No more baguettes arriving by refrigerated truck after staying in a cold room. Since November 7th, in a third of Toulouse’s canteens, bread has been delivered in the morning by an artisan baker from the Gloire district. David Ayat adds bran according to the recipe developed with the nutrition specialists in the central kitchen, but above all he uses organic flour that could not be more from Toulouse.
The “organic soft wheat” comes from Domaine de Candie, the municipal agricultural authority located south of the city, which produced 102 tons this year. Enough to make 300,000 of the 900,000 organic baguettes consumed each year by school children.
“Before we sold wheat in a classic circuit, and the new idea is that it is the people of Toulouse who benefit directly”, explains Jean-Jacques Bolzan, deputy mayor in charge of “eating well”. The wheat is ground in a mill in Saverdun, Ariège, which regularly supplies the baker with fresh flour. It is hard to say whether the students noticed the change. “But there’s less left over, there’s less waste,” notes Sandra Lestrade, the director of the central kitchen.
After complaints about portions
The presentation of the “Toulouse baguette” comes a few days after the controversy launched by Agatha Robyan opposition councilor who posted pictures on Twitter of very small portions served in canteens in the city.
“It’s absurd! In a photo, we fill the plate as we want and we’re talking about portions for children,” replies Jean-Jacques Bolzan. The elected representatives invite the opposition to participate in the meeting, where every month “the menus are developed with a dietitian”. But he refuses to serve, as Agathe Roby claims, the canteen menu for the elected municipal council members.