Brands want to remove caviar from its “rich man’s food” label

Tastes like homemade caviar with pasta or a teaspoon of mother-of-pearl like aperitif? Michelin-star chefs love it, but an image that brands seek to distort is still considered bad and outdated in France. Françoise Boisseaud, general manager of Comptoir du Caviar, acknowledges: At a stone-throwing shop from Madeline in Paris, we are greeted by a group of young men in T-shirts showing the difference between Siberian sturgeon caviar. Pear Black and iodine, Shrenki Gold grains or oscietra With hazelnut tips … hold the grain in your hand and taste it directly on the skin. They cook “assembly” to eat on site, serving caviar with eggs, plinis or barrata. Once a month, says Jean-Christophe Viave, store manager, “We organize evenings with a festive atmosphere, music, we stand and eat, and we offer a 20% discount on caviar on site.” Minimal decoration, simple boxes with colorful labels and recipes made by non-professionals, this is a pro. “We bet on access to the codes,” says Franுவாois Boissot.

100 years ago in the Ritz in Paris

100 years ago, caviar was unknown in France. The Armenian settlers Melcom and Mouche Petrosian must first persuade Caesar Ritz to place the Caspian’s precious sturgeon eggs on the menu of his palaces before opening their shop in Paris. But there was a French tradition in Gironde (southwest) from the time of the war until the disappearance of sturgeons, underlined by Loic Pinocchio, the European Institute of Food History and Culture in Tours. Today it is “a culture that needs to be built,” says the historian. “Food should be good,” quotes anthropologist Claude Levy-Strauss.

The growth of the sector in France since the wild caviar was banned in 2008, the fall in prices due to the shift to breeding and the growing interest in exceptional raw materials may act in support of it.

“Big pastry chefs sell a cake for 10 euros, we sell a 20g box of caviar for 26 euros for two,” emphasizes Franுவாois Poissott, who believes caviar follows the path of champagne consumed over 30. Years ago it was booked for special occasions.

“In France, when we talk about caviar, we’m automatically talking about money. People do not know enough. They can involve us in a 30 – gram tin,” says Stephen Bron, a two – star chef at Chabicho Restaurant in Corseville. .

At home, there is no need to breed sea bass or scallops with caviar, which the chef says is also good in fondue, egg or plain. Michael Petrosian, the third generation of the Caviar dynasty, promises that “the caviar itself is sufficient.” “It requires no frills or silverware, and should be eaten as simply as possible: no plinis, no bread, no box and a spoon.”