Olivier Rellinger. “We’re seeing two generations of parents missing out on nutrition education.”

Chef Olivier Rellinger is insatiable. Of course, he passed the baton to his son Hugo at his establishments in Cancale, Brittany, Les Maisons de Bricourt. But the defender of good food has no question of sitting down and looking at the sea, he spreads good word everywhere. Thus, it supports initiatives related to its fight for better nutrition, an important topic at the heart of societal and environmental issues. Last fall, during the Gourmet book fair in Périgord, he organized a memorable banquet with the association Les Pieds dans le plat and the employees of the municipal canteen, proving that the good (and the good) can be invited to a collective meal.

Then he left to promote the Academy of Medicine Foundation’s white paper, Food today and tomorrow, whose godfather he is, and travels all over France to meet farmers, but also children in canteens. We chatted with him before he gives an interview New York Times as a member of the collective of great chefs, the author of a manifesto against the immigration law, affirming that “at the table, as in the kitchen, everyone has his place in France”. A person who would like his kitchen to taste like the wind, however, keeps his feet on the ground, anchored in a reality that wants to be better.

Madame Figaro. – Why fight for a “home” restaurant? ?
Olivier Rellinger. – When I was young, I was a boarding school. I know how the meals in the cafeteria taste. And so I wanted to change things for a long time. I thought we could improve the quality by working with the big groups that took control of the restaurants. About fifteen years ago, with Chef Michel Brass, we partnered with Sodexo to increase the quality of the dishes, the sugar and salt levels and more. We met valuable, dedicated people within this company. But in the end, in the interests of the shareholders, the ax fell, and our instructions were never met to the extent of a few cents. Since then I am convinced that no central kitchen can do anything good. We have to go back to the “house”. Municipalities should “rehabilitate” their canteens.

Bringing organic produce to restaurants is one of your favorite…
In short, choosing organic means respecting the animal, nature. Organic is good for our health and the health of the planet. But it’s also a support for value-minded, risk-taking farmers who are often stifled by shopping malls. Therefore, choosing organic responds to environmental and societal issues. In any case, eating well is at the intersection of all current issues. Protecting the earth and future generations requires eating well. For economic reasons, we have served the same industrial food to children all over the world: nuggets, cordon bleu, breaded fish squares… And this without taking into account our terroirs, which are our identity, our culinary exceptions, our heritage. We must stop this diversion, which is wreaking both health and cultural havoc.

Have we not forgotten the men and women who run this restaurant? ?
By moving to central kitchens, the role of canteen agents has been reduced to opening trays, heating them, serving plates, the contents of which, bad, are often thrown in the trash. Through cooking, these women and men find meaning in their work again. They are really helpful and they see the children eating better which makes them happy. Joining a fine dining establishment is surely to enter a virtuous circle.

Eating well is at the intersection of all current issues

Olivier Rellinger

Fine dining is indeed possible ?
When my book came out in 2019, For a delicious revolution, I was contacted by a number of associations, groups… devoted to better nutrition. I was particularly impressed by the work of the collective Les Pieds dans le plat, which helps, for example, elected officials to implement healthy and sustainable collective food, homemade, seasonal, organic, local, fair and nutritious. Chef Jean-Marc Mouillac is one of the notable faces of this team. The Dordogne department appointed him to train the canteen chefs to use fresh, local and organic products. And that’s success. Les Pieds dans le plat is able to replicate this approach outside of this bountiful country. For example, in Romainville, Saint-Saint-Denis. Jean-Marc Mouillac helped the town rethink its cafeteria to offer balanced meals prepared on site, again with organic and local ingredients, while keeping costs down and therefore prices down for families. Everyone is happy: the managers, the parents, and especially the children, who finally finish their plates. The model is all right. it gives the opportunity to support, or even save, local producers, reduce waste by 20-25% and make children the ambassadors of good nutrition at home, because we know that they are the ones in the home;

This means that children will influence their parents ?
We see two generations of parents missing out on nutrition education. Buying ultra-processed industrial products in supermarkets has long been synonymous with progress. Children, by telling about their good experiences in the cafeteria, inspire their parents and can teach them to eat better. And it’s urgent, it’s a public health issue. Junk food, its excess sugar and saturated fat, has caused an obesity epidemic, accompanied by cardiovascular disease, depression, type 2 diabetes that occurs at all ages, cancer… These are the findings of the Academy of Medicine Foundation. which he explains in his white paper. The conclusion of all this is that people cannot live healthy on a sick earth. Therefore, we must solve all problems face to face. And it doesn’t hurt to do it, because eating is above all a pleasure. Size to be placed on canteen plates. In France, we are all lucky to gather around the table, food is the common ground. Let’s take advantage of it, because this is what will help us save the planet.