Prince pays poetic tribute to 'le rosbif britannique'

As the Prince of Wales gave the French an oration on the mystical qualities of British beef, one of the top restaurateurs in Paris declared yesterday that he was prepared to be the first man in France to risk putting rosbif britannique on his menu once again.

At a reception at the British ambassador's residence in Paris, the Prince exhorted representatives of the French catering industry to combat the lingering post-BSE crisis prejudices of their countrymen. France lifted its embargo in October – three years after other EU countries – but has yet to import so much as a Cornish pasty.

Inviting 100 guests to tuck into a Welsh black heifer from Pembrokeshire, the Prince gave a poetic speech, praising the roast beef of old England (and Scotland and Wales) as not just a "lump of meat" but the symbol of "an entire culture, the culture of the family farm". Not since one of his ancestors supposedly knighted a succulent roast as "sir loin" has a member of British royalty spoken so enthusiastically of the qualities of a joint of beef.

"It represents the ancient tapestry of rural life," the Prince said, "the dedicated animal husbandry, the struggle with the natural elements, the love of landscape, the childhood memories, the knowledge and wisdom learnt from parents and grandparents, the intimate understanding of local climate and conditions, the hopes and fears of succeeding generations."

The same could be said of French wine, he said. "Nothing accompanies the flavour of British beef more than a glass of good French red wine. So eat British beef, drink French wine and preserve a precious heritage for generations to come."

During the reception, Jacques Cagna, one of the most celebrated meat chefs in France, told The Independent he was ready to take the Prince at his word. M. Cagna, who has a starred restaurant on the left bank of the Seine and runs four other brasseries in Paris specialising in meat dishes, said: "Top-quality British beef, like black Aberdeen Angus or Welsh, is the best you can buy. It is fantastic. Much better than French beef. It will be a risk to put it on my menus again, but I'm ready to try."

M. Cagna's restaurant on the Rue des Grands Augustins in the sixth arrondissement of Paris was the first in France to promote quality British beef 10 years ago. "I was the first then and I am ready to be the first again," M. Cagna said. "I am in discussions already. There are some risks for me. Safety fears have not gone away. But I hope to be able to advertise it on my menu, not as 'British beef', but as 'black Aberdeen Angus beef' or 'prime Welsh beef'. Then everything should be fine."

British meat industry officials at the embassy reception said very little beef had been sold to any EU country since Brussels lifted the embargo in 1999. They were confident, however, that top quality restaurants in France and Italy would soon lead the way and markets for cheaper cuts of meat would follow.

How a nation's tastes have changed

* About seven million people in Britain eat no meat.

* By the end of the foot-and-mouth crisis more than a third of Britons had stopped eating red meat or were considering forgoing it.

* Britons ate 1.2 million tonnes of beef in 1970 but just 739,000 in 1996 and 933,000 last year.

* During the Napoleonic Wars the British navy gave its sailors 208lb (95kg) of beef a year.

* Writers and artists inspired by British beef include William Shakespeare, Henry Fielding, James Gillray and William Hogarth.

* Britain exported 274,000 tonnes of beef in 1995 but exports little more than 300 tonnes a year now.