Updated on 20/11 at 5pm
Two years and then it's gone... After two one-year contracts, the SNCF quietly ended its collaboration with Michelin-starred chef Thierry Marx this autumn. for the TGV Inoui bar menu. Gone is the "potato rösti burger with tomato sauce", which was a big hit with travellers, the "risotto-style risoni pasta with squid ink" and the "melting apples and pancakes" dessert. Each season, the chef renewed his three dishes, including a vegetarian option, plus a dessert. One of his hot dishes and his dessert are therefore no longer on the menu served to business travellers in Business Première, particularly on the Paris-Lyon route.
Prices perceived as too expensive by customers
" The agreement was a double-edged sword for SNCF" says an SNCF marketing manager. If these dishes have given quality image of what was on offer on the Inoui TGVs, passengers also had the impression that they were much more expensive." . Between the first and second year of the collaboration, inflation had also led to an increase of more than 7% in the price of the Thierry Marx menu, comprising a main course, a dessert and a drink. Only the "Coquillettes au jambon, gruyère et Comté" dish created by Thierry Marx will continue to be sold until March 2025, but without the famous chef's name.
From now on, SNCF intends to play the conviviality card on its in-flight catering offer, with its Jambon-beurre and croque-monsieur staples, more than 640,000 of which are sold every year. " Dishes are still on the menu, but without the collaboration of a top chef" added the SNCF manager. This is because the railway company intends to maintain its commitments with products that are almost exclusively made in France.
" We no longer have an à la carte chefconfirmed the railway company's press release. Nonetheless, SNCF Voyageurs is continuing to offer increasingly responsible, high-quality catering." . SNCF Voyageurs and Newrest have chosen to bring together brands from French regional producers, committed to environmentally-friendly manufacturing. As a result, 92 % of the products are manufactured in France, including 65% by SMEs and VSEs, while around 35 % of them are certified organic, from sustainable agriculture or from a High Environmental Value farm.
Service at every moment of the day in Business Première
Although " Thierry Marx produced a menu for the TGV Inoui catering menu which was included in the rotations of the different dishes offered at lunchtime".SNCF believes that the termination of the agreement has had a ". little impact "on the Business Première menu. The offer includes breakfast before 8.45am, a sweet snack until 11am, lunch from 11am to 1.30pm, a sweet snack until 4.45pm and a savoury meal in the evening. The meal itself consists of two drinks, a sweet snack, a dessert and a cold dish, either a salad, a chicken sandwich or a ham and cheese club.
