The Grands buffets of Narbonne and its 3 million reservations per year in front of the M6 ​​cameras in a unique “66 minutes”

This Sunday, December 22, from 5:20 p.m. on M6, the show 66 minutes, presented by Kareen Guiock Thuram, devotes a report to “the world showcase of Auguste Escoffier’s cuisine”The Great Buffets of Narbonne. Louis Privat, founder of the Liberté cafeteria in 1989, is now at the head of an empire. Since 2008, Les Grands Buffets has continued to move upmarket, both on the plate and around the cutlery. 35 years after responding to the call for tenders from Narbonne town hall to exploit an area of ​​1,200 m² at the heart of the Espace de Liberté, the septuagenarian continues to improve the recipe for an almost magical formula at €62.90, including 150 emblematic recipes from Auguste Escoffier and 111 varieties of cheese. And while the renovation project has just entered the phase of official presentation of the selected candidates, Louis Privat knows that it will soon enter two years of work, but cannot specify anything about a confidential public contract. It rather addresses the social aspect and “specifically, the last measure which will begin: butlers, waiters, waiters will benefit from an additional half-day of rest” (an announcement given by L'Indépendant just a month ago, Editor's note).

“As we were the first restaurant to move to 35 hours in 1998, this led us to a four-day week. It's rare to be able to maintain that, even in peak season. Soon, they will work 3 and a half days a week. work and will have as much rest with a maintained salary,” He recalls that “even unqualified personnel, such as clerks or maintenance agents, are not recruited for less than €2,000 net. This is possible thanks to a. public who accepts to pay the right price for a menu.” Enough to approach the Luxembourg minimum wage, the highest in Europe (excluding Switzerland) and make employees happy according to Louis Privat: “Even if our employees work 40 hours a week, they are happy to make them concentrate and have more rest.”

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Attached to have “stable collaborators”man has understood that it is necessary “that the quality of their personal life is good. We try to be conciliatory and accommodating and we have a support system for over-indebtedness”adds the founder. “I made a commitment to help them by providing them with a financial package that will allow them to get back up to date and start a more peaceful month. They go into debt with me, but at 0% interest. And by offering them this respite, we calculate together the amount to be reimbursed.”

96% of customers outside Greater Narbonne

Once the social aspect is closed, we ask the P.-D. G. to reveal a little about the report to be seen on Sunday. “We are good clients for the media. We have been almost everywhere. In 2022, we had 18 TV appearances. We ensure intentions, we trust, but 66 minutes is a good show. This 40-minute format , since the director seemed loyal and not crooked, it's an opportunity: on December 22, before the holidays, we will talk about us as being a place of celebration and sharing, it's rewarding. We'll see. suppliers, my visit to a young winegrower or to the Quai d'Orsay where I was made a disciple of Escoffier and very well regarded, the delivery of a beautiful collector's item and how is it that a customer comes from Brest or from Madrid round trip just to come to the Grands Buffets.” Because yes, we are more interested in this Narbonnais restaurant from afar than up close. Louis Privat sums it up with this figure: “Customers from Greater Narbonne represent 4% of our activity, 96% from outside. Thanks to an ambassador card, which we are working on with the Côte du Midi, they will be able to reserve priority: for example, on Sunday, from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., we will rent out places for next week, offering a number of last minute offers, we hope so with Mayor Bertrand Malquier.”

With nearly 400,000 customers per year, the Grands Buffets experience comprehensive services every time. “Except for accidents”reveals Louis Privat

The key to success, managing quantities

“This is the secret to quality: having a constant level and not throwing away goods. Consumption is known. All our products are quantified. We know statistically how many oysters, foie gras, etc. will be consumed . To the nearest gram! The covered portion of a murex for example varies from 0.10 g to 0.12 g from six months to six months… This allows us to anticipate and be completely accurate in the adequacy between the products consumed and implemented.” If high-end products are the most consumed, the P.-D. G. does not want to talk about quantity so as not to scare away future customers. But give this figure: “To make 400,000 covers, we need 400,000 reservations. We have three million per year. That is more than two and a half million requests that we cannot satisfy. It's the most incredible figure.”