Faced with undeniable food inequalities, the anti-crisis meal is on the table

It's a sign of the times more than a sign of the past, especially since we are wary, when it comes to cooking, of these grandmothers put on a pedestal or of these smells of stoves which inevitably smelled better before. The sign of the times? These restaurants which, increasingly, in Paris as in Budos (Gironde), offer dishes, even meals, with a reasonable bill, around 10 euros , sometimes even less. Without throwing quality out with the bain-marie water.

The positive view of this trend could be summed up by evoking those workers' restaurants with checkered tablecloths that are being resurrected. A less nostalgic view requires us to say that if some restaurateurs offer this type of formula, it is because going to a restaurant has now become a luxury for a significant portion of the population. In fact, 19% of French people said they would never go to one in 2024, 4 points more than ten years ago. We are therefore talking about anti-crisis meals and increasing food inequalities . Really nothing to celebrate. The less dark side of this reflection of undeniable social difficulties is that this trend is accompanied by a discourse from restaurateurs, sometimes with the effective relay of social networks, that eating well does not necessarily rhyme with excessive spending. Jean-Pierre Coffe said it in his own way years ago on TV. So much the better if hyper-connected influencers or top chefs follow suit to remind us that a commercially produced tabbouleh will not only be more expensive but also less tasty than its "homemade" sibling. Not only will it taste less good, but it will also be less healthy. "Homemade" doesn't require two years of work at Ferrandi.

"We need to regain control of what we eat," Chloé Mussler summarizes for Libération . This obviously requires a minimum of nutritional education. Is this the mission of a school that is constantly being asked to do more? As it operates today, probably not. But with a school-time revolution in the air, the debate could be on the table...