Resident Chef May 2008
Above: Chris Staines, The Resident chef
Having just returned from France, this month I would like to talk to you about supermarkets and food culture. Now before you sigh into your cornflakes thinking ‘here we go again, another chef supermarket bashing’, let me explain that I simply want to share my experiences and point out the colossal chasm that exists between us Brits and our continental cousins.
As I said, I have just returned from France where I spent a wonderful week staying with the parents of my significant other half. We go over there a couple of times a year and spend our days eating and drinking in the way that only the French can; long leisurely three hour lunches followed by a nap, only to awake to the thought of another delicious meal. During our stay I inevitably end up cooking. You might well think this is madness as I am on my ‘vacance’ and this is what I do every day to earn a crust but on the contrary, the whole process from start to finish fills me with enormous joy. To be able to drive a mere ten minutes to the supermarché and be faced with a stunning array of produce unrivalled any where else I have been in the world makes it not a chore but a pleasure. I will often spend hours walking up and down the aisles revising what I am going to cook as I come across the next must-have food stuff and I frequently find myself buying a lot more than we could possibly eat just because the choice and quality of ingredients is so outstanding.
Something struck me as quite surprising on this particular trip and that was the lack of gaudy packaging especially for the fruit and veg. Rather than claiming to be organic and waffling on about how well it has been produced, the veg is simply presented (and not wrapped in realms of plastic) and the fact that it is seasonal and organic is taken as read. Is this because our French friends do not care about the environment or where their food comes from? No, far from it, for years now French supermarkets have not supplied plastic bags and instead everybody takes along with them their own sturdy re-usable bags. The result is a much cleaner environment as opposed to the sea of discarded shopping bags that we have become accustomed to on our side of the Channel.
The meat, fish and cheese counters are immense, with a range that you would struggle to find even in dedicated butchers in Blighty. On our last trip we feasted on squab pigeon, rabbit, red mullet, mussels and quality veal. The reason for this vast array is purely one of demand, because this is what the French not only expect but insist on. If ASDA starting selling wild rabbit I sincerely doubt there would be a sudden rush to buy as most of us wouldn’t have a clue how to prepare or cook it. On the plus side however, the culture here in Britain is changing and with a bit of perseverance I hope that one day I can walk into my local supermarket and find the same quality and choice as on other continents. But until that day, I will keep supporting my local farmers market and butchers.
For great choice and quality meats as well as a fantastic delicatessen why not visit my local butcher (M Moen and Sons of Clapham) With 30 years experience and products sourced from over 60 small artisan suppliers from around the UK, they have local celebrity status.
http://www.moen.co.uk
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