French Alain Ducasse cooks in the kitchen of his “Louis XV” restaurant in the Hotel de Paris in Monaco. —Photo (File) AFP

France to ban industrial foods from ‘restaurants’ to prevent substandard eateries from further damaging Paris’s gastronomic reputation. 

The move, will be backed by the Synhorcat restaurant union and a group of lawmakers, aims to crack down on the proliferation of restaurants serving boil-in-a-bag or microwaved ready meals as restaurant-quality cuisine.

It would limit the right to use the term restaurant to eateries where food is prepared on site using raw materials, either fresh or frozen. Exceptions would be made for some prepared products, such as bread, charcuterie and ice cream.

Alain Fontaine, owner of Le Mesturet restaurant in central Paris, said the distinction is an important one.“It means that we have chefs who develop recipes and prepare them, unlike those who have taken the decision to cut open bags and reheat,” he said.

Those behind the proposal are hoping to emulate a 1995 law that limited the use of the term bakery to establishments that prepared bread and pastries from scratch. That law is widely seen as having given a boost to traditional bakers.

But six other restaurant groups last week declared their “massive opposition” to the move, many restaurant owners fear it will hurt the industry by driving up costs and are warning of major job losses..Led by the UMIH, the main association of restaurant owners, opponents said the proposal would have “drastic consequences in terms of employment, especially for youth,” with about a quarter of France’s restaurant workers under the age of 25.

Synhorcat study found that 31 per cent of French restaurants are now serving industrially prepared food products instead of their own cooking.

The group suggested that France instead create a new category of “artisanal restaurant” to highlight those which prepare food from scratch.

The proposal is only one of several recent attempts to address what many see as the declining standards of France’s famed restaurants.

Fast food and take-aways last year accounted for 54 per cent of the French market, or 34 billion euros ($44 billion) in sales, for the first time outselling traditional sit-down meals with table service.