France is known for its food. Yet you might be surprised by who actually makes your restaurant meals writes The Economist:

• According to one group almost a third of all French restaurants serve you food prepared by somebody else, outside the restaurant. Others suggest the proportion is much higher.
• This is why it is not uncommon to see small eateries with implausibly long menus.
• Restaurants are doing this because the costs of raw materials have risen…and frozen or ready-made dishes are so much cheaper.
• French restaurants don’t have the option of passing higher prices onto their customers since consumers are opting for cheaper food in Europe’s troubled economic times.
• France’s government has just passed legislation that requires restaurants to disclose when the food is actually prepared by a restaurant’s own kitchen…versus being bought from somewhere else.

Read more about France’s eating scene, the rise and fall of fast food, and what experts have to say over here.

Source: The Economist