International
To combat inflation, Guillaume Sanchez has "changed everything" in his restaurant
Since the reopening of NE/SO, Guillaume Sanchez has evolved his offer to allow everyone to come and dine on a budget. Here's his solution.
After a summer break, NE/SO reopened its doors on September 11, 2023. Guillaume Sanchez, chef at the head of this Parisian gourmet restaurant, took advantage of the break to rethink his offering, based on one observation: the average ticket per head had ballooned in recent months. "We'd gone up to almost 300 euros per person... It's nonsense given the current period. Even my friends couldn't come and eat at NE/SO anymore", he laments. To combat inflation in his own way, and to enable a different clientele to (re)come and dine in his restaurant, the chef came up with an idea... to stop the tasting menu altogether.
An à la carte menu to suit all budgets
While Guillaume Sanchez is delighted to welcome a more affluent clientele, he regrets having lost his "core target". "NE/SO'sambition from the outset has been to be an accessible gastronomic restaurant, where everyone can find pleasure", he reminds us. The chef has therefore done away with the tasting menu, previously imposed on all diners, and now offers all his dishes à la carte. This way, everyone can pick and choose according to their desires and, above all, their budget, so as to adjust the bill according to their means. "Last week, for example, I had a table of young people who took a starter, two signature dishes and a dessert. Next door, other customers ordered the whole menu. It all balances out!"
Of course, this initiative doesn't make things any easier for Guillaume Sanchez and his team. With a tasting menu, it's easier to manage stocks, control food waste, but also know exactly what the recipe for the evening will be. "In this case, we work on the basis of trust. Obviously, if customers can take more than one dish, it's a lifesaver," he smiles. "We're trying to relearn this trade, which is a service trade, and most of the time, the customers return the favor. Today, we've noticed that most of them are happy to be given a choice. I don't know how long it will last, it's an economic gamble... I'm not sure where I'm going, but I know it's the right thing to do!"
This is not the first time that Guillaume Sanchez has tried, on his own scale, to relieve his customers' wallets. In February 2023, the chef offered all the restaurant's tables to students for Valentine's Day. "I'm not the most committed guy on the planet, but I try as I can."
Chefs fight inflation
And he's not the only one to propose initiatives against inflation. Stéphanie Le Quellec, for her part, has presented a complete menu at 49 euros per person for the festive season, in order to treat as many people as possible without lowering her standards in terms of product quality. It's the perfect way to treat yourself to a chef's meal for less than 50 euros, and avoid spending too much during the Christmas period. The menu will include parmesan arlettes, an open raviole of winter vegetables with a warm butternut velouté flavored with coffeea soft cushion of poultry with mushrooms and apple purée with hazelnut butter, not forgetting logs and logs with Indian vanilla, caramel and pecan nuts. These will all be available from December 18 at MAM, his patisserie-caterer establishment, and can be delivered throughout France, via Chronofresh.
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