Help me make a self catering holiday food shopping list

[HotAndHassled]

Going on a 2 week holiday in France where we will cook at least half the time. We’re not going to be close to any big supermarkets. What do I need to put on a list of “store room basics” ?
My first 3 items are tea bags, Marmite and pine nuts …….

Pasta. Ready made sauces. Olive oil. Cereal?

What sort of stuff do you usually eat on holiday?

Remember you can’t take meat or dairy products across the channel. I know you say you’re not near a supermarket but there must be one somewhere…. 2 weeks shopping would fill our car!

I take tea bags, some dishwasher tabs, curry paste (we love curry) and (illegally) usually a pint of milk for first night tea. Plus sandwiches and snacks for the trip.

From the UK:
Salt, pepper, oil, dishwasher tablets, sharp knife, (depending on the type of cooking stock cubes, herbs, spices), tea, coffee, sugar, cereal, maybe biscuit & crisps. Jam/marmite.

From a french supermarket: you need some meals, but bread, cheese, ham, wine, beer, eggs, meat, fruit, veg, milk, butter.

@HotAndHassled

could be useful? Amazon.fr

We stayed in the middle of nowhere in France, took no food with us, but managed to eat extremely well as the small local supermarkets and village markets have fantastic produce!
Where are you staying?

Rinse and repeat.

Yes I wouldn’t take much. There will locally weekly markets and grocery shops even if no large supermarkets.

We live in mainland Europe. It’s about 45min drive to large supermarket. I actually only go a few times a year nowadays. Get almost everything else locally

So from uk:
Some snacks kids like to last the first 24hrs whist you see what’s around

Any essential like medicine. Some basics like toiletries and cleaning stuff if they don’t provide and you only wany Small amounts or have preferences

Thanks all. Really I am looking for those annoying little things that you need to make a meal but can’t always find when you need them. We going to a small village which has a Spar and a once weekly market.
Will definitely add curry paste, herbs, spices and stock cubes ….

Cling film.

Locally, lardons and mushrooms to add to pasta and sauces.

We mostly lived on local fresh bread, cheese and meats to be honest. Bbq meat and big salads.

How fussy is everyone?

I’m in France now, we bought basics such as tea bags, sharp knife, sandwich bags, pasta sauce but everything else we got in Carefour when we arrived & driving to our first campsite. France is full of hypermarkets, must be something close by, it’s part of a French holiday!

We are just leaving a similar holiday. We packed food in two categories -stuff that you can't get in spars and stuff that's a lot more expensive there.
Ist group -spices, marmite, bulgar wheat, noodles, Asian stuff, tea, mayo

2nd group - oil tins of toms coffee ketchup

Think of what breakfasts, lunches and dinners you will eat first and make a list just like you would at home. No point other people guessing what food you eat.

Take anything that you already have at home and won't use much of, is small, non perishable, won't leak, or isn't easily available in France - so curry paste, herbs, spices and stock cubes are a good start. Also tea bags if you want UK style tea.

Plan to stop at a decent supermarket/hypermarket on the way, bearing in mind that they might be closed on Sundays/in the evenings. Use Google maps 'find along route' to find one at a convenient location. Buy as much as you can from the list, except fresh stuff that won't keep. Include plenty of wine, cheese etc.

Then you only need to top up with fresh stuff and can choose fruit, meat etc from the market while you're there. If the village Spar is anything like those in Spain, they'll have fresh bread daily so that's not a worry.

We used to take tea, coffee, cereal, tomato sauce and that was about it! I’d also put in a few dishwasher tabs, enough for a week, and washing powder tablets and also some tea towels. If I wanted to make spaghetti bolognese, I’d cheat and just get some pasta sauce from the local hyper market.

@TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams

“We mostly lived on local fresh bread, cheese and meats to be honest. Bbq meat and big salads.”

Us to.

@LaraS2511

France is full of hypermarkets, must be something close by, it’s part of a French holiday!

Definitely! Love looking around at the supermarkets.

We tend to live off salads and bread with oil and balsamic or local butter, cheese, cold cuts, fresh fruit ( a big water melon is fun).

We often have home made crepes for breakfast or croissants if you can walk to the village shop in the morning.

The kids won’t eat salad endlessly though so we take:

small Tupperware full of teabags
salt and pepper
oil spray for frying
small pot of Nutella
bbq sauce and ketchup
small bottle soy sauce
dried herbs
small Tupperware full of strawberry milkshake powder for the kids
small bottle concentrated orange squash

Ketchup
foil
mustard

I'd also say go to a supermarket / hypermarket in France. There will be one near the port if you are going by ferry.

But spices, curry paste, tea bags a sharp knife - those all seem sensible suggestions. I'm slightly puzzled about taking Nutella to France though.