In Colmar, in the French region of Alsace, stands the Maison des Têtes, a historic Renaissance-style building constructed in 1609 and later converted into a luxurious five-star hotel by the renowned Relais & Châteaux hospitality group.
Within the same building, Restaurant Girardin offers equally refined culinary experiences both to hotel guests and to those fortunate enough to reserve one of the restaurant’s 18 seats.
Chef Éric Girardin, a talented self-taught professional trained in the world of gastronomy, was awarded his first Michelin star in 2008 while working at La Casserole restaurant in Strasbourg. In 2017, less than a year after opening his new restaurant in Colmar, he was honored once again by the Michelin Guide, which reaffirmed the star-worthy quality of his cuisine.
At Restaurant Girardin, guests dine in a minimalist and elegant setting, enjoying dishes with refined yet authentic flavors, plated with extraordinary care and prepared using Alsatian ingredients, with a special emphasis on vegetables. As Éric Girardin explains:
“I choose my ingredients according to their freshness, their local origin and their seasonality. I prefer working with local producers, especially when it comes to vegetables.”
Genuine local ingredients, ideally sourced within a very short supply chain, are therefore central to his philosophy. He continues:
“We have focused on local sourcing, sustainable development and seasonal produce. We also have a small garden of herbs and flowers.”
Sustainability, attention to detail and the pursuit of quality: guided by these principles—and with a Michelin star to his name—Éric Girardin approached VS Veicoli Speciali in 2023.
Ma Fabrique du Burger is born, with its three high-end food trucks
Girardin’s idea was to elevate the hamburger — a staple of popular European cuisine — to the status of a gourmet dish. Strictly speaking, the idea itself was not entirely new, but it took on a fresh originality when reimagined for street food by a great chef.
This is how the Ma Fabrique du Burger project took shape, developed together with his business partner Alexis Schotter. The plan involved purchasing three burger trucks to be stationed in Colmar and in other towns across the region, including Wintzenheim, Rouffach, Mittelwihr, Sélestat, Horbourg-Wihr and Ribeauvillé.
To sell gourmet burgers created by a Michelin-starred chef on the street, ordinary food trucks simply would not do. Just as with his restaurant in Colmar, Girardin wanted work vehicles worthy of his reputation.
For this reason, he turned to a manufacturer capable of creating food trucks that were efficient, elegant and meticulously finished in every detail—just like his dishes.
VS Veicoli Speciali perfectly understood Girardin’s requirements and translated them into three high-end burger trucks, equipped with professional kitchens and an optimized design.
From Monday to Friday, at both lunch and dinner service, the three burger trucks operate from their respective locations, using self-contained electric battery systems to prepare six different burgers born from the chef’s creativity.
As Girardin further states: “Whether in a Michelin-starred restaurant or in a food truck, the approach is the same: you are cooking. What matters is that the product is properly cooked and properly seasoned.”
And customers flock in large numbers to sample this Michelin-inspired street food. Some come from far away, drawn by the chef’s reputation; others are passing through; and many are local residents and workers—true food lovers with an appreciation for fine cooking.
The Ma Fabrique du Burger business model also includes the option of renting the burger trucks for private parties, corporate events and ceremonies.
A carefully conceived and expertly executed project, brought to life along the Franco-Italian axis.
