What food (if any) to bring to France

[sequin2000]

Off to the Dordogne and wondering if it's worth packing food, soft drinks etc or if it's just as cost effective to buy it there? How expensive are the supermarkets? Thanks for replies

Are you driving? I would just take the odd thing that you won't need loads of - tea bags, salt, ketchup. Not been to the Dordogne, but Brittany often. Meat was quite expensive, but you wouldn't take that anyway. Bread cheaper than at home, other things similar. They have Lidl/Aldi there if you can find one nearby.

Are you worried that they don’t do food in France?

Take cordial if your kids drink it, and nappies if you need them - they were significantly more expensive in French supermarkets. And any fussy child favourites - we took Organix cereal bars as our little one loves them.

We took basics for ease, some tins plus cereal, tea, coffee, sugar, pasta, etc. This was with a view to spending less when there but if I was trying to save space, I wouldn't bother next time.

Supermarkets such as Leclerc, Carrefour and Intermarche sell food that you can eat at perfectly reasonable prices.

What! French food & cordials are so so much better than UK ones. Plus going round french supermarkets is the best part of the holiday. You can survive a week without English products, honestly.

Teabags. Unless you want individually wrapped Liptons' bags of grey dishwater. And apples with flavour. Maybe some English cheese, like cheddar of Red Leicester and some UK cereal in case DC turn fussy for familiar things from home.

We take a few things that we like or that are handy to have on arrival especially if it's a bit late. Tea bags, ketchup, baked beans (I have a v fussy vegetarian), bottle of squash. I do find French supermarkets a bit more pricey but not tried lidl as we never seem to be near one! My main annoyance is how hard it can be to find fresh milk. Bread, cheese, wine and chocolate are always great value though!

We usually take squash and tea bags. Sometimes we take basics like pasta & breakfast cereal.

Food prices are more expensive in France. If you have room I recommend you take stuff with you.

Teabags, and if you are a fan of the full English breakfast, then bacon and sausages - the two foods the French do not do well. Other than that, leave loads of room in the car to bring back amazing cheese and wine!!!

Another vote for squash and tea bags.

@Hirsutefirs

😆 at taking cheese to France! They will have something better than similar to mousetrap cheddar in any supermarket, cheese shop or market cheese stall. You can even get Edam although they call it Mimolette and don't put the dyed red wax on it.
The only thing I might take is Marmite if someone couldn't live without it for a week. You can get tomato ketchup anywhere. Fruit squash-type cordials are available in any supermarket, superette, corner shop etc.
You can even get cornflakes.... fresh milk can be a little harder to find but not impossible. OTOH you can get unpasteurised milk (from guaranteed TB-free herds) in bigger supermarkets.

We take Cravendale milk - much better than French stuff!

We are going this summer and will only be taking tea bags, squash and nappies.

Cheese, wine, and bread lol

Tea bags and squash as people have already said (French cordial is really not the same as squash, as kids we used to hate it!).

We found fruit quite expensive in france, but probably not that easy to take! And cereal and baked beans (and a few "english branded" foods) were ridiculously expensive but that was an excuse to get the kids out of their comfort zone and eat something else!!

@PrawnoftheShed there are plenty of veggie burgers these days. Often in the fridge section rather than the freezer. Sometimes there are long life ones in the "bio" section. They are usually only packs of 2 though and not as cheap as here!
We take tea bags, baked beans and cereals (which only come in small expensive boxes in France unless you get to a Aldi/Lidl)

I love French supermarkets!

I think they are slightly more expensive for some things - meat being one but cheaper for others so it balances out.

If you have kids in swim nappies bring them with you they seem to be really expensive.

What I do do is to make a meal - chill / slag Bol / curry and freeze it. Stick it in a cool bag and by the time we get there it's defrosted and ready to eat. Means we can unpack and feed the kids quickly. The food on site at our place is awful and we don't normally arrive until about 8.

Also re milk we have found in the last few years that all the main supermarkets now have fresh milk but it's usually in a random place in the fridge section nit where you would expect it to to be.

If you like breakfast cereal I recommend taking as the French stuff on the whole is v sweet with lots of chocolate etc in. They have sirop rather than squash which is more expensive and not quite the same (but delicious with lemonade). Marmite, cornflakes/crispies, baked beans and tea after the things we normally take

Food costs more, as much to do with the pound being weak (when we first started going we would get 1.45 E to a £ now it's about 1.1) and then promoting French over cheaper imports but it's much better quality imho.

For a lazy treat the Herta croque Monsieurs in the ready meal but if the supermarket are nice and just need cooked in a frying pan

Op where in the dordogne are you going?
The thing with the milk is that it tends to be v creamy, hence is taking Cravendale. It keeps really well as it is filtered.
I love French cordial (well sirop) to the extent that we bring loads back with us!
Shopping in French supermarkets is all part of the holiday