Next Tuesday, March 21, the restaurants of Lyon will be plunged into darkness. A “candlelight dinner” to warn of the explosion in energy costs.
By plunging their restaurants into darkness, with just a few candles to light up the tables, Lyon’s chefs want to challenge both customers and the public authorities about their skyrocketing energy bills. Invoices multiplied by six in certain establishments, of which they threaten the economic model.
Christophe Marguinpresident of Toques Blanches Lyonnaisesis worried : “It’s a sword of Damocles. Some restaurateurs close one more day, and concentrate their reservations on only four days, to save one day of energy to pay. The State must regain control of the price of energy .”
The daily struggle
Faced with this exceptional burden represented by energy – gas, electricity or fuel oil – the chefs play for resourcefulness on a daily basis. Some simmer long cooking at night, at a reduced price. Others set up in the dark. Joseph Viola is one of the figures of Lyonnais cuisine, best worker in France and boss of the cork Daniel and Denise :
“We have already started by installing timers for the common rooms. We called the staff of our four establishments – it’s starting to count – to ask them, for example, not to vacuum in the dark hours, but in the light of day. We only turn on our signs at 7:15 p.m., instead of 5:30 p.m. before. During meal times, we turn off the back, which the customer does not see.
Admittedly, some state aid were put in place in January: a tariff shield for the smallest companies, or an electricity shock absorber for slightly larger structures. Nevertheless, restaurants now fear for their survival, especially when they see that at the same time raw materials continue to increase.
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