“I see from the press that many students only have one meal a day or are no longer able to eat properly,” declared Marc Haerbelin, starred chef during an operation led by the Crous de Strasbourg. On the menu for the students' meal: mango avocado salad, coq au riesling and Belle Hélène pear, all for 3.3 euros or 1 euro for scholarship holders.
An initiative reminiscent of that of star chef Julia Sedefdjian in December 2022 at the Crous de Créteil where 1,300 students were able to taste a white fish curry and vanilla cream puffs for dessert for the same prices. Or that of the Crous de Bretagne with Nicolas Carro, starred chef at the Carantec hotel (Finistère) with a Breton tabbouleh, a fillet of trout “with its creamy carrot and coffee grounds combined with a dauphinoise-style Jerusalem artichoke gratin” and egg cream or gluten-free chocolate mousse for dessert. “I adapted to their constraints and the budget,” explains the chef who wanted to promote local products such as Breton trout: “I also offered a vegetarian dish because I wanted to reach all audiences. »
A fast pace
“Above all, I did it for the adventure, because with the Crous Bretagne, it was a hell of an event,” says Nicolas Carro, who took part in a tour through the region. “We made more than 20,000 place settings in total, to promote eating well and advocate quality. » Each time, the chef, accompanied by cooks from the university restaurants, served within a limited time and a cuisine that did not quite resemble that of a gourmet restaurant.
No matter for the chef who primarily wanted to “please the students”: “Some didn’t dare to taste too much, told me they didn’t really like it. I advised them to stop thinking and let go! They will have plenty of time to think in class in the afternoon! »
“Some didn’t dare to taste it, told me they didn’t really like it”
Nicolas Carro, starred chef
If the chefs serve around fifty meals per service, the Crous have a very different scale with their 1,500 seats. A major challenge, if only for the preparation. “Today, I don't know how to cook 200 kg of rice, and I wouldn't know when to stop cooking to prevent it from sticking. The cooks at Crous know this. Same thing for the pace: some said 'the starred chef is nice, but he's not moving forward'! », laughs the chef.
For good reason, there were 2,200 students serving in Rennes, with a very long queue "and only 15 minutes of waiting": "I was finishing mixing the puree when an agent said 'let's open the doors!' . I also managed to show them that you can cook fish in minutes and that you don't have to put it in a steamer for 4 hours. But we had a pretty good laugh. »
A success also in Strasbourg. “1,200 meals were served in Strasbourg between 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m., in a university restaurant which has 250 seats,” rejoices Sophie Roussel, president of the Crous de Strasbourg, delighted with the operation.
“We also wanted to tell the students that we take care of them”
“The objective was to show that there is real cooking know-how at Crous, because some people have an image of a collective restaurant that is a bit sad, whereas it is far from reality,” continues Sophie Roussel : “Having a renowned name in cuisine is also a way of communicating our know-how. Certainly, the menu was a little special for this day, but we also wanted to tell the students that we take care of them, because Crous is not just a cheap meal! »
On the student side, “the plates were empty”, notes Sophie Roussel: “They were happy and recognize that if usually the meals are good, this time they were very, very good! » Especially since the Crous meal is for some the only way to eat a complete, hot meal. “It’s the only solution so that I have a little money left at the end of the month,” confided Charlie, who lunches and dines at Crous every day. Nicolas Carro also received positive feedback in Brittany. “The students took advantage of it, many wrote me messages afterwards,” specifies the young starred chef.
At the Crous de Strasbourg, since 2019 and the 1 euro meal, the number of students who frequent the restaurant has doubled. The constraints also for U restaurants are increasing. “In 2023, we had + 12% more students than 2022, a year which already had + 46% more meals than 2021”, explains Sophie Roussel: “Inflation has meant that students have more focused on U restaurants. Even if it is collective catering, there is real training work for cooks, including on vegetarian cuisine, on suppliers, quality, organic, labels within the framework of EGalim. For example, we are in the process of switching the bread for sandwiches to organic, and that has a cost. Even if meals are subsidized, it comes at a cost. »
Reduction on fruit and vegetables from the supplier, but also poultry or Valrhona chocolate “which is not our usual supplier”, everyone pitched in for the students, up to chef Marc Haerbelin , who came like Julia Sedefdjian and Nicolas Carro, voluntarily.