I'm a Waitrose virgin, a confession

[Ms T]

The John Lewis Food Hall on Oxfrord Street (basically a deluxe Waitrose) is the epitome of food porn.

 

[Chairman Meow]

The John Lewis Food Hall on Oxfrord Street (basically a deluxe Waitrose) is the epitome of food porn.

Oh my gos, that must be amazing!

 

[mrsfran]

Waitrose is my nearest supermarket and I <3 them. Lovely big, wide aisles, well-lit, lots of organic and unusual food, nice meat. They're the only supermarket I've ever been in that do root beer too.

 

[electrogirl]

i was thinking of this too! people are always going on about them but i've never really encountered them. i've never lived near one in Bristol.

only time I went in one was when I went to Bath and popped in for a sandwich.

good sandwich though.

 

[Santino]

I mostly shop at my local farmer's market and Waitrose, which makes me considerably more middle class than yow.

I love Waitrose. The other day I wanted to buy some fish fingers, but I thought 'Can I buy cod in good conscience?', when lo! I spied Waitrose own brand sustainably-fished cod fingers. Win.

 

[beeboo]

The John Lewis Food Hall on Oxfrord Street (basically a deluxe Waitrose) is the epitome of food porn.

Probably my most serious reservation about changing jobs is the fact I will no longer be 2 minutes away from the John Lewis Food Hall.

*sobs*

 

[newharper]

They don't deliver out here and there's one about 15 miles away. (Which is only about twice as far as the nearest supermarket, a Morrisons sadly.)

 

[fractionMan]

It used to be my corner shop, but now it's further than sainsburys> I still go there once in a while to check out the bargain reductions around 5 o clock.

 

[fredfelt]

Thank god for Tescos! They help keep the rif-raf out of Waitroses

 

[jayeola]

My housemate does all of the cooking and won't go into anywhere else. If you time it righ they do have good, and I mean very good reductions.

 

[Xanadu]

Surely that's daft isn't it as office workers with microwaves will be sorted. Don't Waitrose grasp the basics of capitalism?

Not the microwave meals, the ready to fry/bake meals. Most office workers stick to the microwave meals. Though even those are reduced occasionally.

 

[Xanadu]

The John Lewis Food Hall on Oxfrord Street (basically a deluxe Waitrose) is the epitome of food porn.

I love being able to pop in there on the way home from a shopping trip to pick up something to eat!

 

[jayeola]

Sometimes I do wonder how they make money as some of the knock-downs are really good.

/* ain't giving them any more props though as I don't work for them */

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

They made me realsie that tomatos could taste nice if they were fresh. Sainsburys etc are foul. I find my local co op does a good job with tomatos (now that I eat them)

 

[_pH_]

We bought picnic stuff from waitrose yesterday, nomnomnom....

Feta stuffed olives, sundried tomatoes and a very nice bottle of organic Duchy Originals cider that didn't come from Cornwall and wasn't even made by Prince Charles

But, yes, waitrose is but a tad expensive for some things

 

[Mallard]

Not the microwave meals, the ready to fry/bake meals. Most office workers stick to the microwave meals. Though even those are reduced occasionally.

I see. That makes more sense.

 

[Chz]

It's very much a case of getting what you pay for. Waitrose does cost more on some things. They don't have a "Value" or "Basics" line. I think for most standard food items their prices are very much in line with Tesco and Sainsburys "normal" range. A lot of the extra cost in my Waitrose visits is grabbing some of the really nice stuff that I can't get anywhere else.

My gf swears by their concentrated soup stocks and worcester sauce. Their meat is generally excellent, but again pricey. Even their regular pork meets all RSPCA standards and the farms are regularly audited. As someone has said, they're known for being fair with their suppliers and farmers generally like to do business with them. AFAIA, they're the only major player really *pushing* the sourcing of local food.

And to reiterate everyone else - it's a pity I can't afford to shop there every week.

They've got a wealth of information on their web site about their farm standards sourcing:
http://www.waitrose.com/food/originofourfood/sourcingbritishfood/regionalandlocalsourcing.aspx
http://www.waitrose.com/food/originofourfood/farming/selectfarm.aspx

 

[Cloo]

We tried going to our local one to shop. It's lovely, but 1/3rd more expensive than Sainsburys or Tesco.

One day we'll be able to afford it...

 

[beeboo]

Although regarding local sourcing, there were some questions raised about their local meat, as they will only use their own abattoirs which aren't necessarily local.

The rationale for using their own abattoirs seemed sound (ability to ensure standards) but it meant that cows from down the road were being driven half way across the country to be slaughtered, before the prepared meat was driven back to a few miles from where it started.

Possibly Waitrose, but certainly Duchy Originals, got their knuckles rapped for doing something similar with carrots.

 

[Ms T]

Although regarding local sourcing, there were some questions raised about their local meat, as they will only use their own abattoirs which aren't necessarily local.

The rationale for using their own abattoirs seemed sound (ability to ensure standards) but it meant that cows from down the road were being driven half way across the country to be slaughtered, before the prepared meat was driven back to a few miles from where it started.

Possibly Waitrose, but certainly Duchy Originals, got their knuckles rapped for doing something similar with carrots.

Wasn't it Sainsbury's, who insisted that the carrots be driven to their industrial washing plant?

 

[Disaster]

I've never been to Waitrose, either.

Lidl =

 

[mrsfran]

I went to Waitrose today and got biltong, a tin of seafood gumbo, a ramen kit, and an obscure cookery magazine.

 

[Sunray]

Lidl is like another world to Waitrose.

Waitrose sells food that tastes nice because its actually 1/2 decent and also treats is staff fairly well i'm told.

Lidl sells food that can be eaten without fear of death.

 

[Chairman Meow]

Lidl is like another world to Waitrose.

Waitrose sells food that tastes nice because its actually 1/2 decent and also treats is staff fairly well i'm told.

Lidl sells food that can be eaten without fear of death.

That's rubbish - you can get great food in Lidl too.

 

[beeboo]

Wasn't it Sainsbury's, who insisted that the carrots be driven to their industrial washing plant?

It seems Sainsbury's stopped selling the Duchy carrots, due to quality problems, but the distances involved in processing were also highlighted:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464448&in_page_id=1770

Something here about the abattoir issues, which seem to affect all supermarkets. Waitrose probably got highlighted because they promote some of their produce as local:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1844143/posts

 

[Ms T]

It seems Sainsbury's stopped selling the Duchy carrots, due to quality problems, but the distances involved in processing were also highlighted:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=464448&in_page_id=1770

My understanding is that it was Sainsbury's who insisted on the distance, which Duchy weren't happy about.