Source: The Conversation – France – By Nathalie Louisgrand, Enseignante-chercheuse, GEM
In cities across France, a number of new bouillon soup-kitchen inspired restaurants are opening for business. Dating back to the 19th century and designed to feed Paris’ working-class masses, for some time these cheap and cheerful places to eat fell out of fashion. Why are they making a comeback today? What makes them so special and what’s the history behind these ‘old school’ eateries whose?
Offering nutritious, affordable meals to Paris’ many labourers was the avant-garde brainchild of the Dutch East India Company in the 19th century. In 1828, the firm opened a chain of small restaurants in the French capital to serve boiled beef bone broth (or “bouillon”) to a burgeoning working-class population. And thus, the bouillon concept was born along with an early form of the inexpensive ‘set meal’. In 1854, the company went out of business and it was at that moment in time that Baptiste-Adolphe Duval made History by becoming the founding father of the bouillon phenomenon.
In the 1850s, Baptiste-Adolphe Duval owned a butcher’s shop on rue Coquillière in Paris’ 1st arrondissement. Since his customers only bought the “prime cuts”, Duval looked for a way of using up all the poor cuts that he couldn’t sell. He came up with the idea of concocting a top quality broth with boiled beef and the cheaper cuts of beef. Hence, in 1854, he went on to open a place on rue de la Monnaie in the historic heart of the city. It was here that he dished up comforting yet simple, hot meals that wouldn’t burn a hole in even the most cash-strapped wallets of the likes of the workers at the local Les Halles wholesale market – formerly known as the “belly of Paris”, named after the title of the Emile Zola novel. Baron Haussmann’s citywide urban planning and renovation works drew thousands of labourers from across France to the capital for work. With all the more mouths to feed, Duval’s initiative was an instant success!
The forefather of fast food
Duval went on to open other canteens around the city including one in an extravagant, cast-iron hall in 1855, in an 800 square meter (approx. 8,610 square feet) warehouse location at number 6 rue de Montesquieu near the Louvre museum. The premises could cater for up to 500 people, offering non-stop service by waitresses dressed in distinctive black uniforms with white aprons and tulle caps. Coined les petites bonnes, these waitresses epitomised the Duval bouillon experience and became the subjects of many an artist or novelist such as Auguste Renoir and Joris-Karl Huysmans. A new clientele hungry for value for money, flexible opening hours and set-price menus formed. Customers hailed from middle-class backgrounds and the lesser bourgeoisie. The meals on offer evolved over time: oysters, poultry and fish were added alongside staple dishes of pot-au-feu, boeuf bourguignon or roast veal.
These places that came to be known as “bouillons” were spotlessly clean, and led the way for modern dining, pioneering a whole new restaurant model based on simple cuisine using quality produce. They were considered as one of the precursors of fast food.
A whole new business model
The economic success of Duval’s bouillons is mainly due to its stock management model. They run like a restaurant chain, using economies of scale to manage supply chain practices, breadmaking or their butcher’s shops, etc. In 1867, Duval founded the Compagnie anonyme des établissements Duval which included 9 outlets. In 1878, they grew to 16, with a dozen more opening across the capital by the end of the 19th century.
Duval’s success story has inspired many restaurateurs. While the capital counted around 400 of these restaurants in 1900, they actually encompassed a variety of diverse establishments serving different purposes from simple street food sellers to workers’ soup-kitchens in line with Duval like Boulant or Chartier.
Still in business today, Chartier, opened in 1896 in Paris’ Grands Boulevards area. Its huge dining room clad with sculpted woodwork and magnificent art nouveau chandeliers are listed as historical monuments. Not once has Chartier shut shop or changed its name; and unlike its counterparts, it has continuously stood the test of time and changing fashions, even despite fluctuations in ‘bums on seats’.
This is how the popular bouillon restaurant concept became a fully fledged Parisian institution. Its initial success ran up until the Interwar period before fizzling out. During France’s 30-year Post war boom (1945-1975), bouillons seemed passé and old-fashioned, and diners preferred brasseries which they saw as more modern and ‘upmarket’. Then came the fast food boom (Editorial note: from the 1960S onwards).
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Bouillons: back by popular demand since 2017
The bouillon’s flame and surrounding legend never completely died out and in November 2017, as restaurateurs the Moussié brothers proved by opening le Bouillon Pigalle(Paris 18e) in Paris.
Their wish was to remix the essence of the bouillon dining experience: comfort food such as beef bourgignon, salted pork with lentils, sausage and mash or decadent desserts such like profiteroles drizzled with hot chocolate sauce, served at affordable prices in a retro setting with large, canteen style tables, in a relaxed atmosphere, with continuous service and a ‘no reservations’ policy.
The initiative was met with success, and gradually other restaurants were (re)opened in refurbished premises like Bouillon Julien in 2018, or Bouillon République in 2021; in the existing restaurant space that was once home to the old Alsatian brasserie Chez Jenny. These affordable restaurants attracted a lot of French and foreign customers who were delighted to eat out well and not too expensively during inflation time. Many of these eateries offer a 3-course meal for less than 20 euros. Simplicity and authenticity are the backbone supporting the renaissance of this dining experience.
Many bouillons insist on serving homemade food, working frequently with local producers and short supply chains.
A back to the future phenomenon that is now nationwide
These places that are inextricably linked with a convivial atmosphere and quintessentially French dining are also springing up outside the French capital. And while for the most part, their chefs continue to bank on comforting classic French cuisine staples, some restaurants are keeping it regional: “baked Maroilles cheese”, served at Petit Bouillon Alcide in Lille, or “traditional Savoy sausage with creamy polenta” on offer at Cantine Bouillon de Seynod, in Haute-Savoie, in the French Alps are both fine examples.
In the last two or three years, Michelin-starred chefs have also opened their own bouillon restaurants. This was the case of Christophe Aribert, a chef from Grenoble with 2 Michelin stars to his name, with Bouillon A, which opened in May 2022, where he showcases locally grown, organic and seasonal produce. 2-star chef Thierry Marx in 2024 also opened le Bouillon du Coq in Saint Ouen, where he serves herrings in oil with boiled potatoes or his signature dish coq au vin. He saw it as an opportunity to revamp dishes that were labelled outdated and make them extremely affordable.
Since early 2023 in France, it is estimated that a new bouillon restaurant opens every month. Customers are mainly drawn to the low prices.
Maintaining affordable prices is the first challenge for a number of restaurant owners. What’s their secret? A great deal of meal prep (particularly for cold dishes like egg mayonnaise or leeks in vinaigrette, whittling down the steps for each dish (keeping techniques minimal and plating uncomplicated), simple recipes, a menu that barely changes, and also saving money on purchasing volume and super fast table turnover.
The other thing that makes these restaurants a safe bet is that they remain a go-to for classic meals served in record time, in a perfectly pleasant, convivial setting.
Nathalie Louisgrand ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d’une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n’a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.
– ref. How Paris’ working-class dining experience is reshaping restaurant economics in France – https://theconversation.com/how-paris-working-class-dining-experience-is-reshaping-restaurant-economics-in-france-273503