“CIs this the first time you are poor? My name is Kiki and I try to make food affordable by using recipes from the Great Depression, Recession, and War.» This is how Kiki Rough, a content creator, introduces herself in a video that has gone viral. She has garnered more than four million views for this sequence in which she sets out to revisit – without eggs or expensive ingredients – dishes inspired by the 1940s or cookbooks from the 1950s, renowned for their ingenuity in lean times.
According to Fast Company magazine, Kiki is not the only one to launch into this niche. On TikTok, the hashtags #budgetmeals and #recessioncooking are exploding, with a 20% increase in publications in one month. This rush for “crisis” recipes is not insignificant. In the United States, the announcement of new customs tariffs and the soaring price of basic products such as eggs, coffee and cheese are pushing consumers to review their menus.
Low-cost racing videos and advice are multiplying: “I eat like a medieval peasant until all my credit cards are paid off.” summed up user Deanbosko on TikTok last month.
@kikirough Trying to crank out as MUCH affordable cooking content as possible! I’m going to pin this video as a reference. Please remember to eat and also I love you! ❤️ #cooking #series #recession #money #save #saving #savemoney #cash #cheap #affordable #affordablecooking #cooking #bake #baking #cookbook #recipe #recipes #learn #learning #howto #history #antique #flour #sugar #egg #eggs #tips #tricks #learntocook #familyrecipes #family #apron #red #hair #heart #glasses #fy #fyp #foryou #❤️ #❤️❤️❤️ #groceries #grocery ♬ Tea for Two (piano)(1131389) – Miwako Izumikawa
The signs are not misleading: frozen pizza sales are soaring, hairdressers are seeing the return of the “blond recession” phenomenon and American consumer confidence fell in April to a level lower than that of the Great Recession of 2008, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.
When the crisis also inspires the French table
The extent of this gloom is indeed reminiscent of 2008, when the global financial crisis plunged millions of households into uncertainty and disrupted consumption habits. If the causes are not the same, the results are partly the same: inflation persists and the rise in interest rates weighs on household morale.
This return to culinary resourcefulness is not unique to the United States. According to the INSEE website, in France, food prices continue to increase, which pushes households to adapt their consumption habits. Consumers favor local products, short circuits and homemade products, while meat consumption is declining in favor of eggs, pulses and vegetarian dishes, these foods being less expensive and more sustainable.
More broadly, this trend is also found in Europe where economic trade-offs result in “de-consumption”: 41% of consumers reduce food waste and 61% consider meat as a luxury. Tips for eating better at a lower cost shared on social networks play a key role in the dissemination of these practices.
From the United States to France, crisis cuisine has never been so trendy, even if it is based on one prerequisite: that you enjoy eating like a medieval beggar.
