The cost of preparing France’s traditional coq au vin dish has risen to a record, showing how inflation has impacted the family dinner table by stoking prices of everything from onions to wine.
(Bloomberg) — The cost of preparing France’s traditional coq au vin dish has risen to a record, showing how inflation has impacted the family dinner table by stoking prices of everything from onions to wine.
Bloomberg’s new monthly coq-au-vin index, based on a basket of the most commonly used ingredients for the famous chicken stew, shows a 14.7% increase in January from a year earlier. The average price is now €18.70 ($20).
While inflation in France has been consistently among the euro-region’s lowest during the current energy crisis, the index underscores how even there the cost-of-living shock is hitting home.
The gauge crunches data from France’s national statistics office and the country’s ministry of agriculture and nutrition, and tracks poultry, wine, carrots, onions, mushrooms, and butter.
Consumer prices based on France’s national measure rose 6% in January, but food costs have soared at more than double that pace. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says he’s trying to keep the expense of such items in check.
Poultry is up 17.8% on the year, while butter and carrots surged over 20%. The average price of the half liter of wine used in the recipe cost €4.7 in January, representing an annual increase of 8.2%.
With the rooster as France’s national symbol, coq au vin has special significance there: coq means rooster in French.
The dish is most commonly prepared with more tender chicken breasts and thighs however, braised in wine and slowly cooked in a crock pot. The recipe can vary — some add lardons and others a splash of brandy or cognac — but a key ingredient is red wine, commonly from Burgundy.
Its exact origin is unknown. Some trace coq au vin back to Roman times, though the first documented appearance was in a 1906 cookbook. It became famous after Julia Child included it in a 1961 collection of recipes, and prepared it twice for her US television show ‘The French Chef.’
–With assistance from Jogi Sidhu.
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