After a short period of acclimatisation it occurs to me that quite a bit seems to have changed since we were last living in England nine years ago.
Because we lived in the south, Windsor to be precise, and we now live in North Yorkshire, I'm not sure how my comparison stacks up but here goes anyway.
We have noticed that there appears to be many more entrepreneurs selling good quality local produce.
Last night was a meal in point. The rib-eye steak from Booths our local supermarket was excellent. It was so tender, having been hung for 28 days and was sourced from a local Yorkshire farm. It was marginally cheaper than an equivalent in France but the quality was so much higher.
Meat for me in France was generally tough and unless you bought pork, poor value.
For pudding I was tucking into a locally made Yorvale ice cream from nearby York and was able to compare it to the Brymor farm just up the road from us. We may just be lucky but things appear to be moving forward here with an emphasis on quality and price.
I used to believe that French food shopping was better value and of a higher quality. I'm not so sure about that now. After a few trips to Spain where quality is high and prices are low compared to France, I'd say it's definitely not true.
Given the huge farm subsidies enjoyed in France and Spain (the first and second largest recipients of CAP subsidies respectively) I'd say that the average French shopper is getting ripped off and the inward looking, inefficient French farmer continues to thrive.
From my less than educated observation I'd say that the exception to this rule was certain wine producers in Languedoc (don't get me started on Bordeaux and Burgundy) who seemed to have recognised and responded to the demand for a higher quality product and were changing their methods and production.
Still, the weather in France is better.
I most definitely agree that beef is far superior in the UK. So much so that I always get my butcher to vacuum pack it for me so I can take it with us to France. There is one exception to the rule, that is our favourite restaurant The Salamandre in Sorede, where Ivan says the steak is excellent and similarly other meat dishes are faultless. Where then does the chef buy this meat? They profess it is of French origin so it must be available somewhere?
ReplyDeleteThe poor French beef is due to the lack of hanging, isn't it? Also, I don't think they generally cut it well. We eventually found filet mignon steaks which were pretty good but usually we had a large order of excellent meat delivered to France by Devon Rose a couple of times per year and threw it in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your comments regarding value. Our biggest issue is sea food. They don't offer as wide a range here in Scotland as we could get in France. They have perhaps 6 or 7 standard fish varieties but god forbid you might want turbot for example. I guess if there is little or no demand, they won't stock it.
Jan has made the same comment regarding prawns. Prawns, where we were, were piled high in the supermarkets and always great value. Very different here. Hey ho, you can't have everything.
ReplyDeleteIf you like scallops, like we do, Wing Yips shop in Manchester below their restaurant is fantastic.We buy king scallops (frozen)for £12 for 2 kg. They have prawns too but have never bought any so can't comment on the price.
ReplyDeleteI love the variety and quality of fish that is available in France. The sea bass is 4 times bigger than the specimens you can buy in Britain.
Thanks for that. I love scallops.
ReplyDeleteAlex - If you have (or can get) access to Costco, they have very good uncooked jumbo prawns in the upright freezer section. There are smallish, large and huge - and they are the best we've found here in the UK. About £7.90 for a large bag. Peeled with the tail on.
ReplyDeleteOur nearest Costco is Leeds so we'll tie a trip in with Jan's search for Thai basil which I know we can buy in Leeds as well. Thanks.
ReplyDelete