Paris (AFP)
Tailor-made menus, tours prepared in advance such as trips, parity in the kitchens: the multi-starred French chef Yannick Alléno promises to "change everything" in post-Covid haute cuisine.
"It is important for me not to reopen the restaurant as before. Today I want to change the house and make it a most absolute social example," the 52-year-old cook told AFP. one of the most famous in the world.
The pandemic has put "unemployed" and made "think" those who were "on the highway of life and run like crazy" since he started in the kitchen at 15, with injunctions like: " you arrive at 8 am, you finish at 1 am and you have no choice ”.
Heavily criticized for his harshness with his teams, Yannick Alléno claims to have initiated an in-depth reorganization of the Pavillon Ledoyen in Paris, where he manages three restaurants with six Michelin stars.
- "Unacceptable" -
In 2019, during a debate organized by the prestigious British ranking 50 Best, he spoke of "the structural brakes" that prevent women from succeeding in the industry because they have to take care of children and cannot work in the workplace. evening.
"The DNA of women is to give birth".
His statement caused an uproar.
"I did something stupid, it was really awkward, inappropriate and unacceptable. I apologized as much as I could (...) and I decided to move forward," he admits today.
The forced cessation of activities due to the Covid epidemic has further pushed his thinking and given birth to the book “Everything must change!”, Where he calls for a revolution in service, the way of cooking and working conditions.
"Participatory planning" which allows you to choose your schedules is now offered to the 150 executives of the Pavillon Ledoyen, and the objective is to have six women, out of the 12 sommeliers, "as soon as possible".
"I'm tired of hearing that catering is a difficult and exclusive profession".
- Personalization -
During the brief reopening in autumn, Yannick Alléno hired three people with disabilities - waiters and cook - and began to test the "table concierge".
The Michelin guide says exceptional restaurants are worth "a trip", but "it is the only place where the trip is not prepared", he emphasizes.
Once the reservation is made, the restaurant offers a telephone meeting to find out your tastes, allergies and the budget not to be exceeded for a business meal.
"If on your wedding day there were white lilies everywhere, we will try to put a bouquet of lilies on the table for a wedding anniversary meal and the initials of the spouses on the napkin," says the chef.
The space also becomes more intimate thanks to the embroidered transparent screens installed during the confinement to reproduce the ambience of the lounges of the Pavilion of the 1840s, while letting customers enjoy the bustle of the restaurant.
- Poached langoustine at the table -
According to the chef, it is "impossible" now "to impose a menu" in a gourmet restaurant.
The preparation of the visit thus makes it possible to serve the food and the wines "at their peak" (certain recipes requiring to marinate the poultry for three days) and to regulate the sauce - of which Yannick Alléno is an undisputed master - according to the wine chosen which must be taken out of the cellar a few days before.
This organization also avoids "a monumental waste": "in the past, we had to have 15 poultry in the fridge in case someone wanted them," says the chef.
The service has also been redesigned: there is no need for Alléno to cut the poultry in front of the customer, but it is the butler who will poach a langoustine in a broth in front of the customers.
So that it is served at its best.
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