Podcast – Inside France’s culinary college for a glimpse of the future – In Conversation with Celia Tunc

Celia Tunc is Secretary General of Collége Culinaire de France – France’s Culinary College. The association, founded by 18 of the most renowned and influential French chefs – including Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon and Paul Bocuse – aims to represent, promote and transmit artisanal culinary heritage through tradition and innovation. Celia emerges from a year that shook France’s relationships to gastronomy, restaurants, producers and winemakers, with the belief that the future of the world requires a new relationship to food, based on craftsmanship and diversity.

We meet her to discuss the challenges that lie ahead.

France’s Culinary Collége recently launched a barometer to measure how French consumers feel about restaurants, and to help create relevant measures to support the country’s national gastronomy.

Here are some of the numbers we discuss with Celia:

80% of French consumers are willing to take active measures to support restaurants and their producers:

  • 94% of respondents say they are ready to support their restaurants by going there more often;
  • 68% say they are ready to pay in advance when booking;
  • 53% would like to help finance a project for the restaurant owner; and
  • 34% would even be tempted by the adventure to become partners in a restaurant.

When asked what they prioritise when going to a restaurant, the overwhelming majority look at the welcome, the service, and the atmosphere (99%), as well as market-fresh cuisine and seasonal produce (94%). The gastronomic level of the cuisine was nowhere near as important (80%).

For more information on this study and its impact, see our article Towards a new relationship between clients and restaurants.

France’s Culinary College gathers chefs and producers focusing on quality, craftmanship, innovation and diversity

The ARENI Global In Conversation series showcases some of the world’s most interesting speakers and issues.

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