French turn to British ready meals

We Brits have long had an appalling reputation amongst the French for our food - but that seems to be changing.

French workers are flocking to buy their lunchtime salads and sandwiches from Marks & Spencer, and British delicacies such as Stilton and curries are becoming increasingly popular.

A report from Visit Britain this summer revealed that one third of French tourists buy British food to take with them when they go. And they carry on the habit when they get home: posh crisps from the likes of Tyrells have become known as "English crisps", and Marks & Spencer's best-selling ready meal in Paris is now chicken tikka masala.

Marks & Spencer has had a chequered history in France. After a highly-successful start, it pulled out of the country in 2001, closing or selling all its shops.

However, it re-entered the French market in 2011, opening a flagship store on the Champs-Élysées, selling food as well as women's wear and lingerie. And British food is now so popular there that products such as Scottish pancakes and Devon scones sell better than they do in some of the company's biggest UK stores.

Marks & Spencer now has 10 stores in Paris selling food, and plans to double this number over the next two years through a franchise partnership with Relay France.

"M&S Food is in much demand globally," says Steve Rowe, M&S executive director of food. "We're putting M&S Food on the map over the next five years. Western Europe is our focus, and finding the right partners and locations is vital to the success of our plan to have the optimal food store portfolio in this time."

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Meanwhile, Pret a Manger - a British chain, despite its name - recently opened its 11th store in Paris.

"In Paris the quality of food is good but the speed of service is not particularly fast," Pret's marketing director Mark Palmer tells the Guardian.

"There was demand for high quality food at pace. Pret offers more variety and innovation than is available in the more traditional areas of the trade. More and more people want a choice of food on the go."

Costa Coffee, owned by Whitbread, has also been opening new branches in France.

However, this new-found love of all things British isn't necessarily reciprocated. Earlier this year, John Lewis boss Andy Street claimed that the food in London was better than that in Paris, prompting a furious outcry. "He should go back and eat his fish and chips," commented one restaurant worker. "Our country's food is by far the best."

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