Associative or homestay, these guinguettes that take a step aside
Not a lake around Toulouse which has not yielded to the furious madness of the summer guinguettes. There is something for all tastes, culinary and musical, for all budgets. These new trendy places often benefit from the experience and know-how of an already established restaurateur and his team. But in this huge wave, there are also more “craftsman” places. Like the associative guinguette night flightwhich, casually, by contenting itself with serving its grilled Toulouse sausage, its braised camemberts or its unpretentious croque-monsieur, is experiencing a much talked about “season 2”.
On this wasteland in the Montaudran district, therefore ephemeral since lent by a public developer, no pro behind the stoves or the printer. All the little hands are volunteers. There are the eight friends from the start who, the day after a harsh confinement, said to themselves that a place was needed to help the little artists who had “quite a lot of morfling”, and then the “friends of friends” who release a Niche to get your hands dirty. This year, the pétanque court got a makeover, and the money from Season 1 was reinvested in a new stage. “So of course, it’s not as square as in other guinguettes but everything is done with the greatest pleasure and that’s what makes the charm of the place”, slips Samuel Simione, who no longer knows if he is the association’s secretary or treasurer and doesn’t really care, as long as we hang out and “feel like we’re out on a date with friends”.
Furniture in pallets for an ecological and citizen guinguette
Elbow grease, good humor, a schedule that’s not always tight and a lot of goodwill. This recipe also played a part in the launch, last weekend, of the “citizen” guinguette in Tournefeuille. The idea of animating the shores of Lac des Pêcheurs other than with occasional angling competitions came from the town’s citizens’ council – the Agora.
The guinguette, open from Friday to Sunday, with its pallet furniture made by an integration project, was set up in four months. “We give priority to family and eco-responsible activities”, underlines Amandine Bonnieux, the president of the association. And for meals, there are trays filled either with products from local merchants, or concocted by restaurants in the area, or a food-truck parked on the site.
The invention of “telework in catering”
The other quirky “establishment”, which benefits from astonishing word-of-mouth, is that of Catherine and Antoine. No lake, no parking lot. And for good reason, the Chut Guinguette is installed in their (very beautiful) garden. To be one of the 25 guests at lunchtime, you have to ring the bell at a blind gate in the Faubourg Bonnefoy.
The couple, catering paella the rest of the year, used to organize big parties with their friends. “But they complained of always seeing the same faces,” jokes Antoine. He annexed his laboratory, built an outdoor kitchen. “We prepare the meals in front of the customers, just the two of us,” says the boss. He does not claim to be a chef, so he prefers “top-flight products” for his unique 35-euro menu. Around the brazier, the place is intimate and makes the pride of the couple who are very happy to have “invented telecommuting in catering”.