Pierre Gagnaire during season 12 of “Top Chef” – Marie ETCHEGOYEN / M6
- Every year, for about fifteen weeks, renowned chefs come to challenge the candidates of Top chef.
- For these cooks whose reputation is well established, the broadcast of the M6 program has a relative impact on the number of visitors to their sites and their restaurant reservations.
We pretty much all have the same reflex every Wednesday night. While we lie on our sofa, a yogurt or a square of chocolate in hand to satisfy our hunger, we salivate in front of the plates of the candidates of Top chef. Croissant tatin, foie gras soup with curry and coconut milk, squeezed Beaufort, the frustrations follow and resemble each other since in 2021, we still cannot taste a dish through our TV screen. And the situation is even worse when the guest chefs present their specialties.
Whether they have one, two or three stars, or even none, the cooks who cross the plateau of Top chef for eleven years have been sharing their passion and their little secrets. The reflex of part of the public is then to rush to their phone to taste the world of these chefs.
Peak Top chef
“I am delighted with these experiences and feel the immediate effect in the hours and days that follow,” explains Jérôme Banctel, who participated in the third episode of this season, to 20 minutes. We noticed a peak in traffic on our website that very evening. This resulted in a peak in orders for La Réserve At Home. “
While restaurants have been closed for far too long, chefs have had to strengthen their website to meet the challenges of take-out or home sales. “We therefore did not have to strengthen the teams upstream of the distribution of Top chef February 24, ”says Jérôme Banctel.
An updated Instagram page is better than a detailed website
“There is a small“ wow ”effect for a few hours and the day after the broadcast of the show, adds Pierre Gagnaire. On the other hand, if his website serves as an “official business card”, the multi-starred chef has noticed a significant change in recent years: “Instagram has really taken over, it’s incredible, moreover. “
“There is a real effect on the networks”, confirms one side of the Four Seasons where officiates in particular Christian Le Squer, a regular of Top chef. Before the show airs, restaurant communications teams pay close attention to ensuring that any information the public might be looking for is up to date and keeping an eye on their chefs’ subscriber count which is climbing faster than the show. ‘as usual.
A button on the networks (then on the jacket?)
This year, Pierre Gagnaire noted a peak in attendance after his visit to Top chef in his restaurant… in Dubai. “The French communities watch the program abroad and restaurant attendance has taken more than 10% thanks to that,” he notes. What’s crazy about the show is the panel of people who are interested in this story, it goes from the lawyer who wants to clear his head to the ten-year-old who wants to cook. “
However, in general, the chefs interviewed agree that the M6 program has no real impact on their restaurant reservations. Their reputation and career speaks for itself and doesn’t need a boost from the show. The candidates in competition, they are not there yet and observe a real difference with “their life before”.
“I can see that my Instagram account is starting to rise,” comments Charline Stengel, who went from several hundred followers to 20,000 in a few weeks. I have lots of small proposals, small producers who send me their products. It is true that it changes a life. “
His comrades subscribe to his words. “What is great is that there are people with whom I wanted to work, I called them, and immediately I have superior credibility, certifies another cordon bleu still in the race. It has the impact I was hoping for. »Having the certification badge on Instagram, now a mandatory step before being able to wear it on your chef’s jacket?