v‘ ‘17 l‘ I. '5’ fir‘éfl-fina .- ~ -
EAT&DR|NK
other local husinesses henelit. hut in reality. all that is increased is carl‘all as shoppers driy'e to the supermarket. stock up and driyc away againf
Many ol' the independents reiterate that no supermarket can match their expertise and personal iny'oly'eriient with the goods they sell and where they come l‘rom. Waitrose has made signilicant play on the lad that it is using regional Scottish and local produce: in parallel to this is a carel'ully nurtured image or good relationships with suppliers.
There is ey‘ideiice to hack this tip. The owners of The Store in Stockhridgc (panel. helow) might he a little nervous ahout the impact ol' Waitrose on their shop. htit
\'.'/.|'I lctifl
IAS one of the small irideperidt-irit food shops along Raeburn Place in Stockbridge. The Store has every right to feel threatened by the arrival of Waitrose a few blocks away. With its contemporary. upmarket image. The Store stocks high quality meat from the family farm along wrth a select range of other fresh and packaged food made by small. specialist and mainly Scottish
they‘re delighted that products lrom their parent lai'm in :\herdcenshire are to he stocked hy \Vaitrose. .’\tltte 'l‘homson ol~ .-\lloa‘s lilla |)riiiks. which makes a raspherry -hascd drink called Bouyragc. which she sells at l'ariiiers‘ markets htit will also he ayailahle iii the new Waitrose stores. has also heen impressed so tar. ‘l'ye husinesses ruined hy supermarkets. which expect eyerything in return for putting a product on the slielyes. Waitrose seems to he dil‘l'ci‘erit. partly hccatise it‘s not al'r'aid to charge for hettcr quality'
seelt
All yes. price. \Vaitrose ltsell~
dances delicately around the issue. 'Beeitllse (ll. \Vaitrose's l'L'plllillltlll l‘oi' qualityf the chain‘s spokesperson explains. 'it‘s easy to assume we‘re expeiisiyc. hut this simply isn‘t the Our customers know that real \alue is all ahout enjoying good sery ice and paying a lair price tor hettcr quality l‘ood.~
'What many people tip here haven‘t yet realised is that \Vaitr'ose isn't cheap.‘ says llenry Beckett. owner ol' llenri’s l'irenelt deli at the
Cll\L‘.
l'oot ol Morningside Road. It
anything. the arriy‘al oi Waitrosc (and M&S Simply ima. which is due to open on Morningside Road later this summer) encourages specialist shops that there are shoppers out there quite willing to
A DOUBLE EDGED CLEAVER?
producers; Vex, :.rrir:l.ir t i‘t‘yfiirtr'ntfi: headline ilttlllt’ rr lg policy.
What riiakes the Store u'iittara howeyrer. is; that they are alsz: .: Waitrose supplier. l it"‘t(:l:; f;:' ‘; '.r generations ritar l Alt-Hf} " Aberdeen. 1%? Bocths raise A: w: l‘.’-:’ Angus cattle ari.i‘ Suffolk arm: lacs" l)t‘.?(}tlf§ of Sheep ‘ri ::r"a'f ll.i‘t"l ‘-.":i recdrrig tlttzlll .)lt riattaa‘ carsttxe- .t"l ltriiiiegr ;.'.’ri frr trier \'.’a".rt::;t' "Lt‘." chosen tr) :ztor's .i :;-:,-e<:t iii 9‘ t'w' products, :rtclti.i~'ig; l .t'f'."‘
Breakfast sausages art: A: rm :r‘tzrxw fillet tiu'gers "Jr/e Pay-e a r:.i:;:: ;'
food and trelext: that acct: ‘: : derriarids the pest was. 19"“ explains fairier Andre's. {stair ‘U..' .r' is t‘sllYllDlC‘ tt‘ l?t(‘,"‘.t‘°.(' "5.1." regional iced passer; l"‘?t;t‘ a'e- prinCIples which are aigna’xf t‘n Wartrose's operatrorrf
Waitrose has taken over two former Safeway stores in Edinburgh, promising fresh, locally sourced produce where possible.
spend money on good quality lurid. 'l'heir main l'car is that the w ell. cral’tcd marketing and other adyantages supermarkets hay e. such as parking. mean that shoppers don't consider the alteriiatiycs at hand.
In the end. \Vaitrosc is still a supermarket. an elephant compared to the l'leas til independents. .ltialilla lilytliiiian. lidiiihui'gli—lmscd author ol~ Vin/i/u'rl. a searing indictment ol. the power oi British supermarkets. isn‘t in danger ol' heing hewitchcd hy the sol‘ter. kinder. gentler \Vaitrosc. ‘ln theory \Vaitrose seems more ethical and tries to cater to thinking l'oodiesf she says. 'hut it lids csactly the same cllcct its other supermarkets l'or independent shops. I‘m sure \Vaitr‘ose's first impressions will he good. hut people will \(ltlll realise that it sells pretty much what the others sell. It is good at l’R. at saying what iiiiddle-class. al‘l'luent shoppers want to hear. In practical terms. it can ney'er compete with the independent shops like .\le|lis l‘or cheese. or l'iddleis l'lslt Market. littl yery coiisciotis that we‘re the luckiest people in Britain [0 haye the range (ll. good timid slttips we do in Bi‘untslicld and Moriiirigside.‘
98 THE LIST 8—22 Jun 2006
News to nibble on . . .
I Edinburgh is to lose one of its more appealing little dining secrets this month. Odile Petre has announced that La Cuisine d'Odile, the day-time only restaurant in the French Institute on Randolph Crescent, is to close at the end of June after 18 years. Odile is off to run a small inn in the South of France; less handy for lunch perhaps. Their new adventures will Edinburgh‘s loss. I As pairilrilly health. as we are at List lowers ‘.‘.’Iill our .rtfzr o- ,og ilates classes and herbal irirrze liar. ‘.'.e :Lllll eriioy a degree of (Z()tl‘.’(,’lll(,‘lli7t3 23‘) when these rriaryrr: little licxes riiarked 'Mir;rorrio Meals' (pictured showed up at our door, we were iritridtied. [Jesigrierl (if; a ctiririirir; lunch alternative to ‘illltllfr; arid soup, each (‘ritil‘tri l()ll4‘ll l)()X otter fresh veggies; in aliririrlarire Flavours include, lliai green curry, sweet chilli noodles. tomato and chili pasta and tomato and herhy pasta. Keep a heady or re out in your local superriiarket riow.
WIN FOODIE BOOKS!
I know we keep banging on about them at the moment but it‘s only because they're so worth it. Yes, our Eating and Drinking Guide award winners Shirley and Eddie Spear, proprietors of the Three Chimneys Restaurant on the Isle of Skye, have put pen to paper and published their first book of recipes. The book, is out now, published by Mercat Press, but we have five copies to give away. All you have to do is send an email to promotions @list.co.uk or a postcard to ‘Three Chimneys Competition’, The List, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE with your name and address. Usual List rules apply.