William Saurin – renowned French producer of premium ready meals for over 100 years – and Crown Food Europe – leading producer of cutting edge metal packaging, are joining together today with 2-star Michelin chef Olivier Bellin (L'Auberge des Glazicks) to demonstrate a new canned ready meal concept that can be made to the highest levels of quality and taste using only the finest ingredients.

Ferrandi Paris – the French School of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management, is playing host to the three partners alongside prestigious journalists and other guests ready for a day of culinary excellence and gusto centred around canned ready meals. The collaboration between these three experts will highlight the possibility of creating high-quality, tasty, nutritious and sustainable meals packaged in cans.

Chef Bellin had “carte blanche” to create an outstanding menu of two new recipes: Duck Pot au Feu and a vegetarian meal of buckwheat quinoa with glazed carrots and ginger and thyme butter. While the meals are being prepared, expert nutritionist Ysabelle Levasseur will share how canned foods have the potential to deliver health benefits that are on par with those of fresh foods. Crown’s metal packaging plays an integral role in locking in the flavour and nutritional values of the ingredients, as well as extending the shelf life and adding convenience of use for consumers.

“The concept we are testing today demonstrates the superior qualities of canned food. By combining the best ingredients, recipe, process and packaging, consumers have access to tasty and nutritionally balanced meals. The cans have been customized for this new product and like all our packaging, deliver on convenience, safety and recyclability,” commented Laetitia Durafour, Marketing Director of Crown Food Europe.

The 400g cans housing the ready meals feature a peelable opening and a lid with clip-on hook, allowing for a clean and convenient opening that can be re-closed. Thus, consumers are able to manage portion control effortlessly, with the can adapting to appetites both small and big.

Vincent Miginiac, Chief Strategy & Marketing Officer at William Saurin, said: “The dishes we have developed are the result of sustained work and attention to detail of everyone involved in this collaboration. Chef Olivier Bellin came to our laboratories several times to exchange on the combination and ratio of ingredients needed to achieve a perfectly balanced result. Our Research & Development teams sterilised and finalised the recipes with the chef. We salute Crown’s pivotal role in the packaging of these premium products. We all share in the belief that metal is the preferred sustainable packaging option that is perfect for these unique recipes.”

Ysabelle Levasseur, dietitian-nutritionist and self-confessed gourmet, commented on the Duck Pot au Feu: “This recipe from chef Olivier Bellin is not only tasty, but above all, is well balanced in terms of nutrition. It can be a main course for one or two people, with the total portion containing less than 530 calories – constituting a normal energy intake during a meal. This recipe ‘has it all’ and is delicious!”