Fred's newsletter 29.6.21
Matilde and me last July.
Good morning les amis, I hope you are well.
It was late April / early May 2020 that we started offering restaurant at home meals for delivery and collection. I remember my son Camile and my daughter Matilde both in the kitchen with me helping with the basic tasks like washing, peeling and chopping vegetables, washing salad leaves, making vinaigrettes and dressings, labelling, storing and stock-taking for deliveries and collection.
Matilde and Betty were taking orders over the phone, checking out the postcodes for delivery, sourcing packaging. Everyone was helping with cleaning and all that we had to do to make, and hand over food, in the best conditions possible. Large cool boxes were bought to store food in transit; ice packs had to be purchased too.
From ordering to the handover of the meals, we had to think carefully. Maintaining freshness and quality was a bit of a challenge. We had to take measures to make sure everything was delivered without issue. Then we also had to consider how easy it would be to enjoy these dishes at home with minimum work, whilst preserving our ethos and the presentation of our food.
Packaging was a challenge. Recyclable, easy to wrap, wood, plastic and many more criteria. So many restaurants were in the race to obtain packaging that we saw prices increasing fairly quickly; but we adapted and worked hard to be able to deliver what I consider to be a great offer.
This didn’t happen without any hiccups. Some suppliers were a bit reluctant to deliver to us as we had some debts with some of them. Some didn’t respond positively but our previous relationship and my strong convincing power worked its magic. Most of them, real friends, lent a hand and helped us. We were back in business fairly quickly.
So many of you have helped us by ordering week after week, and with positive feedback too. It has become apparent that ordering from us isn’t just about the need for food, but a dedication to help us preserve l’escargot. I, along with my family and staff, am very grateful. Thank you all.
We have re-opened the restaurant, I think twice, or maybe three times in the last 12 months. This in itself was a task. We brought back some of our employees to work part-time, and a mix of full time and part furlough. These were always hard decisions and they have had a serious impact on people’s well-being. Many of our former employees decided to leave their job, or to change the direction of career, but most left to return to their home country.
Brexit is the main reason; a mix of Covid and Brexit is the second reason. While I will not speak much about the consequences of Brexit and its impact on our European employees, this is an issue we cannot ignore. Patricia from Phantassie Organic Vegetables has worded it very well in her piece (read it here) - thank you Patricia.
Many of you have asked if we will keep our restaurant at home offering after lockdown ends, or after the summer, and I have been thinking about it for a long time. I have looked into it, and we made steps forward. We looked for a site where we could keep the take-away going and found one that was suitable, in a great location. We looked at the investment needed to make it a sustainable business.
It was all making sense until we saw our orders going down slightly, then a bit more. You told us that with restrictions lifting, many could travel again to visit friends or family as well as taking a few days away for vacation. Restaurants and houses being open again meant the need for restaurant at home was less needed. During July, lots of you will be away.
The lack of orders and the shortage of employees means it would be a complicated and a hard task to continue. It would also put us in a vulnerable position. Also, I am not physically able to cook in front of two stoves at the same time, and that would have a direct effect on the quality I am aiming for.
On a brighter note, the demand for customers to visit our restaurant is high, and the summer is looking promising so we need to concentrate on l’escargot bleu as we have turned away many bookings since we re-opened in April. We now need to open our doors on more days and go back to what we know best, and our main ‘raison d’être’.
It is with sadness that I realise I will not be able to fulfil the demand for take-aways from l’escargot bleu’s kitchens, as well as opening the restaurant to more customers; it is simply too demanding. I am working over 50 hours a week purely at the stove at the moment, and with minimal help it would be a struggle. I need to ensure the quality of the food I want to serve. So, with tears in my eyes, I am announcing that this will be last week of take-away over the summer.
We will be concentrating on our restaurant customers and will assess the situation over the next two months, looking at the feasibility of resuming our great l’escargot at home in the autumn.
Of course, if decisions from government and the progression of Covid means more restrictions, we will take measure to re-birth this activity.
It is a decision that I have been very reluctant to take but the reality has kicked in. It is what it is. This goes against my sense of duty to offer complete satisfaction to you all. I am still taking all of this in and I want to personally apologise to Helen, Grant and Jenni, James and Morag, Sandy, Peter and Maria, Jim, Gordon et Anne, John, Margaret, Jane, Catherine, Morgane, Jean, Moira, Philippe and Julie, Lisa and David, Gill W of course, too many to name. But I know who you all are. I am thinking of you.
As of next week, l’escargot bleu will be open for dinner on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and for lunch and dinner on Fridays and Saturdays. The hours of opening will be clear on our website from Wednesday and our reservation system adjusted then.
I hope that after reading the above, you will understand that it’s an almost impossible mission to consider opening l’escargot blanc in the near future. Again, this will be considered when the time comes. It’s a shame as I have operated on that site since 2004, first as Petit Paris restaurant, then as l’escargot blanc since 2009. Only time will tell if there is a chance to promote our value there again.
Once again I would like to express my extreme gratitude and thanks to all of you who have trusted and supported us over the years, especially the last 15 months or so. We are here in Edinburgh and we will stay. We will work very hard to make our message stronger than ever. We believe in food with provenance, hospitality through our brand l’escargot, strong Scottish terroir, and a devotion to making Scotland a real food destination.
This newsletter wouldn’t make sense if I didn’t send out a ‘bravo’ to Sebastien, Bertrand, Sophie, Gonzalo and Matthieu who have shown loyalty and have worked very hard during this last year. Also Carole, Anthony, my children Matilde and Camile, and all my friends who have continually trusted us and shown their support by lending us a strong hand. And of course to Betty, who I couldn’t have done without.
On another subject, a bad review on TripAdvisor has thrown us to number 36 from number 7. May I take this opportunity to ask you to leave a review rewarding us for our efforts over the last few months? This would really mean a lot.
Here’s to a great future for l’escargot!
With my sincerest best wishes, à bientôt,
Fred