A fries or croquette from the frying fat, more and more people don’t want to know anything about it anymore. The airfryer is on the rise and 29-year-old Jules Paquay sees a gap in the market. In Eindhoven he starts the first airfryer snack bar in the Netherlands. Not only the fries, but also the guest imagines himself in hot air. The interior resembles a hot air balloon.
Crispy fries that are ready just as quickly as the fries from the existing snack bar. That was Paquay’s aim when he developed his concept.
Anyone who has ever turned on the airfryer at home knows that the device takes longer than the old-fashioned chip pan. Paquay’s air fryers are different. They are large appliances, specially developed for the catering industry. “It contains a kind of basket that rotates, extremely hot air is blown through it. It can hold 2.5 kilos of fries at a time. After five minutes, he throws the fries out himself.”
There are four of those machines in the Eindhoven store. They are not for sale yet, they are still being developed.
The very first is not Paquay. In 2015, another entrepreneur also tried a similar concept. They just didn’t use special catering air fryers, but the ‘normal’ ones that are also for sale to private individuals. “You then have to wait a long time and they don’t get as crispy as in these machines,” explains Paquay. He is therefore confident that his concept will succeed.
“A portion of fries contains about 35 percent less fat,” explains the entrepreneur. With this he hopes to attract customers who are looking for a more conscious choice. Yet that is not its only goal. If it’s up to Jules, French fries are no longer a bad quick bite. “Eating fries has always been sinful for people, but everyone loves it. We want to present it as a full meal, it doesn’t have to be unhealthy anymore.”
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Paquay will first test the machines and the concept for a year. If it turns out to be as successful as he hopes, he’ll want more business. “In Maastricht or Breda. In the south they appreciate luxury fries.”
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