][1]The 5pm Dining blog loves the French, France and French food. We also like poking fun at the haughty sense of superiority which they sometimes display when it comes to la cuisine.
So you can probably imagine our delight when a recent piece of research revealed that les Francais have fallen in love with le hamburger.
Burgers beat baguettes
According to market research company Gira Conseil, in the land of boeuf Bourguignon and coq au vin, burgers now outsell baguettes.
Apparently, three-quarters of all France’s restaurants now feature burgers on their menus. Sales of burgers have risen 40% since 2011 and nearly half of all sandwiches sold in France are, in fact, burgers.
The country which is so vocal about despising fast food turns out to be one of its biggest fans. France is the second biggest market for McDonald’s outside of the USA.
France loves burgers
Bernard Boutboul, head of Paris-based restaurant researcher Gira Conseil, said ‘Protein between two slices of bread — the French love it.’
According to The Times, the burger has even invaded the highest reaches of French gastronomie. The paper reports that Marc Veyrat, a French chef with multiple Michelin stars to his name, serves a burger topped with Reblochon cheese.
Now, as we said at the beginning, having a chuckle at our Gallic cousins doesn’t mean we diss their bouffe. This scribbler would rather eat French food than anything else.
If you feel the same way, 5pm Dining has a fantastic range of great French restaurants. Many of them are running rather tasty deals: Le Bistro Beau martin is offering two courses and a drink for £12 while Galvin Brasserie de Luxe in The Caley has two courses from the prix fixe for £15.50.
Allez!