Holidays are for relaxing, right? That’s why a hotel stay is so appealing: housekeeping is taken care of, as is the cooking and washing up. But there’s no denying camping and self-catering tend to work out cheaper, and in France – a country I’ve been writing about for nearly 20 years – food shopping can be part of the fun. For my book, Amuse Bouche: How to Eat Your Way Around France, I gathered essential intel on how the French shop and – crucially – cheat when it comes to making life easier in the kitchen. By adopting some of their ways, you can enjoy the country’s very best produce without being a slave to the stove. This will free you up for the important job of sipping rosé on the terrace of your gîte. (Photo: pixdeluxe/Getty)

A morning trip to la boulangerie

It’s a time-honoured tradition to start the day with a trip to the bakery, whether it’s for a baguette, croissants or pains au chocolat (known as chocolatines in south-west France). The savvy shopper, though, won’t just think of this trip for breakfast; this can also be the place to pick up lunch items, such as homemade quiches and vegetable tarts (in Provence a tarte au tian is good), or chaussons, which are similar to pasties. Then you can either take them as a picnic or serve them at your gîte or villa with salad. For dessert, the patisserie counter is the place where dreams (and expanding waistlines) come true. Pick up a box of éclairs and try not to scoff them en route back to your accommodation. (Photo: John Elk III/Getty)

Boucheries or charcuteries

You probably won’t need to make the salad, either. Many butchers’ shops (boucheries or charcuteries) and market stalls are also “traiteurs”, meaning they’ll sell freshly made mixed salads, along with marinated meats ready to sling on the barbecue or in the frying pan. This eliminates the need for a cupboard-full of herbs, spices and condiments you might cook with at home. (Photo: Peter Adams/Getty)

Hypermarkets and specialist shops

Hypermarkets can furnish you with everything from budgie-smuggler Speedos (useful if you forget most campsite pools don’t allow swimming shorts) to back-to-school stationery. But in order not to lose yourself in there for days, focus on what you can’t find at home. This could be the huge selection of preserves (the Bonne Maman greengage – reines claudes – jam is excellent) or Prince biscuits, sandwiched together with chocolate, plus the biggest choice of yoghurts you can imagine. French supermarkets increasingly cater for specific dietary needs, too: look for the “bio” aisle (organic) and nearby for such things as soya milk, gluten-free bread or diabetic-friendly biscuits. On French high streets, look out for shops called epiceries fines; these are posh food stores and a great place to pick up jars of gourmet soup, high quality sauces and dressings, and interesting beers and wines. (Photo: Philippe Lissac/Getty)

Find the local market

Most towns and villages will have a weekly or twice-weekly market; ask at the tourist office when it takes place (or search online for “jours de marches” and the place name). Here you’ll find an array of fruit, vegetables, cheese, charcuterie you can buy direct from the producers; etiquette will often dictate that they choose the produce for you, so hold back from prodding until you’ve seen what the locals are doing. Look out for a rotisserie chicken stall for a fast-track meal – they often cook potatoes in the base of the roaster, so you can buy a whole roast dinner in one go. The markets are also a great place to pick up charcuterie, cheese, olives and fat, glossy tomatoes and salads (in larger market halls) for a grazing table, too – making for a very easy evening meal. Cheeses and charcuterie are highly regionalised, but part of the joy is trying regional specialities. In Burgundy, for example, look out for jambon persillé (parsleyed ham), which is delicious with cornichons. (Photo: Marco Bottigelli/Getty)

A basic lesson in cheeses

Choosing from a fromagerie counter can be daunting, especially if your French is limited and the queue is building behind you. Start with the knowledge that the best cheeseboards comprise at least five kinds of cheese, and ask the person serving for their local suggestions. First ask for a hard cheese (“Pourriez-vous suggérer des fromages à pâte dure?”) and see what they recommend – perhaps comté, beaufort or abondance. Next, choose something soft (fromage à pâte molle) or semi-soft (fromage à pâte demi-molle). Milder ones include Morbier, Saint-Nectaire or Ossau-Iraty, while fans of stinky cheeses will love Maroilles, Époisses, Munster or camembert de Normandie – look for “au lait cru” raw milk, and “moulé à la louche” ladled by hand, for the best ones – which is heavenly with calvados jelly. French goat’s cheeses (fromages de chevre) are particularly delicious. Seek out Valençay, Saint-Maure-de-Touraine, Banon (wrapped in a chestnut leaf) or Picadon. And don’t forget a blue: Bleu de Vercors-Sassenage isn’t too strong, Fourme d’Ambert is creamy, and a good Roquefort can’t be beaten. (Amuse Bouche: How to Eat Your Way Around France by Carolyn Boyd is out now in paperback, £10.99, Profile Books) (Photo: Strauss/Curtis/Getty)