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For the guardians of French gastronomy, the prospect of being served something as unsophisticated as a slab of mincemeat with a bap and slice of cheese would long have been considered sacrilegious.
Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study.
"Le burger" – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries.
Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic "jambon beurre" (ham and butter baguette), the nation's staple lunchtime sandwich.
Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while "le jambon beurre" fell to 1.23 billion.
"Burger mania (in France) is unstoppable," declared Bernard Boutboul, head of Gira Conseil, the food consultancy behind the study.
"If it goes on like this, then one can assume that within two years sales of the jambon-beurre and burger will be neck and neck."
In truth, the French have long been lovers of burgers in fast-food outlets. France is McDonald's biggest market in the world outside of the US and was practically the only nation in the world where the chain posted a rise in sales last year.
However, Mr Boutboul said the reason for the burger's phenomenal success in France has been its spread from fast-food to more traditional sit-down restaurants, even top-tier ones.
"The weight of McDonald's, Quick (a French fast food chain) and Burger King is derisory as it only represents a third of the 1.10 billion burgers sold in 2016," he told AFP.
The French press remarked that gastronomic times have decidedly changed.
"This meat, cheese and sauce between two baps was once the perfect portrait of 'malbouffe' (cr** food)," wrote Corse Matin.
Today, however, "from basic fast food to Michelin-starred restaurants, the hamburger is taking root; More than a fad, it has become a way of life … the dish is no longer out of place in any surrounding or decor."
Indeed, the burger can be found at such top-notch restaurants as Alain Ducasse's Le Relais du Parc or Joêl Robuchon's L'Atelier.
Speaking about the rise of the burger, Mr Boutboul said: "It all started in 2010 when the Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno launched his burger à la carte in the Le Maurice (a Parisian five-star hotel) and won the title 'best burger in the world'. That was the beginning of interest in this sandwich, which was until then a little derided."
However, it seems the French still have some way to go to catch up with Britain and other "Anglo-Saxon" countries on the burger front.
According to the NPD Groupe, "if in France we have reached 14 burgers consumed per person per year, the UK is on 20, the US on 30 and Australia on 38".
France is set to see a new invasion of burger joints in the coming months with Five Guys, the high-end hamburger chain that Barack Obama once dubbed "the best in the world", opening its first outlet at Paris' Gare du Nord train station in the coming weeks.
The burger's success has taken its toll on the "jambon-beurre", seen as the benchmark French lunch sandwich and which has lost ground as its average price has risen by almost 13 per cent in five years to €2.84.
"The jambon-beurre was once again under attack in 2015 by différents sandwichs with bread and toppings including the burger, which is hot on its heels," said Mr Boutboul.
The figures came three years after traditional sit-down restaurants, long a sacrosanct part of the French way of life, were dethroned by fast food for the first time, with hamburgers, pasta and gourmet sandwiches taking their toll on classic Gallic cuisine.
The sit-down meal has suffered from the dwindling amount of time the French – long reputed to be lovers of the long lunch – spend on their meals.
The average time spent on meal in France has dropped from an hour and 20 minutes in 1975 to less than half an hour today.
'Le burger' now top selling dish in French restaurants, new study reveals - Telegraph
The French love burgers to?
Today, however, the tables have turned. In a culinary revolution, three quarters of French restaurants now sell hamburgers and 80 per cent of these say it has become their top-selling dish, according to a new study.
"Le burger" – as the French dub the quintessentially American invention to the despair of linguistic purists of the Académie Française – has become a feature of even the most illustrious eateries.
Indeed, such is its success that sales are set to overtake those of the classic "jambon beurre" (ham and butter baguette), the nation's staple lunchtime sandwich.
Last year, the French chomped their way through 1.19 billion burgers, an 11 per cent rise on the previous year, while "le jambon beurre" fell to 1.23 billion.
"Burger mania (in France) is unstoppable," declared Bernard Boutboul, head of Gira Conseil, the food consultancy behind the study.
"If it goes on like this, then one can assume that within two years sales of the jambon-beurre and burger will be neck and neck."
In truth, the French have long been lovers of burgers in fast-food outlets. France is McDonald's biggest market in the world outside of the US and was practically the only nation in the world where the chain posted a rise in sales last year.
However, Mr Boutboul said the reason for the burger's phenomenal success in France has been its spread from fast-food to more traditional sit-down restaurants, even top-tier ones.
"The weight of McDonald's, Quick (a French fast food chain) and Burger King is derisory as it only represents a third of the 1.10 billion burgers sold in 2016," he told AFP.
The French press remarked that gastronomic times have decidedly changed.
"This meat, cheese and sauce between two baps was once the perfect portrait of 'malbouffe' (cr** food)," wrote Corse Matin.
Today, however, "from basic fast food to Michelin-starred restaurants, the hamburger is taking root; More than a fad, it has become a way of life … the dish is no longer out of place in any surrounding or decor."
Indeed, the burger can be found at such top-notch restaurants as Alain Ducasse's Le Relais du Parc or Joêl Robuchon's L'Atelier.
Speaking about the rise of the burger, Mr Boutboul said: "It all started in 2010 when the Michelin-starred chef Yannick Alléno launched his burger à la carte in the Le Maurice (a Parisian five-star hotel) and won the title 'best burger in the world'. That was the beginning of interest in this sandwich, which was until then a little derided."
However, it seems the French still have some way to go to catch up with Britain and other "Anglo-Saxon" countries on the burger front.
According to the NPD Groupe, "if in France we have reached 14 burgers consumed per person per year, the UK is on 20, the US on 30 and Australia on 38".
France is set to see a new invasion of burger joints in the coming months with Five Guys, the high-end hamburger chain that Barack Obama once dubbed "the best in the world", opening its first outlet at Paris' Gare du Nord train station in the coming weeks.
The burger's success has taken its toll on the "jambon-beurre", seen as the benchmark French lunch sandwich and which has lost ground as its average price has risen by almost 13 per cent in five years to €2.84.
"The jambon-beurre was once again under attack in 2015 by différents sandwichs with bread and toppings including the burger, which is hot on its heels," said Mr Boutboul.
The figures came three years after traditional sit-down restaurants, long a sacrosanct part of the French way of life, were dethroned by fast food for the first time, with hamburgers, pasta and gourmet sandwiches taking their toll on classic Gallic cuisine.
The sit-down meal has suffered from the dwindling amount of time the French – long reputed to be lovers of the long lunch – spend on their meals.
The average time spent on meal in France has dropped from an hour and 20 minutes in 1975 to less than half an hour today.
'Le burger' now top selling dish in French restaurants, new study reveals - Telegraph
The French love burgers to?
?
. Sweden's Surströmming was classified as a chemical weapon by the UN, and don't even get me started on Ireland.
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