COTTAGE pie anybody, or would you prefer hachis parmentier? Something might be lost in translation – a little of the mystery, perhaps – but not the flavour. The dishes are one and the same.

The choice between the two represents a dilemma for a French chef in a French restaurant serving mainly English customers in Plymouth.

Didier Franchet strives to be as authentic as possible at Chloe's in Plymouth, and clearly succeeds. The Princess Street restaurant gained a listing in the prestigious Michelin Guide to Great Britain and Ireland this year.

"We source as much as we can locally – our vegetables, meat and day-boat fish from Looe – but some things you just cannot get in the UK," says Didier. "Or not at the quality and price. I go back to France regularly for things like foie gras, and even fruit cordials – I can get two or three here, but 20 in France."

And having got the best that the whole of France and the South West of England can offer, there is that decision over what to call the finished dish.

In truth the hachis parmentier tag shows a little Gallic humour amid the flair. Didier likes to show that even a humble British favourite can be a treat when lovingly prepared and served with a fresh local green leaf salad.

But using mainly French for the dish names elsewhere on the menu reminds customers that what they are getting is as it would be on the other side of the Channel, with one exception: the price.

Due to the falling value of the pound against the euro, the days of bargain meals for British visitors to France are gone, at least temporarily.

There are still food tourists who use the ferry between Plymouth and Roscoff, but there are signs that the flow of trade is being reversed.

"We have quite a few French people who eat at Chloe's and some of them are tourists," says Didier. "I was quite surprised the last time I was in France and I looked at menu prices. We are now a few pounds cheaper than an equivalent restaurant over there."

The restaurant's other mainstays include the business crowd, and the recession has not dented Chloe's appeal for anybody celebrating a special occasion. The pre-show crowd heading to the nearby Theatre Royal enjoy the menu rapide – three courses at £16.50 – and that trade is two-way, too.

Stars' names in Chloe's "golden book" include Lesley Joseph, Paul Nicholas, Patricia Routledge and David Essex.

The chef's own journey was a little longer. Didier trained at the Michelin-starred Chez Serge in his native La Rochelle in south-west France. He has been in Devon seven years, four of them at Chloe's, which he and partner Jo Hocking named after their first daughter, now aged five.

The restaurant has a double celebration this week, the fourth anniversary of opening coinciding with the French Bastille Day celebration on Tuesday . Champagne and charcuterie tastings are planned on the terrace in front of the restaurant and staff will be in the city centre offering flyers with a two-course lunch and glass of wine deal for £12.

Chloe now has a sister, Rochelle, who might also soon have the honour of having a business named after her. The plan is to set up a French produce ordering service, tapping into Didier's contacts and sources on the Continent.

Then customers will be able to have their own take on Didier's fine dining in their own home.

"Classic French with a little twist," is what he calls Chloe's fare, which features duck confit, cassoulet of duck and pork, boeuf bourguignon and roasted monkfish. None of those should be too unfamiliar or need translation for fans of French food. But mouclade charentaise (a saffron-scented, creamy mussel soup) and lapin moutarde (rabbit in mustard sauce) might stretch school French a little further.

There is no real secret to French cooking, Didier says, but the key for him is the quality of the raw ingredients and the attention to detail in preparation and presentation.

"Fine food can be quite simple," he insists, suggesting that any cook can have a go at French classics such as onion soup and steak tartare.

So French without tears it is. Well, apart from when you peel the onions for the soup.

Chloe's, Princess Street, Plymouth, 01752 201523 (www.chloesrestaurant.co.uk). Open Tuesdays to Saturdays for lunch and dinner. Pre-theatre 5.30-7.30pm.