Deliberately shocking speech or just clumsy? On social networks, many are offended by the line of thinking of Marc Vanhove, at the head of a chain which includes around a hundred restaurants.
The controversy spreads and swells, after the remarks made by the boss of the franchised restaurant chain Bistro Régent, Marc Vanhove. Recently invited to speak about his economic model on the Cnews set, this Bordeaux restaurateur – at the head of a restaurant brand founded in 2010 and considered «low cost» – did not hesitate to boast of employing unskilled employees in its kitchens. “Basically, we don’t have cooks. We train them and format them in our system. Which means that we don’t have a personnel problem, since we can’t steal our cooks because they don’t know how to make an egg and mayonnaise, a dish of the day or a chocolate mousse.he expressed himself. Before adding: “So they stay with us and we are peaceful, where the others worry a little with the staff.”
An assumed speech which quickly sparked a reaction on social networks, among those who believe that the remarks are particularly “shocking” and those who think that Marc Vanhove is doing well “what he wants” in its restaurants. “We are no longer in commerce but in mercantile Thénardier”protests an Internet user, referring to Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. “If employees are informed and consenting, paid on time, basically what is the problem?”asks another. “So there, the boss of Bistro Régent explains with a smile that in the kitchen, his staff do not know how to cook and are just “trained” to what is done in the company and not sufficiently trained to leave it. And the journalist finds it “terrific””regrets a journalist, broadcasting the sequence in question.
“It’s not very rewarding”
Asked about this extract which already has nearly a million views, Frank Delvau, who heads the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (Umih) in Île-de-France, believes that this line of thinking “is not representative of the profession”. “It’s not very rewarding for his Bistro Régent brands, it means that he (Marc Vanhove, Editor’s note) doesn’t often change the products on his menu. Otherwise it must be problematic”notes this representative of restaurateurs, for whom comparing the profession to “line work” would be good “too reductive”. “That’s not how we see the profession, with the image of a social elevator that does not work”he still laments, convinced of the contrary. “You can start as a kitchen assistant, become a chef and end up opening your own restaurant”assures the professional.
And if Marc Vanhove’s words seem to him “a bit stupid”a Parisian restaurateur on condition of anonymity explains “don’t be surprised” that some professionals in the sector act in this way. “In my opinion, this is how it is in many big chains”he thinks he knows. “It’s obvious that he’s not used to TV sets, he got trapped by the questions”notes another, for whom hiring unqualified cooks can only be possible if “the proposed map is quite short”. On the official Bistro Régent website, the menu displays several great classics of French gastronomy including beef tartare, grilled salmon escalope or grilled duck breast. So many dishes that still require a certain amount of know-how.
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A “self-taught” boss with an outspoken voice
And if he does not seem to be perfectly in his element on the Cnews set, Marc Vanhove is nevertheless used to the spotlight since he has participated in several television shows, including Patron Incognito. In this context, he notably posed as a culinary critic in order to spy on his own teams. He presents himself as a “self-taught” who succeeded alone, but at no time adopts the same position as that advocated a few days ago. The employees present in the show are quite far from what he describes today, since many have gone through cooking schools, and have at least a CAP in this field.
So how can we explain what some describe as a “exit from the road” ? No doubt through his own frankness, as when he assumed in an interview given in 2020 to only offer a very limited menu. “We don’t have much. It doesn’t please everyone, but you shouldn’t want to please everyone (…) We have a very simple formula. Beef, salmon, duck breast, with salad and fries”he explained to Aquitélé in 2020, affirming that his great pride was above all in “create jobs” et “wealth in his country”. No surprise then from the man who also has his seat on the show Who wants to be my partner?, where he comes to distil his marketing and communication advice to young entrepreneurs who are starting out.
