Lobster tournedos doesn’t seem like a natural choice for a frozen food entree. But for the chefs at Cuisine Solutions, the dish takes its place besides Crab Wellington in lemon herb broth, kobe beef short ribs, and black truffle and celery root puree as one of many items the Alexandria-based frozen food company prepares for airlines, hotels, premier chefs and even the Super Bowl.
French-born Stanislas Vilgrain first founded Vie de France Corporation in 1979, offering bakery products to clients in the restaurant and hospitality industry. In 1989, the company’s focus switched to high-end frozen dishes and became Cuisine Solutions.
Cuisine Solutions has helped pioneer the popularity of the sous vide, or “under vacuum,” method of food preparation in the United States
Sous vide involves slow-cooking food in water and then freezing it in vacuum-sealed pouches so it can be easily reheated to a precise temperature. Though popular in Europe among first-tier restaurants for years, the method has only recently become appreciated by the top chefs in the United States, Cuisine Solutions Vice President of Global Sales Gerard Bertholon said.
Cuisine Solutions has trained top chefs such as Michel Richard of Citronelle in D.C. and Thomas Keller of New York’s Per Se’s in the method, Vilgrain said.
The company has also managed to snag top chefs as permanent employees; Bertholon was renowned in New York for his work at La Panetièr, and Executive Chef Bruno Bertin hails from Daniel in New York.
“It’s 20 times better here,” said Bertin, whose experiments yield creations like salmon shanks and souffles that stay risen for 30 minutes.
Though many may find it surprising that a 250-employee factory in an Alexandria industrial park ships 250,000 meals daily, Cuisine Solutions has achieved recognition in business circles.
Vilgrain was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young on Thursday.
“You won’t last in this company if you don’t have passion,” Bertholon said.
The company has expanded into new marketplaces; according to Vilgrain, it has found success in the retail sector, selling meals in stores such as Wegman’s, and doing military food service.
Cuisine Solutions may next try cultivating meals for diabetics and others with dietary restrictions, Vilgrain said.
