Any visitor who comes to Lyon wants to eat in a "bouchon". A great symbol of Lyon gastronomy, the cork comes from the tradition of mâchons established by the canuts, silk workers. Associated with Guignol and Gnafron, it offers simple dishes, consisting mainly of pork and all washed down with Beaujolais.

If nowadays the plug is a restaurant where you can taste specialties from Lyon, originally, the term designates a place where you can "chew". In the 19th century, the canuts, who started their day very early, organized sorts of “snacks” around 9 or 10 a.m.: mâchons. It is not a meal strictly speaking, but a snack, often made up of leftovers from the previous day and taken outside traditional restaurants, in a bistro, a wine merchant or at the restaurant. workshop of the canuts. Shared between men, they were often a pretext to talk business between the different actors in the silk industry.

The term "cork" has several meanings: it can refer either to the bouquet of ivy or broom which was hung, in the old regime, at the door of cabarets to differentiate them from inns; either with the straw that the travelers had available in the inns so that they could "cork" their horses before the meal; or more simply, with the cork of bottles, even if in Lyon, the custom is to serve wine in pots and not in bottles.

The corks were originally installed in the Croix-Rousse district, where the canuts lived and worked. According to custom, it is the woman who is in the kitchen, while her husband takes care of the cellar and the dining room. The dishes offered are often made up of leftovers from the day before, which the cooks arrange to avoid waste. Over time the dishes have diversified. Today, the corks offer dishes made with traditional Lyonnais products. These include rosette, grattons, quenelles, cardoon gratin with marrow, charcuterie, sapper apron, andouillette, Lyonnaise salads, kidneys, chicken liver cake, hot sausage or local cheeses. All these dishes are accompanied by wine, usually Beaujolais.