The Original Story of the Cafe de Paris

In 1981, the famous American novelist, Paul Erdman, wrote in his bestseller “The Last Days of America”: “We went to a restaurant near the station, the ‘Café de Paris’ in Geneva, which has the best butter steak of all places you can eat on earth. “What a wonderful compliment! In order to arrive at such international recognition, Cafe de Paris had to continue to please over time, from 1930 to the present day, always with the same passion and the same respect for its customers.

Yesterday

This precious heritage is due to the only real recipe of Café de Paris butter! Indeed, in 1930, Mr. Boubier, then owner of “Restaurant du Coq d’Or” in Geneva, invented for the pleasure of its customers, a very original butter enhanced with multiple spices, herbs and other ingredients giving birth to the true “Café de Paris butter.” Accompanied by a grilled-beef, it very quickly became a great success.

Mr. Boubier then shared his secret recipe to his daughter whose husband, Sir Arthur Francis Dumont, was the owner of the current Café de Paris at 26 Rue du Mont Blanc in Geneva.

The latter had the great idea to turn his establishment, a brewery at the time, into a restaurant offering a unique dish: beef rib steak topped with this exquisite and subtle butter.

This original approach and the ideal location near the train station, very quickly made of this restaurant a famous place. In addition, Mr. Dumont, a man of action and openness, presented this recipe at the National Exhibition in Lausanne in 1964 and more audaciously still at the Universal Exhibition in Montreal in 1967. He even moved to Iran to personally cook for his Highness the Shah. After more than 38 years as head of the Café de Paris, Mr. Dumont who had no direct heir, sold his establishment and secret to Aline Abriel, then keeper of the ‘Parisien’ in Geneva.

This dynamic and energetic little woman knew very quickly how to impose an organization devoted to quality customers and how to adapt to the growth of the restaurant. Her meticulous and structured approach is still one of the strengths of the Café de Paris today. Taking advantage of the presence of multiple international organizations, the restaurant was known and appreciated by many personalities. In 1989, after five years of collaboration, she handed over her establishment to one of her nephews, Mr. François Vouillamoz, so that he continues to manage and maintain its reputation of excellence.

Today

Mr. Vouillamoz, native of the village Isérables in Valais, perfected his professional background at the Hotel School of Geneva, in London and then Corfu where he attended various trainings. Subsequently, he became very quickly accustomed to the management requirements of such an establishment.

Under his leadership, the successive transformations have enabled the Café de Paris to gain in aesthetics, convenience and space to the benefit of its customers. Its interior, Parisian brasseries style of the 1900s and its terrace, located in the pedestrian-street, both ensure that customers are welcomed to a very pleasant atmosphere.

Such pleasure had to be shared! Since 1999, an international development of this wonderful product started. The first franchise was founded in Dubai in 2004 and subsequently, other restaurants opened in Switzerland, Europe and the Persian Gulf. In 2011, the label was changed into “At Boubier” Café de Paris, making reference to its origin.

Tomorrow

Many investors want to be part of the franchise “At Boubier” Café de Paris and benefit not only from its exceptional butter but also from its “savoir-faire” of over 80 years. The company will surely continue its development projects with Mr. Vouillamoz and his children, all working towards its longevity, customer satisfaction and future expansion.

Each generation certainly writes a beautiful story, here and elsewhere, of the unique butter, always imitated but never equalled. However, the best-kept secret is the love for a taste that the client alone can appreciate when he comes in one of our restaurants “Chez Boubier” Café de Paris.