I confronted two prejudices today and killed two birds with one stone.

[vernon]

I've already bleated about the elevated prices at Waitrose and the time dilation that turns a Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal into a 1.5 hour feat of scripted multitasking.

Today, I bought most of the ingredients for the Steak Sandwich recipe from Waitrose.

The shopping experience and cooking experiences were both positive.

A reasonable bill from Waitrose and a very tasty meal cooked in less than an hour from Jamie's book.

Further exploration of both is needed.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Waitrose is just pure supermarket joy IMO. Quality is good, service is good and choice is not so vast that you become totally bewildered. Less crowded than other stores generally and the price premium is lower than it used to be. Having 2 daughters working part-time there means we get 15% discount too (and get to watch the girls toil ).

But don't tell too many ....

Another top-tip to quick and simple food bliss is this book:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Leon-Naturally-Fast-Food-Book/dp/1840915560

Become our new Bible, most excellent.

 

[MossCommuter]

15% must make it a bit like my local Tesco but without the fights

 

[Noodley]

I have no idea where the nearest Waitrose is to me, but I'd guess iy would be Aberdeen (50 miles north) or Edinburgh (70 miles south)...and I have yet to find a Jamie 30 min meal that I cannot cook in 30 mins!

 

[MossCommuter]

I have no idea where the nearest Waitrose is to me, but I'd guess iy would be Aberdeen (50 miles north) or Edinburgh (70 miles south)...and I have yet to find a Jamie 30 min meal that I cannot cook in 30 mins!

or need a recipe for

 

[vernon]

I have no idea where the nearest Waitrose is to me, but I'd guess iy would be Aberdeen (50 miles north) or Edinburgh (70 miles south)...and I have yet to find a Jamie 30 min meal that I cannot cook in 30 mins!

I reckon that it's just possible if the choreography is rehearsed and all of the gear and ingredients are laid out in just the right places.

I was pretty pleased with 50 mins.

 

[Fab Foodie]

I have no idea where the nearest Waitrose is to me, but I'd guess iy would be Aberdeen (50 miles north) or Edinburgh (70 miles south)...and I have yet to find a Jamie 30 min meal that I cannot cook in 30 mins!

Yeah but you do have all those Noodley appendages to help speed things along ....

 

[Noodley]

very true FF.

 

[mangaman]

I've already bleated about the elevated prices at Waitrose and the time dilation that turns a Jamie Oliver 30 minute meal into a 1.5 hour feat of scripted multitasking.

Today, I bought most of the ingredients for the Steak Sandwich recipe from Waitrose.

The shopping experience and cooking experiences were both positive.

A reasonable bill from Waitrose and a very tasty meal cooked in less than an hour from Jamie's book.

Further exploration of both is needed.

Vern.

Waitrose is no different to the major supermarkets (except marking up the prices)

I live by the sea and can I buy decent fish there - no.

It's shocking, pre-frozen rubbish. Tescos is better, although neither has thought of approaching the fishing boats landing a few miles away and selling their fish (like every Spanish / Italian / French supermarket)

Also a steak sandwich. Take a quality steak from a farmer. Some bread. The steak will take a few minutes to cook and a few more to rest. Put it in the bread.

10 minutes max.

How many ingredients do they recommend you buy for a steak sandwich - and why do you think it takes half an hour?

The shameful plugging of supermarkets by chefs just makes cooking something simple more difficult - as, surprise surprise, they make the recipe unecessarily complicated so you buy more stuff at their supermarket.

Anyway

Happy Christmas

 

[vernon]

There was no endorsement of Waitrose by Jamie Oliver - he's a Sainsbury's man at the end of his contract.

The Thirty Minute Meals is the book of the TV series and the steak sandwich is served as a meal with accompanying veg and salad.

I have to disagree with Waitrose being no different. It offers a greater choice of exotica and superior cuts of meat that the other supermarkets don't and I've used them all recently.

I generally source my fish from Hull, my beef from a butcher in Boroughbridge, twenty miles away when I want something special and I am stocking up the freezer. He lightened my wallet by £140 quid this week.

If I want a no nonsense steak sandwich yes I can do it in ten minutes if all you want is a barely dead chunk of meat slapped between two bits of bread. I wanted to make something special and I succeeded.

Making the steak sandwich meal was a pleasure and not a chore. It was universally well received by wife and daughter who would not contenance the quick and easy option.

Quick utilitarian cuisine is fine but my family eat with their eyes as well as their gobs and it's nice to be able to present a well cooked and attractive meal.

I have not been taken in by the Heston Blumenthal and Delia Smith links with Waitrose nor has Phil Vickery persuaded me to consider any of his recipes at Aldi.

I was taken in by the heavily editted 'simplicity' of Jamie's 30 minute meals on TV and it has to be said that timing aside, the recipes deliver excellent tasty meals.

For me here in Leeds, I have found that the most extensive choice of fruit and veg to be at Morrisons
Overall cheapness to be at Asda
Widest choice of pre-packed meat cuts to be Morrisons
Best quality meat (by appearance) to be Waitrose
Best fish to be Morrisons
I've never got on with Tesco.
Cheap but decent booze - Aldi

It's not worth my while to split the weakly shop between several supermarkets. My time is too precious for that. Today I went to Waitrose to avoid queues and a long drive to the viable alternatives. It paid off, Waitrose had the goodies and wife and daughter ate a meal that they enjoyed.

I'm about to toast the arrival of Christmas with some Waitrose sourced port.

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Merry Christmas everyone!

Amen to that!
Merry Christmas Vernon.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I used to go to Waitrose to buy a rather nice pastis that has a strong aroma of star anise. As pastis seems to induce amnesia, I'd forgotten what it was called so I just did a search online and their search engine decided I meant pasties. With further persistence I got the brand: Henri Bardouin.

I now only go there to buy their own brand Tewksbury mustard.

Right, where was I? Oh yes, Merry Christmas!

 

[PBancroft]

Waitrose is our nearest supermarket, ignoring Aldi. We buy almost all of our meat from a local butcher (the last independent butcher in town... support your locals folks!) which can be more expensive but the variety of cuts, service, advice etc. makes it worth it. There used to be a second local butcher, but it closed down recently. We've got a farm shop which is pretty good as well.

Otherwise Waitrose is our main shopping destination. Frankly I don't think the premium is that high. According to mysupermarket.co.uk a randomly selected bag of wholemeal bread is roughly the same at all of the major stores (and is most expensive at Sainsbury's). Heinz Baked Beans are all similar prices too. As are packets of cheese, crisps and Mars bars.

OK, so that was just a very cursory search which doesn't really reflect weekly shopping, and I'm sure that on own brand stuff the prices will vary wildly. The point is that it isn't in the supermarkets interest to be more expensive (or indeed significantly cheaper) than any of the others. More or Less did an interesting piece a few weeks back on how all of the supermarkets can claim to be the cheapest which is well worth listening to.

 

[The Jogger]

I like the shopping experience at Waitrose compared to other supermarkets, I like the way they treat their staff ( partners ) and I like the quality of their food.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I like Sainsbury's - it keeps the riff-raff out of Waitrose!





I may have used this gag before...