The Rennes listeners of France Inter may have had the surprise, on May 12, to hear on the air the name of a small restaurant in Blosne: La Grenouille à grande bouche. If the Breton batrachian was cited, it was not for its stew of beef in red wine or its sponge cake with strawberry marmalade, but for the participatory review that bears its name. The title blows its second candle. It caught the eye of La Chronique de moment M in particular because it donates its profits to local associations. Perhaps also because the review is sponsored by François-Régis Gaudry, host and producer of the program On va deguster on the same radio station.
Nevertheless: in two years, this quarterly, “the first culinary mook of society”, has carved out a small reputation at the national level, beyond the waves of the public service. We can see a “confinement effect” which tends to highlight positive initiatives of this ilk. The graphic touch of its covers, which humorously diverts the canons of the advertisements of yesteryear, may also have something to do with it. Unless that was his radical editorial line: the first issue was entirely devoted to… soup. In all its forms. The recipe for miso soup was there alongside a report on the marauding of the soup kitchen in Rennes. Here we find the slogan of the title: “society through what we eat”.
Bet won for the restaurant team
The 112-page magazine was launched in the spring of 2019 by the team of the restaurant La Grenouille à grande bouche, located at Place de Torigné. Its goal was then to “re-enchant food with an independent and participatory magazine, distributed throughout France, in newsstands and in bookstores”.
Bet won? Yes, trumpet the team. “Recognized by food and gastronomy professionals, it has made a real place for itself in the landscape of long-term reviews”. For its ninth issue, devoted to travels and “culinary odysseys”, the Frog goes up one level and goes from 4,000 to 12,000 copies. Contents: the discovery of Grain de Sail, sailing cargo transport, Bertrand Larcher, founder of Breizh Café, recipes from Afghanistan, Morocco, Georgia…
“We are living in a time of major transition where food is at the heart of environmental, economic, social and cultural issues”, explain the creators, Fanny, Nathanaël and Louise. “Often what we eat is involved in many political and activist debates. We wanted to bring people around the same table ”. Organized as a cooperative (Scic), the team has 10 permanent employees and calls on around fifteen professionals for each issue of the journal.
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