Between 1940 and 1944, France eats to the rhythm of ration tickets and food cards (J3, A, etc.). Meals are no longer structured as starter-main-dessert but around what could be obtained: the official ration (grey bread, little fat), the 'system D' (garden, barter, parcels from family in the countryside), and the ersatz that replaces what is lacking (coffee, sugar, soap). People make do with root vegetables neglected before the war, and Moulin's South retains an advantage: olive oil, garlic, and sunshine. A man in hiding, meanwhile, eats mostly on the go, at the homes of those who shelter him.

Legendary vegetables of the 'Occupation soup': once reserved for livestock, they become the forced stars of every French table. They alone embody the taste of those years of privation that Moulin shared with the whole country.