In the late eighties two-star Michelin Chef Michel Rostang started the Bistro trend with an eye towards lowering prices. Since that time other starred chefs have done the same and as of late they have been sprouting up like mushrooms, in fact, some of these starred chefs have opened multiple bistros.
To make things worse the French, as well as Americans, and now most of the rest of the world, have been in the throes of a deep recession that some financial analysts are calling a full-blown depression.
This financial crisis makes it passé to brazenly spend money, so save for some customers from Asia and Russia who may not have realized this yet, most people are more cautious when it comes to spending money in ultra-expensive restaurants and may not show up as often or at all.
However, the tremendous upsurge of the popularity of bistros is not entirely due to frugality. The pace of life has changed, and things have generally become more casual even in Paris, who bravely resisted giving into this trend longer than anywhere else. Look around at what average people consider glamorous today, just take the show-business stars, for instance, they are not the impeccably dressed, chic, and attractive beauties of the past but just common looking persons mirroring the general population; not someone to look up to—but someone to feel on an equal level with.
I expect that one of the driving reasons, aside from the financial aspects, why the great chefs want to open bistros is because many of their clients want to go to restaurants to have uncomplicated food without compromising quality. Much of the food in these “New Celebrity-Chef Bistros” is very good, although undoubtedly a few are quite pedestrian, as we must remember that the starred chefs are only creating the menus not working in the kitchen. On the whole, they are trying to purchase the best and freshest basic produce, that is key in this type of operation, as they cannot fall back on expensive ingredients to make the their dishes taste good, and that is why it takes more talent to create dishes out of common ingredients without relying on exotic ones.
The unfortunate truth is that French people are not dining out as much as they once did, and at least the younger generation, are emulating the bad dining habits exhibited by the British and Americans masses. The sad fact is that little bistros are closing all over the city or are a landscape of empty tables. One day the citizens of Paris will finally wake up, look around, and say, “What has happened to all of our restaurants?” The fault will ultimately be theirs!
