Learning to cook at school to combat inflation: a good idea?

Pauline Masotta | 9/19/23

Olivia Grégoire, Minister for SMEs, Trade, Crafts and Tourism, believes that cooking classes at school could be a good way to offset inflation.

Although food inflation is slowing down, it is still causing major financial difficulties for the most modest households, especially those with children. It's no secret that back-to-school is a real source of stress, especially when it comes to the expenses involved.

To deal with this, Olivia Grégoire, the French Minister for SMEs, Trade, Crafts and Tourism, has come up with the idea of integrating cookery lessons into the school curriculum, as an interesting way of coping with everyday expenses. This is not the first time the idea has been raised. In 2017, several chefs, including Alain Ducasse, wanted to make cooking lessons compulsory at school.

Cooking rather than buying ready-made food

Stop buying "ready-made" dishes, which are generally more expensive and less healthy. This is the main reason behind Olivia Grégoire's wish.I also think we need to relearn how to cook with raw ingredients, to avoid buying the more expensive 'ready-made' products," she explained. We need to get cooking lessons back into schools. It's areal challenge for grandmothers to educate their children about everyday cooking", she continued in an interview with Sud-Ouest. With the same ambition, the Minister asked that the number of products included in the "anti-inflation device" be increased from 2,500 to 5,000.

Her words echo those of Angèle Préville, a senator from the Lot region (Occitanie), who spoke to AFP about the need to reconnect with homemade cooking. In early February 2023, she advocated the introduction of compulsory cookery classes in schools, with the aim of steering children away from the consumption of ultra-processed foods, which are harmful to health. It remains to be seen how these cooking classes might be set up, and how they will be received by pupils.

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