2 May 2008

SALON-DE-PROVENCE - Forget frozen fish-fingers and chewy mashed potatoes. A French school has become the country's first to hire a professional chef to cook up fresh, cheap food from local products every day.

The aim? To energise listless teenage taste buds and control weight problems, which are currently estimated by the European Commission to affect about 22 million of the European Union's 75 million children.

"It's great, I could never eat such a balanced meal for such a price – EUR 3 - anywhere else," said Ryan Batjiaka, an American language assistant at the L'Emperi school (photo), in Salon-de-Provence, a town in southern of France.

"It's also a great way to discover French food because Dominique cooks a wide range of dishes," she said.

Lunches, as prepared by Dominique Valadier, formerly a chef at restaurants on the Cote d'Azur and in the Alps, are priced at EUR 3 for teachers and EUR 2.20 for students. This is about half the price of a canteen meal at many other schools in France which can charge up to EUR 6 per day.

Valadier, who rises at 5.30 am to begin preparations for the school's lunch, is a robust 56 year old with a jovial smile.

"If you want to cook for yourself, you have to get up early," he said, deploring the fact that many school canteens are content to reheat food that is pre-prepared by outside catering businesses.

For him, a school should play a crucial role in teaching children how to eat properly, and, in turning them away from junk by ensuring they get the best possible choice food.

A pertinent aim, given a recent French study, which, echoing the Commissions findings, estimated that one child in five is too fat, plus several other studies indicating that not enough fresh fruit and vegetables are being eaten.

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