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“Nolo” trendWhen French gastronomy goes alcohol-free
The greatest chefs now offer zero-alcohol beverages, selected with the same attention as the great wines, to accompany their dishes.
The “nolo” trend is growing in France.
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Are you in the middle of “dry January”, busy driving, pregnant or just curious? After the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian countries, France in turn multiplies non-alcoholic gastronomic experiences, worthy of great wines.
“People profit more”
Zero-alcohol rosé champagne served in a luxury lingerie boutique in Paris, “virgin” cocktails developed for the launch of trendy restaurants and hotels… The “nolo” trend of drinks without alcohol (“no”) or with little of alcohol (“low”) is gaining ground even in starred restaurants.
“It’s a trend that is growing in France after the Anglo-Saxon countries which are always one step ahead of us,” said Yann Daniel, mixologist of the Alchimiste group, one of the leaders. movement. This fall, he crafted a range of light cocktails working “spices, herbs, roots and teas” for the Australian chain Tribe hotel in Paris. With more than 20 years of experience at the bar of palaces, he admits to having been “quite skeptical” at first, but “we realize that with these cocktails, people enjoy more, appreciate and recommend”.
“We go further”
Alchimiste’s other mixologist, Matthias Giroud, published the book “No Low” (Gründ) in October with 60 cocktail recipes. An approach hailed in the preface by the multi-starred chef Pierre Gagnaire for his “true creativity on virgin territory” which allows you to have fun “without depriving yourself of a second glass”.
At David Toutain, two Michelin stars, we start the meal with an effervescent drink made from bergamot and buckwheat. The lobster is served with an infusion of fir buds, the apple juice with fennel vinegar will accompany the eel, the beetroot-carrot nectar the pigeon… “It took me years to put all this in place” , tells AFP the chef who has been offering agreements with non-alcoholic drinks alongside those with wines since November. “We go further in the experience,” he says. “A winegrower is not going to make a wine to accompany a dish, the sommelier chooses it in relation to his palate. This is my universe”.
“Everyone gets in on it”
Hélène Pietrini, director of the gastronomic classification La List, confides to AFP “to adore” alcohol-free pairings, “a way of tasting from abroad” which “completely changes the aromatic profile of dishes and increases tenfold the means of to express”.
In French haute cuisine, it is the most starred chef in the world Anne-Sophie Pic and her sommelier, the Argentinean Paz Levinson, who were the pioneers of nolo. “When I was pregnant, it was scary to go to a restaurant and stay in the water all evening. I wanted to create something exceptional” so that all customers who do not drink alcohol could enjoy their “social life”, Paz Levinson told AFP. “Today, it’s a bit slow, everyone is getting into it,” says Anne-Sophie Pic, who notably runs the gourmet restaurant at the Beau-Rivage Palace in Lausanne. At his three-star restaurant in Valencia, lukewarm brewed Brazilian coffee is served in a tall wine glass to accompany a venison fillet.
“I don’t agree”
Faced with the “frustration” of customers who only find non-alcoholic drinks from supermarkets on the restaurant menu, sommelier Benoît d’Onofrio has developed alcohol-free pairings for chef Manon Fleury’s pop-up restaurant in inspired by the techniques of winegrowers (maceration, extraction of aromas). “Listening to the feedback, I am comforted in the idea that the nolo has a bright future ahead of it”.
Three-star chef Guy Savoy thinks this trend is legitimate in countries that don’t produce wine and need to adapt, but not in France. “In the first country of great wines, I don’t judge, but I don’t agree”. The German gastronomic critic Jörg Zipprick, co-founder of the List, believes that the health discourse tends towards “the alcohol devil”, which will discourage the consumption of wine. David Toutain, he plays down. “We are in love with wine, champagne and we claim it. We’re just offering a different window of opportunity.”
(AFP)