute cuisine by 2025, with which entrepreneurs or chefs in the gastronomic world would highlight the value of traditional French cuisine.
But what exactly is considered ‘fait maison’ (homemade)? Dishes prepared entirely in the restaurant with raw products, i.e. not manipulated or altered in industrial processes. That is to say, those that arrive at the restaurant cut, chopped, washed or boned; as well as cured sausages, bread, pasta, cheese or some raw products as long as they are used in the composition of a dish itself.
This label, which the government plans to make compulsory by 2025, is being launched to highlight the value of haute cuisine in the face of the growing expansion of fast food.
The gastronomic critic
However, the issue takes on much more depth and complexity than it appears on the surface if you go into detail. According to Alain Fontaine, president of the Association of Master Restaurateurs, only 4% of the 175,000 restaurants in the country currently serve dishes cooked entirely from scratch in their kitchens.
Should this bill go ahead, restaurants will be obliged to be transparent in their menus, identifying each of their dishes in order to ‘protect diners, and preserve the status of traditional French gastronomy, recognising the purity of the chef and his seasonal works based on local and quality produce.
