After Resto Days, home delivery. Julien Lucas, the only Michelin-starred chef to take part in the initiative led by the hospitality sector, is also the first to join Wolt. The Finnish platform, which has been operating in Luxembourg since February 2024, is highlighting this as a key selling point: the country has become the first of its markets to offer food delivery from a chef recognised by the Michelin Guide. Worth noting: an €85 lobster is still sitting on the app. In vain: it will never be sold, as word clearly never reached Wolt.

The range is being launched under a separate brand, “Signature by Julien Lucas”. This is a deliberate choice: the aim is not to replicate the Michelin-starred restaurant’s menu, but to offer a range designed for takeaway. “We have carefully designed and created dishes so that customers can experience the same level of refinement and enjoyment at home as they do in the restaurant,” says chef Julien Lucas in a press release.

“We adapt to the customer’s requirements”

The chef denies this, insisting it is not a matter of economic necessity. “It’s not even to save our restaurant or anything like that,” he explains. “It’s mainly that there are opportunities around us and we’re adapting to customer demand.” A line of reasoning which, in his view, applies to the entire Michelin-starred scene in Luxembourg, where brasseries and second restaurants have been springing up.

The catalyst is a change in how we approach lunch. “We used to spend two hours at the table for lunch, drink a bottle of wine and then go back to work. That doesn’t happen any more. Fortunately, in fact,” observes Julien Lucas.

There remains the risk to the star, given that the Michelin Guide also values the dining experience. The chef makes a clear distinction between the two: “Signature by Julien Lucas” is a separate venture, led by him, but distinct from La Villa de Camille et Julien, whose menu is not included in the delivery service. “The two are not linked,” he states firmly, pointing out that this is common practice amongst French Michelin-starred restaurants, including those with three stars.

Wolt takes the same view. “Home delivery is no substitute for the restaurant experience; it’s a completely different experience, in terms of both the food and the atmosphere and service,” says the general manager of Wolt Luxembourg, Tomás Etcheverry, who sees it primarily as a way of introducing the chef’s cuisine to a wider audience.

Eight Croustis, between €8 and €13

In practical terms, the menu is limited to one range: the “Croustis”. These are rectangular pieces of puff pastry shaped like a gutter, filled with gourmet preparations. None of the dishes from the Michelin-starred restaurant are available for delivery.

Eight items are available at launch, priced between €8 and €13. Savoury options include: ham, cheese and black truffle; a reimagined Caesar salad; a Crousti dog with Luxembourgish sausage, served with homemade ketchup, gherkin cream and fried onions; a Crousti with salmon smoked on the premises; and a vegetarian version with pumpkin, Granny Smith apples and mushrooms, set to change with the seasons. There are also three sweet varieties: Saint-Honoré, lemon and chocolate.

Transport has been carefully planned in advance. The “Croustis” are placed in sushi boxes to keep them in place, and the whole thing is eaten cold, which rules out any risk of condensation on the puff pastry.