At the Grands buffets in Narbonne (Aude), you always have to save a place for cheese. And even a (very) big place. This prestigious restaurant, which sets a thousand place settings every day, has, in fact, the largest cheese platter in the world: between a tournedos Rossini and a crepe Suzette, stars of the establishment, customers can enjoy, at will, in… 111 Bries, Camemberts, Tommes, Crottins, Comtés and other blue cheeses. This gargantuan buffet, which occupies a stall of a good thirty meters, even has the honors of Guinness Book of Recordssince 2020.
If Louis Privat, and his wife Jane, owners of the Grands buffets, took on the challenge of offering their customers this giant platter, it is, first of all, to prevent this record from being broken elsewhere than in France. A sacrilege! “At the time, we had a good offering, with around thirty or forty cheeses,” explains Louis Privat. This already surprised our customers! Chatting with Gilles Goujon [chef 3 étoiles à l’Auberge du vieux puits, à Fontjoncouse], I realized that we risked seeing this record escape France. A restaurant in Shanghai, Dubai or Las Vegas could have claimed this record. It was out of the question! It was four years of hard work. »
“We have lost count of the bailiffs’ reports that we have provided! »
Les Grands buffets, accompanied in this challenge by Xavier Thuret, Meilleur Ouvrier de France cheesemaker, had to compose this platter in the most balanced way possible, and find producers capable of supplying such an enormous quantity of cheeses: in 2019, just before before the record was approved, the restaurant had ordered 35,000 kg, a budget of 400,000 euros. And we had to prove it, this record. And that was “very difficult”, assures Louis Privat. Because usually, records are measured at the moment T. We devour dozens of chipolatas, we cook a giant paella… And that’s it. But at the Grands Buffets, there was never a question of offering, just once, a huge cheese platter, to validate a record, pose for the local press, and that’s it.
In this very popular restaurant, it is “a promise over time” which has been validated by the Guinness Book of Records : that of offering customers, permanently, 111 cheeses. For 18 months, the establishment had to provide piles of evidence for the record to be validated. “We have lost count of the bailiffs’ reports that we have provided! », smiles Louis Privat. Finally, in January 2020, the Grands buffets succeeded. THE Guinness Book of Records validated the performance, and the Ministry of Agriculture announced the good news. “Our record was considered by the Guinness Book of Records as so important that it benefited from a double page, at the very beginning of the book. Knowing that not all records have the honor of appearing there. »
111 cheeses? In reality, on the set, there are a few more
But the Grands buffets team is modest. Because, in reality, there are more than 111 cheeses on his tray. There are 115, 120, sometimes even more. Because to respect the promise that there will always be at least 111, we must always offer a few more.
“To respect this record, we always need more references, to be able to deal with shortages among producers or suppliers. Or to remedy the absence of a seasonal cheese. Because goats, for example, do not give milk all year round,” explains David Marrant, the master creamer of Grands buffets. And if more is always needed, it is also to cope, possibly, with the possible success of a cheese. If, one lunchtime, morfalous throw themselves at all the claquos in the buffet, devouring them to the last one, the record is no longer kept. And that’s out of the question.
On this XXL platter, there are cheeses from Occitania, of course (Pélardon, Rocamadour or Rondin), foreign ones (Pecorino, feta or Swiss Gruyère), goats, sheep, ” that stink” (yes, yes) and even unusual ones (with flowers, beer or pesto). Most are pre-cut. For others, you have to help yourself. With a knife, or with strange devices. But, assures Louis Privat, it is never anarchy. “Customers have a cheese culture, they know how to cut a Camembert,” he assures. There is never any trashing. There is enormous respect for this set. »
“A restaurant with four people to take care of the cheese! »
And for those who remain a little perplexed, in front of a monk’s head, there is always, near the buffet, an expert to help the hungry. Because at the Grands buffets, four people dedicate themselves, full time, to the largest cheese platter in the world. And one or two are always there, to guide customers. ” You realize ! A restaurant with four people just to take care of the cheese! », smiles Louis Privat.
Besides, at the Grands Buffets, we don’t eat Abondance, Emmental or Saint-Marcellin at random. When he puts together his plate, each customer leaves, on each portion, with a small label, the name of the cheese, its region and above all, its taste and olfactory power, out of 10, are indicated. The larger the number, the more it is. strong (and the more it whips). One of them, Cabrales, a blue from Spain, is even rated 11/10. Not to be worn on all palates. So when he catches the eye of a customer, “I always ask him if he likes cheeses that send cavalry!” », smiles the master creamer.
Offering the largest cheese platter in the world is “a first-class communication argument,” assures Louis Privat. Some even only come for that. “They have a few oysters, then make a meal entirely of cheese,” laughs the restaurant founder. Yes, I know, it made you hungry. Me too.