Father’s anger at wine used in meals served to girl, 3, at state creche in Nice

An angry father has spoken out after discovering meals served to his three-year-old daughter at her crèche in the south-east of France sometimes feature sauces made with wine.

He is demanding the state-run crèche stops using wine in its recipes for such young children.

“I noticed last year when I looked at the menus for the canteens in Nice's nurseries and schools that wine was being used in certain recipes,” said Marc, 51 to Nice Matin (paywall article). 

“I complained but it's happened again,” he added. “I simply don't want my daughter to discover the taste of a wine sauce at the age of 3.”

Authorities defend meals 

The dish that most recently caught his attention was an ‘Égrené de bœuf cooked with organic local white wine’ served earlier this month. Bolognaise was also recently cooked using wine. 

Responding to the complaints, officials from the Nice mairie said the wine is used to ‘add flavour’ and that the alcohol evaporates completely during cooking.

All menus in Nice’s crèches are “validated by a menu committee made up of catering and early childhood professionals, under the supervision of the cuty's nursery paediatrician,” the mairie added.

The father said he understood the cooking methods, but not the “point of using wine as a flavour enhancer for meals served to children….”

The mairie said they invited the man to discuss the meals three times, but he did not show up, a fact he confirm to Nice-Matin.

“[I did not ask for an] explanation of the reasons for this choice… but for the alcohol in the recipes for the dishes served to the children to be removed,” he said. 

Wine was widely served to French schoolchildren during lunchtime meals until 1956, when it was banned to serve it to under-14s. 

Alcohol was not fully banned from French schools until 1981. 

Read more: Four reasons why less wine is being drunk in France