Hip Paris cafe chain offers lease of life to disabled workers
Print Edition
It is a hip-looking cafe like any other in central Paris, thronged with lunchtime dinners. Except that Joyeux has a little something extra 鈥 many of its cooks and waiters have one more chromosome.
The coffee shop is the latest in a chain of lunch joints springing up across France staffed by people with Down syndrome, autism and other cognitive disabilities.
鈥淛oyeux鈥 means joyous and owner Yann Bucaille Lanzerac said he plans to spread the joy to at least four more outlets across France giving disabled people the chance to show what they can do and earn a living. Foodie and commis chef Charles has been dreaming for years about cooking in a real restaurant.
鈥淚鈥檓 really happy,鈥 the 36-year-old with autism said as he prepared gluten-free chickpea stew and osso buco. 鈥淚鈥檝e wanted to cook for a long time, so my dream has come true. I was sick of just being a dishwasher.鈥
Waitress Mathilde, 20, who has Down syndrome, said the cafe has already helped her expand her skills as she helped with last-minute preparations for its grand opening, when French first lady Brigitte Macron dropped in for a quick bite.
鈥淚 have already worked in a restaurant, preparing food. Here I am at the counter and I like it. I have learned how to become a barista and make coffee and to serve tables,鈥 she added.
The cafe, in the Opera area popular with tourists, is full of playful touches with customers given a piece of Lego Duplo when they order at the counter. The food then comes out of the kitchen on a tray with a matching piece of the same color.
Hit on TripAdvisor
Owner Bucaille Lanrezac, a green energy entrepreneur, came up with the idea with his wife, Lydwine, when they took some disabled people on a charity sailing trip on a catamaran off Brittany.
鈥淥ne of the guys, Theo, who has autism, said to me, 鈥楥aptain, you wouldn鈥檛 have a job for me?鈥欌
After Lanrezac, 48, told him that he did not, Theo鈥檚 disappointment pushed him to 鈥渢hink of a business that would allow us to employ disabled people,鈥 he said.
The first Joyeux coffee shop opened in Rennes in December 2017, and it already has one of the best scores on TripAdvisor in the western French city.
Others offering vegan and gluten-free options are due to follow in Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon and Lille, with all profits going to charity. With disabled people twice as likely to be jobless, the mother of one of the Joyeux staff said her son has 鈥渂ecome the Fabien that we love again, full of humor and enthusiasm鈥 since he started to work.
鈥淚t has become his passion,鈥 she added.
鈥淧ersonally, I get much more joy being with people who are different than in a world of the survival of the fittest where everyone鈥檚 trying to win, to succeed, to be the best,鈥 Bucaille Lanrezac said. 鈥淎 person with Down syndrome is closer to what鈥檚 essential. We sometimes run very fast (in life), but are we always running in the right direction?鈥
French disabilities minister Sophie Cluzel also visited the cafe after its opening on World Down Syndrome Day, meeting the three managers who lead the team of 20 disabled staff.
Work psychologist Laure Germain said staff do the jobs which best suit their talents and capabilities rather than their disability.
Working hours are adapted to how quickly each person gets tired.
鈥淥ur objective is that everyone should be able to work autonomously at their work station,鈥 she said.
Some staff have uniforms with Velcro straps rather than buttons, and one of the cooks has a specially adapted chopping board.
鈥淲ith the coffee machine, for instance, some staff were not sure which way to turn the handle so we have used numbers and pictograms to make it clear,鈥 the psychologist said.
鈥淪ome people with Down syndrome are well capable of reading, writing and using a wide vocabulary, while others cannot write and have difficulty expressing themselves,鈥 said Germain, who said the trick was finding the job that best suited each individual.
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