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A sun blessing of a nice shopping, all done with Tesco Finest*
goods: Conchiglioni, Italian extra-virgin olive oil, Ciabatta bread,
Spanish Mancego cheese, tea scones, Swiss mint dark chocolate. |
This post starts with me nibbling at a
Tesco Finest* cherry tomato. A gentle sun, albeit mid December, casts its rays
onto the only plant my flatmate and I dare taking care of: a purring Leopard
Lily. To enrich the quality of the soil, I tried to mulch it with corks. I
fancy perhaps the illusion that the different bouquet, trapped inside this
delicate oak wood, will help the Lily to grow better. I also fertilized the
compost with some exhausted coffee powder, which provides some azotised
components.
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Leopard Lily and her collection of corks,
as you take care of your plants, day by day, attention
after attention, you have to do the same with food,
every little helps, I would say, distorting Tesco motto. |
Anyway, before moving to Waitrose, I find
interesting to share the products I appointed to indulge with. Some are
belonging to the best British tradition such as relish and butter biscuits; butter
squash; marinated beetroots; crackers for cheese; teas and bakery products like
scones and crossed buns; mint chocolate and ravishing cakes (cheese cake, black
forest and the lemon tart); creamy yogurts; butter (although alas produced in
Normandy); and finally sausages and crisps:
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| Reduced to clear, 0,65£ instead of much more. |
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| Three for two of red onion relish: 2,20£ each jar. |
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| Paquito squash, price according to the weight, very nice if rosted and served with balsamic glaze. |
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A comparison between chipolatas [right] (2,50£) and highland venison sausages [left] (approximately the same price):
both irresistible and it is nice to combine them together. |
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Some others are keen selections of
continental foods, which the British climate discourages to produce, such as
wine, oil and olives, South American nuts; fair
traded coffee and cocoa; buffalo mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and sweet
peppers, durum wheat pastas (as Conchiglioni, Pappardelle and Orecchiette) and
egg fresh ones, French, Italian, Swiss and Spanish cheeses and platters of
salami; breakfast international choices as Granola and Muesli. What I mainly
noticed is the fact niche products cannot be adapted to the British taste, and
I am not entirely sure if these goods are meant to keep the continental
attention alive. Tesco fears to lose its loyal customers by becoming too
choosy.
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Pumpkin ravioli with amaretti...mouth watering,
2 packs for 3,50£. Not bad. |
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Nut Granola, usually 2,65£, I was lucky to buy it for 2£.
Quite enjoyable with organic whole-milk! |
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Bleu d'Auvergne: a purchase done my flatmate Frederick,
price unknown, but the taste is closer to gorgonzola, and the cheese texture is creamier than
Stilton. |
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| Orecchiette, 1,65£ usually, but these were buy two for one, and I combined them with Pappardelle Tesco Finest*. |
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The quality of these products on the whole
is particularly high. The goods are very well crafted and as I was objecting in
two posts ago, the packaging could me more environment friendly, but it is
amusing for the eye: the platinum colour instinctively reminds the perception
of a jewel.
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| Two pains au chocolat, reduce to clear at 0,95£. |
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| Three cheeses at the price of two: I choose Stilton, Larcevau Ossau-Iraty and Taleggio (picture bottom left). Also the rosemary focaccia is a Tesco finest product, reduce to clear at 0,95£. |
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| Taleggio, supreme for Risotto & rosemary |
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| Sweet mini peppers: 1, 29£, if I am not mistaken! They contribute to enrich especially Quorn preparations. |
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My opinion is that Tesco has to deal with a
mixed range of customers: the branding is an important stage to bring into the
visual mentality of some lazy customers a new product. Tesco Finest* is like a
bell that rings to the ears of those who might be uncertain and unsecure of
what they are buying but they blindly trust the Tesco selection. For this
reason, even if the price of the Tesco Finest* merchandise is more expensive
than everything else, still it is reasonably competitive. For instance instead
of six croissants you will have two, but the quality of those two surpasses the
six paperboard-ish ones you may happen to buy cheaper. For instance, I had the
pleasure to buy these croissants at 1,33£ because they where under “price drop”
on Sunday 16th December 2012, and the label states it is an improved
recipe.
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1,33£ instead of 1,99£, price drop + promotion,
because it is new improved produce: 4 French Butter Croissants,
if you wrap then in foil and warm them up they are gorgeous,
if you warm them up without foil they are outstanding! |
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| Tender stem broccoli, steamed or fried they taste delicious. |
The penultimate consideration I wish to
offer is the fact that Tesco Finest* goods have a short ingredient line: this
implies that the quality of produces is better because the ingredients are less, like when
you make your food at home. The use of preservatives is reduced only where it
is indispensable and Palm and coconut oil is practically banned. Palm oil is a
nightmare for developing countries, because it is procuring high levels of
deforestation and “fattening” - especially in Africa - few landowners,
corrupted governments and multinational groups.
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| Deliciously buttery shortbread biscuits: 1,39£ |
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| A short ingredient line encircled in red. |
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1,50 £, excellent salty butter,
unfortunately produced in Normandy,
despite the UK offers amazing butters. |
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Buffalo mozzarella from Neaples and surroundings, 2 for 2£:
usually it is 1,75£, each. |
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Lastly, it is always a good tactic that of
approaching expensive produces when they are on special offers. At that
condition, the majority of the items are not solely more economical yet fairly
convenient for treating oneself and for storage: especially when you have the chance
to freeze some commodities or to eat them one day after purchasing. This is
also a great moral exercise to avoid compulsive and hedonistic shopping,
because spending money on expensive food does not really unravel problems,
which aren’t usually solvable throughout mechanical expedients.
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Actually this Albacore tuna steak was turn off:
certainly better than John West, it is not exactly what i was expecting.
It is very rare to find good tuna tin in the UK!
Yet it is admirable this tuna is allegedly fished with
pole and line, 2,39£, price drop! |
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| Beechwood smoked ham from Trieste, the frontier between Italy and Croatia, 1,99£, price drop! |
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King size prawns: excellent with avocado and lime juice,
2,50£, half price! |
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Ibleian extra-virgin olive oil: rich and elegant,
from the hills of Eastern Sicily, 6,99£ |
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Riesling wine: quite fragrant with a flowers bouquet dominating: refreshing and expressive. On the palate its slightly off dry, acidity is highlighted by vegetables, fish and white meat courses. It gives a jam sweetness, with an aftertaste of delicate bitterness. It is not disappointing, considering it is an imported whine with a capsule cork.
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Who's responsable for this modern and audacious way of thinking: a man who was knighted in 2002 and brought Tesco to the podium of the three most fruitful companies in the world, his name is
Sir Terry Leahy, as the
Beatles he is from Liverpool. He was brought up in a council estate and became gradually and successfully who he is, but he never forgot the hard times of his starting point, and now he points out how the public school system should be reformed:
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Tesco Chief executive, Sir Terry Leahy,
ordinary greatness |
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