Candlemas is celebrated 40 days after Christmas, on February 2. Sea Wave / stock.adobe.com
Flour, eggs, milk … The ingredients of the delicacy dear to the French, in the spotlight on February 2, have seen their prices soar.
Nearly 8 out of 10 French people say they are “ fans ” pancakes, according to a YouGov study of 2021. On this February 2, Candlemas Day, they will not hesitate to have a great time, at home or at the crêperie. But there is a cumbersome guest this year: the increase in the price of raw materials. The three basic products necessary for the preparation of pancake batter are particularly affected by the effects of inflation. Starting with the eggs. With the rise in the price of cereals, essential for feeding chickens, and the bird flu, prices have soared. According to INSEE figures, in December 2022 alone, they increased by just over 1% in just one month, and by 17% in one year. Flour also gained more than 26% between December 2021 and 2022. Finally, milk saw an 18% increase in one year.
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Homemade, the cost of a crepe can vary, knowing that the prices differ according to the distributors, the regions and even the recipe you choose. For example, if you live in Île-de-France, and you make a little more than twenty pancakes from eggs, milk and flour, a pancake can cost you 15 cents per unit, in having chosen private label products, according to the calculations of the Figaro. Then add the price of the filling of your choice: sugar, chocolate, spread, jam, honey, chestnut cream, butter, lemon, caramel, etc.
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The sugar crepe “around three euros in Brittany”
If you opt for the creperie, the note could be particularly salty. The rise in the price of electricity and raw materials weighs on the bills of professionals. “ It’s a set of things “, explains Gilles Stephant, president of the Federation of the Crêperie, ” ranging from the evolution of the salary grid, to an increase between 8 and 20% depending on the products “. Himself owner of the restaurant Le Champ des Sirènes, in Plomeur in Brittany, he confides: “ I increased my prices in June by 5% like other colleagues, but this is far from covering the increases we are experiencing “. He therefore expects a deterioration in profitability in 2023.
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In Brittany, a crepe with sugar costs around “three euros“, according to Gilles Stephant, who still expects to receive people in his restaurant. “ La Chandeleur in Brittany is a festive event. Everyone is used to going to creperies or making them at home enthuses the crepe maker. At “ pancake country he reminds us that this dessert can be tasted just as well with Ribot milk as with sweet cider.
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