The New French Revival

French cuisine is in a rut. At least that’s what Michael Steinberger, author of the recent book “Au Revoir to All That,” thinks. Thousands of bistros and cafés are being replaced by McDonald’s, and French exports are at an all-time low.

But while the great French chefs are trying to save the croissant and persuade the United Nations to declare French gastronomy a world treasure, U.S. consumers are, once again, firmly embracing French culinary concepts.

Bistro-style comfort foods are resurfacing, but this time in conjunction with local and regional produce and American artisanal—but French-style—cheeses. Retail has seen a resurgence of products that tap into our memories of mom’s French culinary experiments, but in convenient heat-and-eat formats. These days, we want inexpensive comfort food at restaurants and pre-made, upscale meals at home.

During the 1960s, Julia Child took the fear out of French cooking with her book “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” However, as Michael Pollen points out in “Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch” (Aug. 2, 2009, The New York Times), the amount of time spent at home on food preparation in America has dropped by 40% since 1965. You might think that rising unemployment and stagnant wages would lead to more at-home cooking from scratch, but we are still eating out, and still spending money on specialty retail items—and the time is right to integrate French culinary concepts into these market segments.

MENUING A FRENCH ACCENT

La Madeline, a French café chain with 61 units that has been in business since 1983, has managed to successfully execute casual, bistro-style food on American plates. “In 1983, many consumers thought of French food as formal, because that is what they found in the gourmet restaurants,” says Susan Dederen, senior director of culinary operations, La Madeline, Dallas. “That is only one side. There are always the friendly, home-cooked, typical meals—the meals you would find in the local cafés and bars. That is the food we brought to our cafés, and the accessibility of it made it popular with our guests.”

The chain’s menu includes items like classic regional French soups, quiche, croque monsieur and crêpes—food that, as Dederen says, “people can feel good about eating.” She notes all necessary ingredients, like mushrooms, shallots, artichokes, apples and almonds, can be easily sourced in the United States and Canada.