| Topic: | Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Re:Support Brentford traders ... for starters anyway! | |
| Posted by: | Tracie Dudley Craig | |
| Date/Time: | 14/06/25 17:53:00 |
| As we all know, Lidl is what it is: a (generally) lower-cost purveyor of food and household items (plus, I am led to believe, the occasional kayak). It makes sense that this reduction in price must come at some sort of cost. By and large, that cost comes at the expense of quality. It’s long been established that Lidl’s fruit and vegetables are not of the highest calibre. There is virtually no organic produce. Under no circumstances would I buy meat or fresh fish there, no matter what the label said. So fresh produce is, in general, problematic. I don’t trust their EV olive oil or their baked goods. Their fresh herb selection was sad. We don’t eat ready meals but if we did I’d be disinclined to buy them from Lidl. As a test, I scanned a couple of things with my Yuka app and the results were hair-raising. Lidl does have a reasonable reputation for charcuterie, smoked fish, olives, jarred goods (such as roasted peppers) and pasta (especially from their top-end range). Their block Parmesan is not bad, but the range of cheese is not interesting. Some of the wine isn’t bad at all. That said, for a European supermarket chain something would be seriously awry if it weren’t the case. Now, I am speaking from a position of tremendous privilege. We shop for fresh food most days, are happy to travel to find what we want and spend far more than many people might. This is partly because we both come from food backgrounds and cook almost everything we eat from scratch. (We don’t have children or run a vehicle, so there are two big expenses we don’t have to worry about.) But most important to us is the quality and provenance of the food we eat. If not organic, then it needs to be good. I don’t mind checking market stalls and shops to see what looks good - and If we see something fantastic, we’ll change dinner plans to accommodate our discovery. We buy outdoor-reared, free-range or organic meat and eggs and mountains of fruit and vegetables. That is our choice and we are lucky enough to be in a position to vote with our feet. I completely understand that simply putting some food on the table is a priority (and a struggle) for many - most - people. Another issue is putting something on the table that will be eaten and won’t cost the earth to prepare. (I’m continually irritated by those who say how cheap and simple it is to buy a big bag of chickpeas: no mention of the fortune in fuel to cook the things, and the waste when no one wants to eat what’s been made. Getting sufficient calories and appropriate nutrition into one’s family is the priority, provenance is a secondary - or tertiary, or entirely irrelevant - factor.) I’m glad your friend liked Lidl and thought it was lovely. I didn’t. I didn’t like the refit, the produce or the plastic tat in the centre aisles (sadly no kayaks, but I’m sure that’ll change soon). I don’t like the cheap ‘dupes’ of Aesop, L’Occitane and Molton Brown products. Everything felt shonky and naff. There was no pleasure in shopping and shopping *should* be a pleasure. But… it has its place and that is fine. People like it and that’s great. I don’t, and that’s great too. I’m sure it’ll do very well. We went into Mozz today. Tumbleweed. The dead giveaway was the vast number of trolleys at the entrance. The empty aisles came as no surprise. One of our favourite cashiers looked sad. I’m sure the store doesn’t know what’s hit it, and that’s a concern. Because if revenue hits rock bottom, staff will be laid off, choice will be diminished (and they’re just beginning to get their acts together on this score… there are sometimes interesting things to be had there) and matters could spiral into a closure - another closure in a development which can’t seem to hold on to the few shops that do open. That would be complete and utter pants and a massive loss for TW8. |