French MPs have approved a bill forcing restaurants to label as "home-made" dishes which were prepared from raw ingredients in their kitchen.

The "fait maison" label on menus is aimed at curbing the practice of buying in pre-cooked meals from outside, microwaving them and passing them off as freshly made.

Restaurants marking dishes as "fait maison" fraudulently will be fined.

The Senate (upper house) still has to back the bill for it to become law.

MPs from both the ruling Socialist Party and opposition centre-right UMP called for the measure to be obligatory, overruling Business and Tourism Minister Sylvia Pinel, who did not want it to go that far.

"We're making things more transparent and restoring our trade's respectability," said Didier Chenet, head of restaurant federation Synhorcat.

"Clients will know what to expect. The problem right now is that you push the door of a restaurant and you don't know if there's actually a chef in the kitchen," he told Reuters news agency.

Really!  I can microwave stuff at home.  If I'm going out to eat, I expect that it was made on the premises. 

Really!  I can microwave stuff at home.  If I'm going out to eat, I expect that it was made on the premises.


Stateside, the Olive Garden and other Darden properties are the worst offenders in this department. When it comes to food, these restaurants aren't as bad as the foodies make it out to be, but they're poor value for money. You're far better off spending your next 5-10 restaurant visits at whatever non-chain restaurants are within a 20-minute drive of wherever you live, and becoming a regular at your favorite two or three.

I agree, Foo!  I've never been to Olive Garden and I don't tend to eat at chain places at all. 

I agree, Foo!  I've never been to Olive Garden and I don't tend to eat at chain places at all.


Why not? ???