Sous vide's popularity still lukewarm in U.S

Nation's Restaurant News, Dec 16, 1991 by Robin Lee Allen

NEW YORK -- Sous vide, for many years a popular way to make upscale meals available at both the "in" and the out-of-the-way restaurants of Europe, has failed yet to find the same acclaim in the United States.

Although often heralded as the next culinary coming, sous vide has continued to arouse American foodservice operator's concerns about freshness, safety and, most important, public perception, suppressing its use.

However, many foodservice operators and sous-vide manufacturers, noting the advantages of convenience and decreased labor costs, still predict the procedure will be widely used here. And, little by little, experience and economics are changing the once-hesitant attitudes restricting its growth.

Sous vide now makes its way onto plates at hotels, restaurants, recreational arenas, employee dining rooms and private functions. And by the end of the 1990s, even operators who now resist using sous vide expect their qualms -- and everybody else's -- to disappear.

"By [19]96-97-98 we will see greater use of sous vide in operations and, conversely, in the U.S. as a whole," said Carl Anderson, national director of food services for Canteen Corp., the contract-feeding subsidiary of Spartanburg, S.C.-based TW Services.

Much of sous vide's future, however, depends on changing its negative perceptions, Anderson explained. Canteen will increase its use of the process "if we can figure out a way to convince the public that what they are getting is worth what they are paying for it, which I believe it is," he said. "Up to this point, I don't believe anyone has found the key to convincing the public that it's not leftovers."

Sous vide, French for "under vacuum," was jointly developed in France by a chef and food scientist during the 1070s. In the sous-vide process, foods are vacuum-packed in plastic pouches, cooked and then immediately chilled or frozen for storage. Sous-vide foods are prepared for serving by placing the pouch in a hot-water bath.

Sous-vide proponents tout its convenience. The procedure allows more difficult meals to be made on one site and shipped to others for preparation by a less-talented and less-expensive chef, reducing labour hours, costs and even some kitchen positions--an advantage when the labor supply is tight. The sous-vide pouch also ensures portion control and reduces food shrinkage considerably, which slightly reduces food costs.

But the same plastic pouch that is sous vide's blessing is also its curse. Operators fear that foods prepared ahead of time and then stored conjure up visions of TV dinners and leftovers for customers. That perception goes against the current popularity of fresh food items, which are generally perceived as more healthful and safer.

For those reasons Canteen uses sous vide only in limited instances, such as when an account has only a part-time chef, Anderson said.

"We tend to believe more in fresh preparation at point and time of service, and it has never become well accepted," he said. "It's very misunderstood by the consuming public. Here [in the United States], they perceive anything prepared ahead or held either as reheated or as something you buy in a grocery store."

Although that stigma persists, it is slowing softening, sous-vide manufacturers and marketers said.

"There is no question this is still in infancy stages," said Art Stouffs, vice president of sales for Vie de France. "We are just scratching the surface, but the trend in the use of sous vide is irreversible. It will gather more speed into the future."

"There is intensive interest beginning to develop in other arenas," he added, "such as airlines and chain restaurant companies." The company is also in negotiations to export its sous-vide products to Japan.

Vie de France, based in McLean, Va., opened a 30,000-square-foot sous-vide plant in nearby Alexandria, Va., in 1990. The company has operated a similar plant in France for about eight years.

Vie de France also sells some sous-vide products in its own restaurants and plans to open an entirely sous-vide restaurant within the next year, Stouffs said. The company opened a similar restaurant in Paris about five months ago.

Despite optimism for the future, the sous-vide division has in past quarters been a financial trouble spot for Vie de France, which underwent a rigorous restructuring in the past year that included the sale of its bakery division and many of its restaurants.

In its most recent period, the first quarter ended Sept. 21, Vie de France reported a 26-percent drop in sales to $7.6 million. The decrease was largely related to the sous-vide division, stated company chairman Jean-Louis Vilgrain.

Net losses, however, narrowed for the quarter, to $409,648, from $1.3 million. And sous-vide sales are increasing as the company adds new hotel and airline customers, Vilgrain added.

While Vie de France continues to grow it sous-vide division, some manufacturers have been forced to retreat.

Culinary Brands, the Sausalito, Calif., company that began its sous-vide efforts in 1986, was forced to close its doors in May when Nestle S.A. ended its investments in the venture, saying that sous-vide sales alone could not support operations.