The three strengths of Restô & Cie which invoices its small dishes balanced by weight to avoid waste

• Restô & Cie opened its doors in June 2020 in Bègles after responding to a call for projects launched by the city of Bègles.
• The restaurant bills its small dishes balanced by weight and they are taken in compostable or returnable dishes.
• The co-managers welcome people in reintegration into work placements and try to recruit an asylum seeker who is currently working on a voluntary basis.

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It is not a restaurant like the others and this in several ways. Restô & Cie opened in June 2020 at Chapito in Bègles, after being selected following a call for projects launched by the ecological city. Backed by the cultural department and the social center of the city, it aims to offer balanced catering and committed to zero waste, especially during circus evenings, concerts, after-works …

Due to the health situation, Restô & Cie has refocused on a lunch buffet which appeals to local customers, made up of employees and students. Nicolas Baillet and his partner Magali Baillet stay the course and smile, offering a buffet of small dishes every lunchtime and pastry workshops.

A buffet by weight, for all appetites

“We offer four cold dishes and four hot dishes,” explains Magali Baillet. Each time there is at least one meat, one fish, always starchy foods, vegetables, fruits and a dessert a little greedy. We try to balance our proposals as much as possible. »In this buffet, customers are billed by the weight of their plates. “This allows you to eat your fill, limit waste and do according to your budget tip Magali Baillet. If you want, you can taste everything but in small quantities. We are far from the all-you-can-eat buffet, where the products are often industrial. Everything here is homemade, on site with local products, a good part of which is organic. “

Nicolas Cajal, the chef, has a particular affection for healthy cuisine after nine years spent in a restaurant in Eugénie les Bains linked to the cuisine of chef Michel Guérard. “We offer instinctive cuisine, as open as possible,” said his partner.

A balanced complete dish costs on average between 8 to 10 euros, even if it depends on appetites and budgets and with dessert, it takes between 12 and 13 euros.

A waste reduction approach

Customers leave with their small dishes served in compostable or returnable glass dishes. “We have zero plastic on the site,” emphasizes the co-manager. In kitchens, the same watchword is to reduce waste as much as possible. “This means that we use the products from A to Z. By the head or the bones of a fish whose flesh we have used for the buffet, we will use it to make a juice, a sauce”, explains Magali Baillet. The peelings that do not find their place in a recipe are composted and soon Les jardins éphémères (shared urban vegetable garden) could recover this compost.

Recruitment of people in integration

The couple hired a young girl on a professionalization contract through the association for local development and employment (Adele) which deals with the integration of people in difficulty. Considering that there will be four of them when they resume their activity normally, he tries to hire an asylum seeker from Azerbaijan who now works as a volunteer. “We have taken all the necessary steps with the prefecture to hire him as soon as we can,” explains Magali Baillet. We also welcome third year interns and, as part of a partnership with stars and women, we also welcome women in difficulty who wish to be reintegrated into the restaurant business ”.

Since January, the couple has also offered cooking and pastry workshops (free) on Wednesday mornings for two hours. More than a restaurant, Restô & Cie aims to be an economic player committed to the social life of the neighborhood.

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