Lord Byron once quipped that “wine cheers the sad, revives the old and inspires the young”. The latter is certainly true for one French entrepreneur, who has combined the country’s love of wine, cheese and chocolate with the escape game trend to create a new concept: food gaming.
Bertrand Castaing, 36, came up with the idea in 2016, when he and friend Corentin Quemener, founder of the Autres Vignes wine cellars, opened the first Les Petits Crus wine and cheese-tasting bar in Paris.
It sat above a small but lovely stone cellar, a space Mr Castaing felt was going to waste.
They initially thought of holding oenology [wine-tasting] classes in the 20m2 room but realised it was not really a good fit.
“We did one or two but it didn't really resemble the DNA of the little streets and we were trying to make oenology accessible to everyone,” he said.
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Fun wine-tasting in France
They then wondered how to make a wine-tasting course more fun. “It's not about having someone talk about wine for an hour or an hour-and-a-half, it's about getting people to participate and discover things for themselves,” Mr Castaing said.
“That's when I came up with the idea of combining wine-tasting courses with what was being done well at the time, which was escape games.”
Using resources from the restaurant meant costs were minimised and nothing went to waste. “These two concepts are very compatible, and it's a great showcase for the products from the Les Petits Crus restaurant,” he said.
After contacting a company that created escape games to help with the set-up, the first food gaming experience took place in Paris in 2018, when François Bourgon, a Meilleur Ouvrier de France-lauded fromager, joined the team.
As the Les Petits Crus restaurant franchise expanded, so food gaming was brought to Toulouse, Clermont-Ferrand, Bourges and Lyon.
Wine, cheese or chocolate?
There are three games to choose from: wine gaming, cheese gaming and chocolate gaming. Each has its own particular characteristics but they all feature an overarching story, as well as documents to read and clues to follow.
“For the wine one, the aim of the game is to ‘free’ a bottle of wine that is locked up. There are five tastings with riddles in between, amounting to around 15 wines in total.
You have one hour to get out of the room but there's no pressure – you can enjoy it calmly. It's more about tasting wine and learning things, such as identifying corked bottles, wood or tannins,” Mr Castaing said.
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The cheese game is similar, with a blend of tastings and cheese and wine pairings, as well as clues to solve.
The chocolate gaming experience is the most family friendly and also the closest to a traditional escape game.
“The puzzles are more complex than the others. You discover things about chocolate, such as its origins and how it's made,” Mr Castaing said.
Everyone can play food gaming, whether they are French natives or tourists, and the experiences can be translated into English on request.
When asked whether the concept reflects how the hospitality industry increasingly has to innovate to attract customers, Mr Castaing said: “I think that's the way it is – at least, that's how we try to stand out.
“People like to be a little freer to do things at their own pace, to do them as they please. They want to have a good time with their friends and enjoy good products. So I think we need to be innovative and this meets a demand to do things a bit differently.”
Unique experiences in France
As far as he knows, this form of food gaming is unique in France.
“In the wine industry some do this for big companies but the games move around, they aren't in a fixed place. There is also a company that does wine gaming but people just taste a glass or two.”
The wines and cheeses featured in the food gaming experience change all the time, and there are already plans for expansion.
“We need to come up with new games on a regular basis because there's a strong demand. People regularly ask about beer, so that's going to be our next objective. There's a lot of craft beer out there now too and there's a lot to be learned.
“I'm pleased with how it’s gone. I started on my own, but now there are three of us. It is true that when you create things like this, it's good to have people you can bounce ideas off of to improve. It's always nicer to work on things with several people than on your own.”
Find out more at gaming.lespetitscrus.com/food-gaming
Escape games in France
France has some 2,470 escape game rooms offered by 826 firms, according to The Escapers, the largest French-speaking social network dedicated to the world of escape games. Most are based around an investigation/mystery or chills/horror premise.
Unsurprisingly, Paris has the most escape rooms at just over 150, but inhabitants of Bouches-du-Rhône and Girdonde are also well served, with 91 and 79 respectively.
The average price to play is €38 per person for a couple, going down to €26.40 per person if there are four of you.
Looking for recommendations? Every year the platform asks its community to vote for their favourite games across five categories: best venue, best immersive experience, best puzzles, and those with the most mind-blowing effects.
The most recent winners have been spread from Hauts-de-Seine to Vaucluse, with storylines ranging from haunted house mysteries to an adventure in a search of an eminent archaeologist who disappeared on a hunt for the fabled Philosopher's Stone.
Find out more at the-escapers.com
