- In Loudéac in central Brittany, the installation of the food truck of Michelin-starred chef Christophe Le Fur makes your teeth cringe.
- Twenty restaurants in the town have joined together to denounce unfair competition.
- The star chef reacts to attacks.
In central Brittany, it is severely scarce at the moment for burgers. Those of Christophe Le Fur in this case, the starred chef of the restaurant Auberge Grand'Maison in Mûr-de-Bretagne. Like all his colleagues, the restaurateur suffered the full force of the Covid-19 crisis. So to continue to run his shop, he had the idea during confinement to open his gourmet food truck. "I already did street food for the Art Rock festival in Saint-Brieuc so I didn't start from nowhere," he pleads.
At the town hall of Loudéac (Côtes-d'Armor), his project quickly won over elected officials who issued him a temporary occupation permit for a period of four months. Since June 10, Christophe Le Fur has therefore parked his truck three midday a week on the Aquarev leisure site to delight customers with his burgers and bowls. And the concept quickly won over. "We sell 200 formulas on average every lunchtime, it spoils in the kitchen!" "Welcomes the interested party.
Restaurant owners ask food truck to look elsewhere
But in the Côtes-d'Armor sub-prefecture, the other restaurateurs laugh a lot less. Gathered within the collective Les restaurateurs solidaires du Pays de Loudéac, they take a very dim view of this "competition" coming from outside. "A shock, a tsunami shakes the restorers of the country of Loudéac already asphyxiated by the Covid crisis," they denounce in a press release. They don't need it right now, it is unimaginable. "
It is not the food truck in itself that annoys them. The idea is even "good" according to them. Provided of course that the truck does not encroach on their flowerbeds. “By definition, a food truck is mobile, able to move from city to city. It's a shame to only benefit the Loudéaciens ”, indicate the angered restaurateurs, suggesting that the truck crosses the 41 villages of the community of communes of Loudéac.
The star chef targeted by threats
To be heard, they demonstrated on the Aquarev site. "A day when I was not even there," quipped Christophe Le Fur, who did not understand these complaints. “It is said that nothing is happening in Central Brittany. And when someone comes up with an innovative concept and it works, some come to whine. It is hopeless ! Annoyed the Michelin-starred chef, addressing a tackle well supported to some of his opponents. “We've heard a lot lately that everyone has to reinvent themselves. This is what I did and some would do well to do the same rather than continuing to serve the cuisine of the 1980s, "he says.
The squabbling by interposed media has even taken a more aggressive turn to believe Christophe Le Fur. "I was dropped off at the gendarmerie because I received threats on social networks," he said.
The mayor tries to play the card of appeasement
Very embarrassed by this affair, the town hall of Loudéac tries to spare the two camps. Asked about the subject Thursday evening during the meeting of the municipal council, the mayor Bruno Le Bescaut invited "each to take a step towards the other". In an attempt to ease tensions, he asked Christophe Le Fur to reduce his presence to two noons a week on the site.
A proposal to which the starred chef clearly does not intend to comply. "I'm doing a good job and I'm asked to leave. But I don't intend to because my whole contract is in order, "he warns. In Loudéac, summer promises to be spicy in the kitchen.
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