Cooking as a remedy for soaring prices. Questioned by readers of Sud-Ouest this weekend, the Minister Delegate responsible in particular for Commerce Olivia Grégoire defended the government’s record in the face of inflation, recalling the various measures put in place in recent weeks.
Recharged by a reader on the explosion in prices of food products on the shelves, Olivia Grégoire also suggested that families favor homemade products over processed products. “We must relearn how to cook raw products, to avoid buying more expensive “ready-made” products,” argued the delegate minister. Before driving the point home: “Cooking classes need to come back to school. There is a real issue of grandmother education in everyday cooking.”
On X, many Internet users were annoyed by the government member’s comments. “It’s already passed April 1,” says one ironically, while another calls for giving “economics lessons” to ministers to fight inflation. Some also recalled the time it takes to cook, especially for a large family.
However, the delegate minister’s point of view is shared by a number of stakeholders, who highlight the savings made through cooking. “The first defense against inflation is the ability to peel vegetables,” recently declared the general director of Auchan France, Philippe Brochard, in our columns. The businessman cited the case of frozen fries, “which have almost become a luxury product with the rise in energy prices. Whereas if you take a peeler and peel some potatoes, you can cook fries at a low price. Same observation for catering professionals: “As soon as we industrialize our consumption less, we manage to save money. We can clearly see that inflation on fresh and unprocessed products is lower than on ultra-processed products,” declared chef Thierry Marx, also head of the Union of Hotel Trades and Industries ( Umih).
Certain figures thus seem to prove Olivia Grégoire right, the prices of processed products having jumped more than those of fresh ingredients, already cheaper initially. According to INSEE, in August, over one year, ready meals, for example, saw their prices rise by 12.7%, frozen fish by 13.8%, prepared fruits by 12.7%, frozen ones by 8% and frozen vegetables by more than 21%. Increases much higher than those of fresh fruits and vegetables, for example. An observation also visible on meat and fish.
The delegate minister also reacted to the criticism, on ‘inflation”. As long as you take the time to cook and choose good products.
