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I would say Waitrose provides consistently high quality produce, which rarely disappoints (certainly for me anyway). Lidl and Aldi provide very good value with some great products, but they can often disappoint.
For me a great example of you get what you pay for. Very subjective though and depends entirely on how high you set the bar ;)
Odd how you can sometimes but a cheap lasagne and it can be acceptable but some of the expensive ones are shite.
I sometimes buy a Mousaka if I am a lazy bastard and by far the best I have tried is the M&S although I have often found a lot of their products so so! Not tried a Bighams but probably better ?
Thing with ready meals is that you are always just re hearing cooked food so it will never compare to home cooking or good restaurant cooking. When I worked as a chef you will be surprised however just how many restaurants serve re heated food especially vegetables!
Sure, but not if you've been shopping there for years and know most of their product range inside out, thus can simply target the stuff that from experience you *know* will be good! That done, there are unlikely to be any disappointments - and at least with Aldi or Lidl, should you take a punt on trying something new, and it turns out to be excellent (or vice versa), you'll not have paid through the nose for it!;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim
In terms of 'setting the bar' Timbo, trust me, I have very high standards, in terms of what food I'll eat (as does Del), and the stuff we buy from either Lidl or Aldi is chosen because, for us, it's the best of its type that we've tried from any of the supermarkets, and which for us offers high VFM.
What we both object to (much like with hi-fi) is paying extra £s, simply for a 'fancy badge', when just as good (if not better) can be had for less, from an 'inferior' one, i.e. Lidl vs. Waitrose. Or... If something from the latter is significantly better, the extra cost has to be judged by us as being worth it.
What we NEVER do, is simply carry out all of our food shopping in the 'poshest', most expensive supermarket, under the notion that it *must* be the best, because of the name and/or it's the most expensive (making the fatal error of assuming that a high price-tag automatically indicates highest quality], simply because we can afford to. That mentality is just for daftees/snobs with more money than sense!:D
The funniest, most pathetic assholes, are the ones who take Waitrose or M&S carrier bags into Aldi or Lidl, and fill them up with their products, in order to fool the neighbours, should they be around when they're unpacking the car!!:lol: And yes, I've known a few clowns like that in my time... Hilarious!
Marco.
I guess it'll come down to which combination of flavours tickles your tastebuds most, even if what you're eating is intrinsically not very good. I'm not really into any shop-bought lasagne, as there's always too much sauce and not enough pasta! And often, the sauce tastes so artificial (plasticky) and just rotten, especially when poor-quality meat is used:spew:Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimbo
It simply doesn't compare to a good homemade version:)
I'm not surprised, but if you know how properly cooked fresh veg should LOOK, as well as taste (the texture and colour, for starters, of reheated veg is much different from fresh, and a clear giveaway), you'll soon know when you see it. If that happens to me, and it rarely has, as we tend to eat in places where such lazy/shoddy practices are unlikely to occur), I simply send it back and tell them to do it right, from scratch.Quote:
Thing with ready meals is that you are always just re hearing cooked food so it will never compare to home cooking or good restaurant cooking. When I worked as a chef you will be surprised however just how many restaurants serve re heated food especially vegetables!
Marco.
Chicken Tikka Masala pilau ricehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/201...4c65e96b77.jpg
Whilst I really like Marco's sentiments and feelings on the matter, I actually think Tim is correct in practice.Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim
Marco - there's no need to say more. I know how you feel on the matter.;)
:D:D
Nah.....
Marco.
Solid.
Cassoulet and a green salad for tea... Washed down with a very nice glass of Cote du Rhône (and a pint of water as the cassoulet is clarty as feck) :lol:
Can't argue with that. One thing I do rate as very good value is an Aldi whisky, Highland Black 8YO. It's excellent for the money and I did a blind whisky challenge recently with my mate, who's also a whisky lover and he rated it higher than a Glenfiddich 12YO single malt! I've polished off two bottles this year :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Marco
Tis good stuff - it's not a world beater, but hard to top at 13 quid.
https://www.tomswhiskyreviews.com/im...i_hb_8_250.jpg