They call it “little desires”. Desire for Italy, desire for the Orient and soon desire for India, desire for the tropics and even volcanic desire and desire for heat. Do you feel the temperature rising? We’re going to bring her back down. These “little desires” which share the same term as adult dating sites have nothing to do with what you think. But nothing at all. What we wanted to talk to you about this afternoon is food. Because the little names previously mentioned establishing the supposed list of our desires are in fact the names of the recipes for dishes prepared by the Crous for its students. The temperature has dropped again, hasn’t it? This new offer, however, has the ambition to warm the bodies of students who are increasingly struggling to eat.
This idea of reusable jars had sprouted in the mind of Fadela Seffouhi, who was then responsible for the Crous de Bordeaux. “We wanted to take into account the nomadism of students by offering them a different way to eat. With the jars, we allow them to eat hot when they want to.” Recruited from Crous Bretagne, Fadela Seffouhi imported her idea to Rennes, where the number of meals served by Restos U increases from year to year.
The idea was also to provide diversity. Faced with saturated university restaurants where the queue can cost students an hour, the Crous has increased the number of snack options in its cafeterias. But quite quickly, the students were going around in circles and wanted a change from the usual sandwich and salad deemed “not substantial enough”.
“When you eat there every day, you quickly get tired of it,” says Marion, a law student in Rennes. By offering its jars in several Crous Markets in the Breton capital, the administration wants to offer a hot alternative, which students can heat in the microwave. And which they can also keep for the evening if they wish. The offer is interesting for scholarship holders, who pay one euro for their jar with a dessert and remains affordable for others, who have to pay 3.30 euros.
“Honestly, it was really good”
Launched with three all-vegetarian recipes (bolo pasta, couscous and chili sin carne), the offer will soon be extended to twelve dishes, all offered in returnable glass jars. But like us, you are asking yourself the question: what is a prepared dish from Crous worth? “I tried it several times and honestly, it was really good. It was well prepared, I loved it,” explains a student at Sciences Po. Before tempering. “The problem is quantity. When you finish the thing, you still have the slab afterwards.” Enrolled in law school, Myra also tried the bolo pasta recipe once or twice. “I reheated it in the microwave and it was really good. But it’s not worth a dish from the U restaurant. In the end, I wasn’t comfortable.”
To verify the students’ statements, 20 Minutes had to work. Although my student years at the language school in Nantes are starting to date a little, I still dared to grab two jars: the classic “desire for Italy”, a sort of vegetarian Bolognese pasta made from minced of soy, and “envy of the Orient”, a variety of veggie couscous incorporating Thai-style wheat balls. And here is the verdict: it was really good! I really fell in love with the couscous, which I found perfectly spicy and above all rich and varied in vegetables. Special mention for the wheat balls which I loved.
Easier to manage inventory
For pasta, it’s also a big yes. I didn’t expect them to be cooked so well, especially after being reheated in the microwave. Here too, the little sauce was spicy enough to “pimp” this veggie dish. As for the quantity, it didn’t shock me. It may be a little light for a good eater but there is no scandal.
Beyond the interest of diversifying the offer for students and offering them a hot meal, the Crous also offers a less restrictive alternative in terms of freshness. Sterilized, the jars can in fact be kept for three months, which is obviously not the case for a salad or a sandwich. “For inventory management, it’s much simpler for us, we risk less loss,” explains the regional director of Crous Bretagne. This offer also allows the Crous kitchens to work in the afternoon to prepare these ready meals. And thus limit a total rush each morning to manage everything in costs.
Related News :