He was already a kebab benchmark in Caen, but since he appears in the lyrics of the Norman rapper Orelsan, he has become an institution. Esmaeil, founder of the Magic Beau Gosse opened its doors to us and looks back on its history.
“Thank you Handsome kid!“, “With pleasure. You come back whenever you want!“It has become the emblem of the restaurant: an affectionate nickname given to all the customers who pass by for a kebab in front of the Leroy Tower. The promise of a warm moment that its founder, Esmaeil, was keen to establish from the start. “We don’t know the clients’ first names so I started calling everyone like that“, he laughs.
Today, the name “Magic Beau Gosse” resonates well beyond the Caen fortifications, everywhere in France, and this, in particular thanks to the words of the Norman rapper Orelsan, taken from his last album. Civilisation, released on November 19.
“Ah bah it’s clean (It’s clean) Five o’clock in the morning ‘on the port, one last shot (Last shot) It’s for my city, beautiful kid’s magic sauce (Magic sauce, magic sauce)”
Orelsan
“From the clean”, album “Civilization”, released on November 19
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For Esmaeil, his wife and his three sons, who have known Orelsan and Ablaye since childhood, it is a great proof of recognition. “After twenty-two years, he gives us strength, it’s great”, rejoices Ahmad, the son. Behind these words, there is also the story of a family business that has never ceased to team up to make a living from its passion for cooking.
In reality, their Caen adventure begins a kilometer away, rue d’Auge, near the station. At the time, the whole family, of Iranian origin, arrived straight from Alençon, where they had lived for two years, after having obtained their political refugee status. Two years during which Esmaeil goes on odd jobs in Paris and travels every day between the capital and Normandy.
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Two years later, in 2000, when Esmaeil could not find a job in Alençon, the family decided to move to Caen, with one idea in mind: to open a restaurant. A few brushstrokes later, La Panthère rose was born, rue d’Auge, in homage to the color given to the walls. Ahmad, his son, remembers.
“My dad had white paint and red paint, so he mixed it all together to paint the walls pink.”
Ahmad, manager of Magic Beau Gosse and son of Esmaeil
to France 3 Normandy
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Initially, the days are long and tiring. “One day, I even fell asleep at work, during off-peak hours, I was so exhausted“, remembers his father.
Up from 9 a.m. and sometimes until 3 or even 4 a.m., Esmaeil and his wife are working hard to keep their business going. Fortunately, they are supported by their three sons, Ali, Ahmad and Hamid, who quickly get involved.
“Every Saturday Ahmad helped me bake bread for the week.”
Esmaeil, founder of Magic Beau Gosse
to France 3 Normandy
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After making a name for themselves near the station, they moved in front of the Leroy Tower, in 2005, to be closer to the city center. But there, the competition is tough. The family must find a place for itself among the big names in Caen kebab, established for years, such as the Golden Horn.
“At the time there were no social networks so to advertise and warn people who knew us of our move, it was complicated”, says Ahmad.
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“Initially, the margins were slim, so we started to extend our opening hours”Ahmad recalls. Very quickly, the Magic Beau Gosse thus established itself as a privileged place for Caen students, looking to eat, in the middle of the night.
We come back to the words of Orelsan, who, in From clean, pays homage to the city of Caen. Her song is like the illustration of those drunken evenings that end “on the Haven” de Caen, a few meters from the kebab which itself stays open late at night.
“What we wanted was to offer a quality meal, even to drunk young people returning from the evening.”
Ahmad, manager of Magic Beau Gosse and son of Esmaeil
to France 3 Normandy
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For him, it is important to show that kebab does not necessarily mean unhealthy or bad for health, especially “when you pay attention to the products you put in”.
Because if there is one thing that makes the essence of Magic Beau Gosse, it is this: fresh and homemade products. This has been the specificity of the family since they started at La Panthère rose and, when they arrive in front of the Leroy tower, they fully intend to continue this momentum.
The kebab they offer is presented as a “mix de cultures” and flavors, inspired by Iranian cuisine. The meat, the sauce … Everything is homemade; even the fries, which come from a farm in the region.
As the kebab grows, success sets in and myths are created. There is first that of the famous magic sauce, quoted in the Norman rapper’s album. A mixture of samurai sauce and white sauce, prepared “with love” and which only the leader, Esmaeil, has the secret.
Then comes the idea of the cone-shaped pita bread, a visual unique to the house, which differs from the rectangular brick-shaped taco-style breads that we usually see. “All these ideas, I have had them over the years, and they have all contributed to the history of the restaurant”, explains Esmaeil.
Initially called the “Délices de la Tour Leroy”, the restaurant became the “Magic Beau Gosse”, in homage to the nickname and the sauce that made it so successful.
For financial reasons, the family sometimes thought about going industrial, but each time Esmaeil refused. For him, it was essential that they continue to cook with passion.
“In a profession, it is important that there is love. We had to continue to prepare and cook with love.”
Esmaeil, founder of Magic Beau Gosse
to France 3 Normandy
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While they had always done everything between them, in family, Esmaeil and his sons decide to take reinforcement and to hire employees from 2013. All come from an immigrant background: a way for them to wink look at their past experience and help those job seekers obtain their papers.
Then, around 2017-2018, the family formed a SARL company (Limited liability company). “My father, my mother, Ali, Hamid and I. We are all employees of the company”, explains Ahmad.
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Today, Esmaeil says he is proud of the recognition they have obtained. “All the love you get, messages of support are better than money. It is precisely for this reason that I can say today that I have succeeded.”
Far from the spit for a few years, Esmaeil remains the face of the Magic Beau Gosse and never stays too far from the restaurant. His head, taken from a photograph taken in Iran, in his native country, has been throne on the front of the restaurant since they changed the logo in 2018.
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