Taking food into France

I can only tell you that, like your wife, I took everything I would usually do with us.  That included my 'spice drawer', (basically a whole drawer of herbs and spices, some hard to find in France) and meals for a couple of days after we arrived, plus 'staples''.  We have done six crossings in the last couple of years, and never have we been checked, or questioned, or searched for 'illegal foods'.  Everyone can and will make their own decision about the risks, and mine is that for us, it's worth it to have everything we need available straight away so we take it anyway, figuring that the worst that can happen is that it will be confiscated.

However, on the way back, this time, there was increased security at Dieppe because of a rise in the security risk (I presume due to the increased hostility in the middle east) and each and every car was searched with thoroughness, and a torch - some also with a dog. Passports were also checked at the Dieppe end by both French and UK customs, and also back in Newhaven by UK Passport control (this was explained by a message on the crossing, that it was an additional security measure. However, our customs official in Dieppe who did the search was not at all interested in our wine and didn't count the bottles (good job), explaining that he was looking for people exiting the country illegally or other really worrying stuff. I think the customs officials have more important things on their minds, at both ends, to confiscate your sandwiches as the bread may contain a milk or you might be smuggling in the odd cauliflower or meat product.