France Trying To Fight Wave Of Bad Restaurants
France is known as the culinary capital of the world, but many are concerned that the nation's prestigious gastronomic status is slipping, because it has been proven that many of the everyday (re: not Michelin-rated restaurants), eateries serve microwaved factory food doused in seasonings to hide their blandness. But France is now trying to combat this wave of one and two-star dining experiences with a new law that would put a sign with a logo of a house on top of a skillet outside of restaurants where the food is made in-house.
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"It's about sending a message that France is a country where we eat well, where we have skills, especially cooking skills," said Carole Delga, France's chief of consumer affairs. "We wanted to give concrete tools for tourists and for French people, and recognize cooking as an integral part of our French identity."
However, many claim that allow the law is a step in the right direction, it is too easy for restaurants to side-step, or to exaggerate their "homemade food," since it allows dishes made from frozen, pre-peeled or pre-cut products to count as homemade.
Restaurants have until January 1st 2015 to adopt the signage.
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Joanna Fantozzi is an Associate Editor with The Daily Meal. Follow her on Twitter@JoannaFantozzi