To our readers: Paperjam's editorial team are spending Thursday and Friday in Dudelange, meeting the political, social and economic players in this municipality of 22,000 inhabitants. This article is part of this special series.
“I'll have a Bouneschlupp!” It's a chilly Thursday morning at the small farmers market in Dudelange, and the customers aren't exactly crowding round. The florist isn't there. Nor is another shopkeeper. A regular has spotted the absentees and is pointing the finger. "If I had to close the market, I'd close it in January," she says with determination, cap screwed on her head. "People spent their money in December.”
The conversation only lasts a minute. Taking the glass jar with her, she leaves Claudine Kettel with the same conclusion. "You can see that people are very careful. They no longer have the same purchasing power,” Kettel states. At €14 for boeuf bourguignon, €12 for Schwëngsbrot am jus, Rëndsrulladen or Kallefbrëschtchen and €12 for a Lënsenzopp mat speck a mettwurscht, her prices aren't necessarily cheap for everyone. "Yes, maybe, but it's homemade. And it's not one of those preserves that you buy in the supermarket and end up throwing away because what's in it isn't any good!"
Claudine Kettel cooks. "I'm not a cook. I've always loved cooking.” When the bank where she had worked for some fifteen years closed down, leaving everyone out in the cold, she used her two years' severance pay to think about making it her main occupation. "I took the plunge. And now I cook most of the time and do two markets, in Dudelange and Ettelbruck. That's all I do. I used to go to Luxembourg City too, but that's too much."
"What interests me is preparing good, typically Luxembourgish dishes", sold in a returnable jar. "These days, people often don't have the time or inclination to cook. So they can buy something made with good products and passion", she says, her blue eyes shining. "And I also have vegan plans. You have to have them. You have to respect people's evolving tastes. That's normal."
In winter, more comfort food including soups, in summer more around barbecues and different products. "I get my supplies from La Provençale", explains this resident of Larochette. "When I started, the Ministry of Health came to check that I could cook in my kitchen, that I was well set up, that I was doing things properly. And now I'm cooking.”
The Traatschkichen also makes home deliveries "from Monday to Wednesday", and has tried her hand at limoncello and takes to Facebook and Instagram - "I say where I am, what I'm cooking, I show my dishes, my new things because I try new things regularly".
At 61, she is officially retired. But the market, her customers, her cooking... Rain, shine or snow, she loves it. "You know, when you decide to go and sell things at a market, you know full well that it's likely to be cold or rainy." Fatalistic. A late-bloomer. But clearly happy.
Read the original French-language version of this news report here / lire en français
