French school meals

[AuxArmesCitoyens]

My kids went back this week (bog standard state primary, rural France). They were moaning about the canteen so I thought I'd check out the menu. Tomorrow they're having a melon starter, free range chicken tajine with raisins and organic couscous, a cheese course and apple and quince puree for dessert 🤯 sign me up please! Makes me feel better about giving them dippers for tea tonight, anyway.

Mine starts Reception this week and the “healthy” menus are making me wince.
On the website it says they provide options so all children will eat… let’s be honest, they want to spend the least amount of money.
And that sort of defeatist attitude about food is why British children are suffering with obesity, will not try new foods, and possibly why have no interest in learning to cook.

Is there a liste scolaire, op??

😱😱

There was at least a chapter on this in the book "Bringing up bebe", and it was fascinating.

Actually sounds very similar to my youngest’s nursery lunches

DSs nursery was like this, two courses not three but home cooked, plenty of variety, I've seen the options for reception and I think he'll be eating poorer quality food than he ever has and we're not allowed to send packed lunches

🙄@ the thread killers.

Start your own French bashing thread.

Can someone please tell my 8 month old French daughter that she is disrespecting her culture by refusing to ingest anything but breast milk and chocolate ice cream?

French primarly school dinners only have one option. Often people who need halal or kosher or vegetarian or food specific to allergies / SEN are excluded.

Those children’s parents either have to pay full price for their child’s meals.

My uncle’s stepdaughter’s halal meal costs them 10 euros a day. The cost price paid by the government for non-halal meals costs 3-3.5 euros a day. The municipality will not ‘part fund’ and so she must bring in her own food. Apparently it’s the same situation with allergies. There is a child with SN in her class who requires mashed food and suffers the same thing - the staff will not mash it for him, his parents must pay full price for a pre-mashed meal.

Admittedly there is a bit of a postcode lottery regarding lunches - some areas are far better than others, but the situation re Halal food is similar in all. Considering 8-10% of the French population is Muslim it’s easy to see how they can afford to give ‘amazing’ meals - they do it by excluding those with the most expensive needs.

By contrast in almost all school areas in the UK local authorities will always give school dinner options for all but the most severe of allergies & often meat is butchered in a halal way by default (or Muslims are offered a veg meal - neither of which happens in France).

The meals sound great but my DDs have complained about the quality for years.

I don't have any personal experience of autistic provision, but my friends DC has down syndrome. He has been in mainstream school since day one. He is in a special section in high school which integrates into normal classes for things like sports. He is well known and well liked by all. Next year he has the opportunity to go to a college that will teach him a trade. He is a very long way from being locked away.

Sounds tasty! What's the veggie option like?

As above, both schools my kids have been to have had a daily veggie option, largely to cater for Muslim kids. It doesn't cost extra. They also do no-allergen meals for kids with a prescription.

My kids' crèche has a whiteboard in each section listing the dietary requirements of each child.

I don't even know which one Nolan is but I know that he can't eat dairy.

@Eleplant actually some schools have vegetarian days. that goes down like a fart in a lift with most 😂

My DS goes to a French nursery in the UK. That's pretty much standard for him. I'm only surprised they don't have a small glass of red with it in the pre-school class.

Ah yes, school dinners that a large number of mainly religious girls won’t be eating, because fuck girls and their right to an education.

The UK may not lock disabled people away, but they are demonised on a regular basis. See latest government proposals to get the feckless scroungers back to work. If you can crawl from bed to desk you are fit for work.

I don’t remember wine being served at the school I was at for my degree year abroad. Dh doesn’t remember alcohol being served either. But we used to go to restaurants sometimes and drink alcohol then go back and teach in the afternoons lol. I imagine this has changed. Early 90s.

As for the canteen food, it wasn’t always to my British taste. But it was of good quality. I was also very surprised to be served 3 courses.

Totally agree.

Lovely old DFrench, I think their food is tasty because they always have those onions round their neck ready to whip up a quick coq au vin whenever they see a stray chicken.

It's a completely different culture!!!

People quite often ask me if I am French, which is sweet but puzzling : I rarely eat DGarlic.

if this is an abaya comment, then 1. I think it's a ridiculous decision but hardly relevant to the thread and 2. the number of girls excluded under the new rules so far is about 70 nationwide.

I wish all UK school children were given the opportunity to be fed so well.

I have an autistic child and we do offer better SEN support, but some UK school dinners are woeful and they may be the only hot meal a child is offered for the entire day.

Fantastis! If only our school meal options were that good. The book 'French children don't throw food' was a good read.

This thread is batshit and reminds me of twitter twats

Lol at the idea French kids eat anything! (The name of a book mentioned above).

Having fed quite a few of them, I can attest to them not eating anything. They might do in a setting where they don't feel free to voice an opinion. When they can use their voice though, they're as picky as any other kids. Will only eat certain brands, likes the first serving, asks for more, gets some, spits it out and says Bleugh!

NAFKALT (FK = French kids), but French kids are kids!

Their school lunches are great though.