Transcreation and food advertising

Matty Matheson - Soups, Salads, Sandwiches

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Matty Matheson, the chef made famous by The Bear series. We had a quick chat, and when I said I was French, he paused and said “the produce...”. That’s what makes all the difference.

His new recipe book Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, contains a fair amount of French recipes and French ingredients. At this point, I must point out that Matty is Canadian, and it certainly makes a difference.

However, we just mentioned we were from Paris, a long way to see him at the Hackney Empire. But he made a point of expressing his respect for what made French food exceptional.

Speaking about The Bear, I have just watched Carême, the series on Apple TV about the chef who worked for Talleyrand, Napoléon’s foreign minister. In between political intrigues and intimate encounters, we witness his genius in the kitchen, a cross between The Bear, where he is seconded by a black female assistant, and Masterchef, with a constant competition from other chefs and rivals. It’s a riveting watch, I thoroughly recommend.

However, don’t think it’s all about haute cuisine and refined dishes. When he produces a simple gratin dauphinois, nobody is impressed by the idea. It turns out to be fabulous. I had just made one, and indeed I can do one with my eyes closed. No big deal. Which may be more challenging if you’re not French.

This leads me to advertising food for the French market. Even though France is the second market for McDonald's, the French cultural landscape, as far as food and cuisine are concerned, is vastly different from the UK and the US, where global campaigns are conceived.

And that’s where my long experience as a genuine professional in transcreation makes it all important. Being able to analyse and reinterpret campaigns that will suit a local market. Which means getting rid of certain elements and having frank discussions with clients. Not easy but crucial.

No: we don’t have Taco Tuesdays, Friday night takeaways, fry-ups, toad in the hole, roast dinners, sausages and burgers on the BBQ, crisps, snacks, curry, chips with everything, fizzy drinks with our meals.

No: we don’t say spag’ bol’, naughty but nice, a glass of bubbly, a biccy with tea. We don’t feed crowds, we don’t indulge.

In a few words: we don’t do junk food, we are not infantile when we talk about food and drink. UK households consume 57% of processed food, against 14% in France.

Although Southern Europe is more and more subjected to this tendency, people who consume ultra-processed food (up to 30% in France) invariably have inherited a food culture and a savoir-faire sadly absent in the UK and the US.

I worked on a fast grocery delivery service launch in France. They carried out market research about the reasons why people use this kind of service. In France, consumers’ main reason was to buy ingredients to complement a recipe. In the UK, it was to indulge. I found myself having to replace all the snacks and fizzy drinks featured on eCRM and promotional flyers with real food, ingredients you use to make actual dishes. Not grazing and snacking while binge-watching the latest Netflix series.

I also worked for a small kitchen appliances US manufacturer. The challenges were great: from the illustration on packaging for BBQs, recipe books, to the content. Everything had to be replaced, reinterpreted, and deleted. It was a constant battle with the client where everything had to be questioned, from habits to representation.

So, if you think of advertising food or products related to food in Southern Europe, especially, make sure you ask a genuine foreign copywriter and transcreator, not a translator or even someone in your network. Not everyone is aware of the specific issues related to food culture when it comes to advertising.

#frenchcopywriting #transcreation #EMEA #advertising