It's Westermann to go
Alsace chef Antoine Westermann, chef-proprietor of three-Michelin-starred Buerehiesel restaurant in Strasbourg, has opened a fast-food outlet in the same city. With his 30-year-old son Jean - the business brains behind the operation - Antoine has devised dishes for the gourmet fast-food shop, which opened last month.
Called Secrets de Table, it is located just off the tram-choked Place Kleber, right in the heart of Strasbourg, on the mostly pedestrianised Rue du 22 Novembre. The doors open for business at 10.30am closing at 6pm, and all day Sunday and Monday.
Everything is made on the premises, including all the bakery - Jean employs a full-time baker, along with five other full-time staff and four part-timers.
"People like our bread. If you have good bread you're halfway there," he says. Toppings for tartines - open sandwiches smothered with six different toppings - range from Alsace goats' cheese with proven‡al herbs and nuts, to ham, artichokes and Parmesan, both at €5.20 (£3.19).
Average spend is around €12 (£7.37), and in addition to the tartines and salads, there are six different soups, from cream of carrot and coriander to lentil and chestnut (small €2.90, large €4.60), "sucrés" such as poached pear with orange and chocolate mousse (both €2.40), and tapas-style plates, called galettes, from mushroom risotto to provençal ratatouille (at €4.90, €5.20 or €6.10, depending on how many galettes you go for).
Jean intends to roll out the Secrets de Table concept as a chain across Europe if the venture is successful and to date reviews have been positive. He admits that he was worried about all the pre-opening hype. "But things have settled down - it's going pretty well now," he says.
The shop is set out deli-style, with craggy country loaves stacked on the stainless steel counter. Customers (mostly local office workers) can eat in at stylish blonde wood tables and counters, or take out. Currently, about half choose to eat on the premises.
At the moment, there's no direct competition for Secrets de Table.
"But snacking is big in France right now," says Jean. "I think things will change here in the next few months. If we can raise interest in good products then I think we'll be successful."
by Fiona Sims
