The first “100% digital” gastronomic prize awarded by the general public. » For its third edition after Paris and Marseille, the prize “The Fork Awards” sets down his suitcases in Bordeaux. The restaurant reservation site, formerly “La Fourchette”, is organizing a big ceremony on Monday evening at the Palais de la Bourse, during which six winners will be chosen, among the 75 finalists.
“The Fork Awards are prizes awarded to the best openings of the year, sums up Damien Rodière, the app’s European general manager. We first brought together a jury of 77 great chefs, most of them starred, who shared their favorite addresses with us. It had to be new restaurants that had recently opened, over the last 12-18 months, and had never been recognized by a major guide or major media. They entrusted us with 75 addresses, which were revealed to the general public in June, and which voted for three months. »
“Bordeaux is one of the most dynamic cities in the gastronomy sector”
The six restaurants with the most votes among the “tens of thousands of voters” will be rewarded, with a special prize for the city of Bordeaux, as host of the 2022 edition. “Bordeaux is one of the most dynamics in the gastronomy sector, underlines Damien Rodière, since with nearly 1,800 restaurants, it is the city in France which has the highest density of restaurants per inhabitant. Ten Bordeaux restaurants have also been named for this 2022 edition.
Among them, Romain Corbière, the chef of the Zéphirine restaurant, opened a year ago on rue Abbé de l’Epée. “Our establishment is a family project, created around shared catering, he explains: every day, noon and evening, we offer three starters that we put on the table and people help themselves, then they There is a choice of meat, fish, or a vegetarian dish, with side dishes to share, then three desserts. Almost everything is local, so our producers dictate what we offer. »
If the catering sector has been “heckled” since the Covid-19 crisis, continues Damien Rodière, the fact remains that there has been “very sustained activity in Bordeaux this year. “We note that it is one of the cities in France which has regained, and even exceeded, its activity in 2019 the fastest, with in particular an exceptional month of August, during which reservations were 50% higher than in 2019 We have also observed a share of reservations coming from international tourists which has increased significantly, since it has increased from 15% in 2019 to 25% in 2022.”
“Food accounts for 33% of greenhouse gas emissions”
Welcomed this Monday morning by the mayor of Bordeaux Pierre Hurmic and his food resilience assistant Eve Demange, The Fork team largely addressed the issue of ecological transition. Damien Rodière indicated that the meal of the ceremony, which will be produced with six hands by Stéphane Carrade, Hélène Darroze and Vivien Durant, will be “75% vegetable. »
“Food represents 33% of greenhouse gas emissions, he explains, and the catering sector must support this transition, which requires a change in behavior. We want to raise awareness that it is possible to reconcile the pleasure of the table and ecological transition. »
The main objective of the prize remains however to “celebrate the young talents of tomorrow” insists Damien Rodière. “We also want to encourage vocations, which is the main challenge for the sector today, when we see the difficulty of attracting labour. »