Has butter become a luxury in France?

I once asked a legendary French chef with a big profile in the UK what his ultimate indulgence was. His answer was not some complex dish featuring the most luxurious of ingredients such as truffles or lobster, or a plat so refined and complex that it would take six hours to prepare. 

No, his go-to for a real treat was simple: the best butter he could afford, slathered copiously on oven-fresh crusty baguette. It’s the simple things in life, he said, that count – “You cannot go to the opera every day,” he added, referring to the kind of elaborate cuisine he served daily in his own Michelin starred establishment, but which he has no interest in slaving over at home. 

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This option for the comforting over the lavish is nothing unusual among top chefs, who crave nothing more than basic, comforting tastes (often reminiscent of childhood) after a day spent feverishly at the stove. 

I concur – I can still recall the most delicious butter I ever tasted, served with bread rolls at Le Pressoir, a restaurant near Vannes in Brittany. Truly memorable. 

However, according to recent news reports, many people in France fear that even a simple slab of beurre – a hitherto staple in all households at breakfast time – is becoming unaffordable. 

France is the world’s number one consumer of butter – according to figures, eight kilos per capita are consumed every year. However, statistics from NielsenIQ show that over the last twelve months, the price has risen by 1.4%, with Bluetongue disease (la fièvre catarrhale ovine) decimating livestock farms and consequently squeezing milk production. 

Read also: French bakeries impacted by soaring butter prices

Butter has risen in price an astonishing 34% since October 2021 – way beyond the average 20% rise for other foodstuffs. 

And there is more bad news: cakes, madeleines and all other milk and butter-based products will be 15% more expensive on average than in 2024.

So, is butter becoming a luxury? 

The answer is, seemingly, yes. But, of course there are many different types of butter for all budgets – browse the produits laitiers (dairy products) aisle of any supermarket and you will see a vast array of butters of varying qualities. 

Conversely, the price of its vegetable alternative, margarine, fell 5% year-on-year – time to make a switch for your purse, if not your taste buds?

Read also: Prices on these supermarket products will increase by up to 15% in France this year