In praise of… real food

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/jul/16/in-praise-of-real-food

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The weight of the Napoleonic code bears down this week on restaurants in France which try to pass off something from a factory as homemade. Those who feared that soon the only implement required in the kitchens of many apparently artisanal bistros, brasseries and even grand restaurants would be a pair of scissors with which to snip open the plastic bag will be reassured by the new scheme. Dishes "fait maison" will now have a rather Chinese-looking logo, a casserole with a roof over it, to indicate that fact. Purists object that the decree is not Napoleonic enough, in that chilled, frozen and prepared ingredients will be permitted. Ready-made puff pastry is allowed, ready-made shortcrust pastry is not, which seems odd. But the law, the first of its kind in Europe, is still a welcome contribution to the campaign for real food in a country whose cuisine was in danger of being undermined by a creeping behind-the-scenes industrialisation.