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Original poster

European holiday food shopping

52 replies

earplugged · 04/08/2018 16:58

I'm doing the first few days of cooking at a villa myself, my boyfriend and several of his friends are staying at in France next week. They're all major foodies (nice way of saying they are very snobby Grin) and so I'm wondering if I can ask what would you look for at French supermarkets, local markets etc. It's very hot there at the moment so I want to do fresh and delicious and local and ideally a bit sophisticated (and lots of wine obvs). I'm thinking fresh salads, charcuterie, local fresh breads, cheeses, will do a couple of BBQ's, make some sorbets...

What do you buy when abroad for delicious home cooked meals?

OP posts:
Original poster
earplugged · 04/08/2018 17:37

Thanks for climbing down RedDogsBeg Wink no sexism here! I'm the one out of my partnership doing the planning simply because I am a control freak! and aaaah yes, taste au citron - the best!

OP posts:
WorraLiberty · 04/08/2018 17:38

If that's the case and we just need to 'chill out boots', why the post in Style and Beauty just now, which says the opposite? Confused

Agustarella · 04/08/2018 17:39

Quiche is good in hot weather, and the ready made pastry cases from Carrefour are as good as home made IMO. Or any brand with butter in - they aren't cardboardy and flavourless like the ones you get in the UK.

Or you could mix prawns with tinned tuna, cooked rice, green olives, mayonnaise, mustard and pepper for a cold entrée. It's nicer than it sounds and very easy.

rosablue · 04/08/2018 17:45

Lots of french supermarkets or markets have nice ready made salads, rotisserie chickens and amazing deli stuff so that you will be able to buy enough to assemble amazing feasts without needing to cook. Add some interesting sauces or dressings to help add variety...

Nightmanagerfan · 04/08/2018 17:45

Lots of fresh fish that can be barbecued or put in a parcel in the oven with lemon.

Pre cooked puy lentils are a good addition to salad to have with fish.

I’d probably have meals structured around:

Protein - bbq or fish/seafood. You could do chicken in a marinade on bbq eg preserved lemons, olives, olive oil, garlic and herbs

Two to three salads - one with a carb eg:

Lentil/feta/tomato/basil with lemon and olive oil dressing
Melon and prosciutto or Parma ham / Watermelon with feta
Grilled courgettes (yellow are nice) with toasted hazelnuts, basil, Parmesan shavings
Endive (raw or lightly cooked) with lardons, fresh sliced peaches and simple French dressing
Cold pesto pasta with fresh tomatoes, cooked asparagus and basil

You could also serve a cheese and charcuterie platter at each meal too, with baguette. No one will go hungry and you have all the elements of a good meal.

I also recommend buying lots of French yogurts and diary based puddings for lunches eg creme caramel, Bonne Maman chocolate mousse etc.

Have a wonderful time. I would really love this kind of holiday as I love cooking!

GreatWesternValkyrie · 04/08/2018 17:52

other girlfriends are cooking for the rest of the holiday, we've been allocated certain days but will all pitch in generally with cooking

Good job I’m not going with you, allocating a cooking day to me would result in a croque monsieur, sans jambon!

Original poster
earplugged · 04/08/2018 17:53

Agustarella that sounds really delicious actually, will definitely do that thank you! and thank you fo tip on Carrefour quiche cases

rosablue ah yes rotisserie chieck - genius! Thank you for reminder of how delicious they are!

Nightmanagerfan gosh incredible ideas thanks so much! Fish en papillote would be a fabulous meal and grilled courgette - yum! Love the idea of doing cheese and charcuterie platter at every meal. Screen shot-ing your ideas - thanks so much!

OP posts:
BathshebaKnickerStickers · 04/08/2018 17:54

Picard is your friend.... it’s super posh Farmfoods/Iceland ...

Lovely gourmet stuff, frozen. Combine with French bread and wine....

Theworldisfullofgs · 04/08/2018 17:55

Peaches from the market roasted in the ovenwith honey. Serve 2ith creme fraiche. Plât peches better for roasting.

Othervtgan that wonder round the market - see what's there and buy what the French are buying.

Elementally · 04/08/2018 17:56

Sounds like absolute hell. Who wants to be stressing over preparing meals for food snobs on holiday? The girlfriends are organising the food already so it is a sexist split. You can bet the boys are not having similar group chats about the bloody menu!

MrsDarcyIwish · 04/08/2018 17:57

Hands up who wants to go on holiday with Nightmanagerfan Grin

Apehouse · 04/08/2018 17:58

Some supermarkets (eg Leclerc) have great fish counters. Grand Frais is good as others have said. Watermelon is wonderful in this blazing heat.

FinallyHere · 04/08/2018 17:59

@Elementally Sounds like absolute hell. Who wants to be stressing over preparing meals for food snobs on holiday? The girlfriends are organising the food already so it is a sexist split. You can bet the boys are not having similar group chats about the bloody menu!

this, absolutely this ^

This type of division of labour first struck me as wrong, as an adolescent in the late 70s. Why, oh why do these horrible sexist stereotypes persist?

viques · 04/08/2018 18:00

food snobs

I think I would lose the first s.

Original poster
earplugged · 04/08/2018 18:03

BathshebaKnickerStickers I've been meaning to check out Picard, thank you for the reminder!

Theworldisfullofgs grilled peaches in honey with creme fraiche - delicious idea!

Apehouse will check out leclerq thanks for tip!

OP posts:
Original poster
earplugged · 04/08/2018 18:04

Thanks for the positive contributions and so many wonderful ideas ladies, checking out now. xx

OP posts:
gussiefox · 04/08/2018 18:59

Grand Frais is definitely your friend if there is one near you. We are in the South West - it is blisteringly hot. Make sure you have access to a cool bag (all decent rentals should supply one!) If no Grand Frais, try to go to a hypermarche where you will get much better choice and value (many of the supermarkets are franchises and the smaller ones can be grim!!) LeClerc is a good option. Check out the local market days - usually once a week. If "your" cooking day co-incides with one of these then you win the week Grin

Nightmanagerfan · 04/08/2018 19:45

@mrsdarcyiwish that’s a huge compliment! I do get lumbered with a lot of holiday cooking but I love it!

Have just made the courgette salad and the lentil one for dinner with some roasted salmon. Unfortunately I’m seven weeks pregnant and while I fancied it earlier I now can’t stomach it and will probably have pasta with grated cheese instead - all notions of gourmet cooking out the window in favour of beige stodge Grin

FinallyHere · 04/08/2018 21:09

@viques Grin

Metoodear · 04/08/2018 21:38

Fuck me just come back France for food is expensive

Even the fucking market felt like I been turned over

Considering a lot of the meat a veg come from France is about 30% more expensive

However love the rabbit and sausage

jasjas1973 · 04/08/2018 21:59

i love any slow cooked duck dishes, cheap and cheerful france, served hot or cold with salad.
Fish is plentiful and a far wider range than you in get n the UK.

Personally, i dont get this angst at the division of labour thing, i cook for my GF all the time, she hates cooking (or so she says!!!) i love cooking!

If the OP wants to cook and boys do the washing up, whats not to like?

buttermilkwaffles · 04/08/2018 21:59

For bread, buy from the nearest decent boulangerie (look for the one with the biggest queues or check reviews on Google Maps). Ask for the 'tradition' baguette - only 10 or 20 cents more but a much more sourdough like texture and taste, it has to be made a certain way (regulations) to be allowed to be called that. The supermarket baguettes are crap by comparison...

Fruit and veg is expensive in supermarkets, so see if there is a local market. Some of the local markets are reasonably priced and others not, so it depends where you are, I found a lot of the permanent indoor markets expensive but most of the outdoor ones were more affordable. However in some places they are daily but in other smaller places they are only once or twice a week. If you go about half an hour before they close you can get some great bargains.

Agustarella · 04/08/2018 22:04

@Metoodear I think Aldi and Lidl in France are competitively priced for most things. Colruyt is quite good for some foods. At Carrefour and Intermarché I only buy the value ranges, the 'promo' seasonal fruit and veg, and the reduced short-date stuff in the chiller, which isn't as heavily discounted as the equivalent in the UK would be. I think local markets vary - ours is rubbish and expensive and is just about surviving, since practically nobody goes there. The same is true of where I live in the UK. I think there's a certain amount of price gouging in under-served rural areas, and that might possibly be true of touristy areas too.

goose1964 · 04/08/2018 22:29

My horsemeat stew went down very well. On another occasion crêpes with greengage compote was raved about. Neither group were foodies though