When only a fish finger will do....

05/17/2012 - 18:10

New website:http://www.thelittlebritishfoodshop.com/Delivery all over Italy

Comment

I know your link will supply loads of genuinely desirable 'unobtainbables' - but fish fingers are rife in ordinary Italian supermarkets! You can get salmon ones, and everything else Findus, but the best (IMO) are the solid fish ones from Eurospin. Half the price (or less) of Findus but quite as good. Give them a whirl if they are your (or your kids) passion - I keep 18 (Eurospin fish fingers) or so in the freezer for when I've forgotten/can't be bothered/need to feed.

You can find quite a good variety of frozen fish and fish preparations in Italy, including fish fingers. I am just back from there and I prepared some lovely dishes with frozen fish. With all the warnings we are getting about the spread of anisakis and the need to freeze fresh fish for at least 30 hours to kill the larvae, we may as well buy fish which has been frozen at source.

In reply to by Esme

It's a VERY long drive to Tesco ! These are people who are trying to make a living in difficult circumstances, I hope they succeed.  We will support them the best we can. Our problem is our tastes have changed. BUT, find me a good pork pie and I'll get the car out ! wink S

Penny your comment: Remember that food in Italy is subject to IVA whereas it isn't in the UK so that's 21% up for starters plus they have to pay to transport it. I don;t think the prices are too bad considering. Their prices are OTT. I just compared some of the Thai food against what I pay from a Italian company that imports as well. Just a few examples Prices I pay and quantity first, LBFS in brackets: Plus their free delivery if you spend over E150 only applies to 1x10kg box (see the small print). I only have to spend E100 and it arrives FOC even if it weighs 40kg. Fish sauce 725ml E2.20   (150ml E3.50) Red Curry Paste: 400gm E2.45 (285gm E5.95) Sweet Chilli Sauce 800gm E2.75, 350gm E1.50 (380gm E3.90)

Having run a shop here I know exactly how expensive it is to do and I doubt very much they are able to order in bulk in any way as it is such a small operation. If you don't like the prices don't use them. I don't want to spend €100 at a time just on Thai ingredients and am happy to spend a little extra and buy as and when I need it. For me it was a very welcome convenience. Personally, I very much hope they do well in what is a very difficult market at a very difficult time. I just wish English people were more like Italians and supported their fellow countrymen. Could you imgine if this were the reverse? Any Italian deli I have ever been to in London is always full of Italians buyng a little piece of home as is the 'Italia' show in London - practically more Italians than Brits at that one!

The Thai food was just a comparison Penny. I also checked the British Food Shop prices against a few lines and they were cheaper as well in many cases. http://www.britishcornershop.co.uk/default.asp Oxo x 12  E2.26  (E2.65) PG tips x 80 E4.66 (E5.35) Heinz Beans x 4 E3.90 ( x1 E1.50) Fray Bentos Steak & Kidney Pie E3.77 (E4.95) Fray Bentos S&K Pudding E3.77 (E5.50) FYI, I worked in retail in the UK for over 30 yrs, so do know how things work on pricing and mark-ups. Would like to support them, if the prices were attractive. As to Italians in the UK, wherever they are, they only prefer their own food, as they are not adventurous on other cuisines in the main.

I think to compare an Italian Deli with a company who sells prepacked, sterile junk foods and sweets is a bit wide of the mark. People and especially Italians go to a Deli to buy good quality Salami, Pastas and other quality foods and specialist ingredients that are not widely available. To be honest I moved to Italy to get away from Birds instant whip, HP baked beans and Marmite....... no matter how much they cost.

I do think this discussion/argument has legs. Marmite versus Nutella, Simmenthal versus Fray Bentos - over to you to develop the theme! Maybe I left the UK too long ago, (in other words, maybe it happens even in Blighty now) - but being able to buy pre rolled pastry which fits with total precision the throw away aluminium cooking tins - my idea of heaven! You guessed, I'm the one who opts to bring a quiche - not a DOC Italian product, but it gets eaten, so I gather it isn't too far off the Italian scale of edibility. smiley

In reply to by Flip

So sad that your living in Italy means you only eat Italian food. I could not live on a diet of salami etc. as I do like a variety of taste, whether they are Asian (not Indian), Middle Eastern or other European. A decent French Pate ( not salmon or tuna as here ), Anyway, doctor told me not to eat pasta as it is bad for chlorestrol, so stick to rice. Sorry to hear about your earthquakes and hope you are ok, but at least you can have your Martini shaken and not stirred.

As to Italians sticking to there own food we've had our house 6 years now in Sardinia.Since then even in our small town we've noticed the growth in the range of food's and condiments on offer from Lea & Perrins different soy sauses to ready cooked mash potato with cheese which was in a large supermarket in Cagliari where do not find any tourists. So someones buying them

Firstly,  to everyone who has posted positive and complimentry comments about our new business...Thank you very much. Right... now on to all the misguiding, narrow minded and, lets be honest here, just plain stupid ones! Last time i looked Tesco didnt have a presence here in Italy and even if they did do you not think that a multi million pound company might just have a slightly bigger purchasing power than a single little shop tucked away in sleepy Marche? So to compare our prices to Tesco's is just ridiculous! As to our pricing policy...yes we are  more expensive on some products than britishcornershop...equally we are  cheaper on many many more...something the person neglected to mention when making the comment. Combined with the fact the we charge E10,00 for a 20Kg box (not 10kg as stated in a previous comment) against britishcornershop charging £17.99...well im sure you can do the maths yourselves. To be called and i quote from another comment here "a company who sells prepacked, sterile junk foods and sweets"...excuse me!!.....Scots Poradge oats, Ryvita, Colemans Mustard, Rose's Lemon & Lime Marmalade, Fresh Cheddar, Stilton, Bacon...i could go on but think i've made my point. The last point i would like to make is about changing Italian tastes...In the 6 months since we opened the shop we have see an increasing amount of italians come to shop...about 30% of our customers now! Some know exactly what they want whilst others come in to browse and are more than willing to try pickles, sauces, biscuits and many other things. So to say Italians are not adventurous on other cuisines is quite frankly slightly ridiculous and insulting. Of course everyone is entitled to their opinions, whatever it maybe, but you really shouldnt air them on a public forum without checking your facts first...especially when your ill informed comments could effect someone else's ability to earn a living and provide for their family. www.thelittlebritishfoodshop.com

I'm sorry I started this thread now.  I stupidly thought that it might be of interest to forum members. I forgot that actually what would happen is that the village idiots would slide in with their usual snidy comments, despite being the ones that usually complain that there is nothing informative or useful on this forum. However, hopefully with 593 reads and only about 20 replies a lot of people have gone away pleased to have the information available should they need it.  Most people aren't as ungenerous and smallminded as some of those posting on this thread

I'm getting to like you Ric - and I have decided you definately do not hail from Pugland.  (There was once someone called Ric from Puglia - but somehow I often mistyped his name with a "p" in front) And Neil 2012 - surely we can compare your prices to anyone elses we choose - be it in Italy or the UK - not much you can do to stop us doing that really is there? Italian made pasta in the UK is more or less the same price as in Italy so why should British made Ambrosia custard be 8 times more expensive in your little british food shop in Italy than it is in a little british shop in the UK? Do you sell Bisto for Christmas dinner emergencies?

Well in response to your dig at my comment, which I still stand by most of your food on offer is Sterile, packeted 'junk' Food. You quote Cheddar (probably pasteurised unless you are breaking Italian Food Laws) Stilton & Bacon; (probably containing preservatives). Now with great Gorgonzola on offer and bacon available at my local supermarket, what else have you got which can't be loosely grouped into the prepacked junk section. Don't get me wrong but I do wish you every success in your chosen line of business, however as I pointed out, the prices are far too expensive for the average Joe or Giacomo. Some on this forum will relish the fact of rounding of a beautiful freshly prepared meal with Angel Delight and sitting down with a Cup a Soup, but not me. I can however get most of the equivalents at my local Eurospin, even Colemans Mustard powder from LeClerc for half the price you charge. So from a misguided, narrow minded Village Idiot that is used to great fresh locally grown Italian food, I shall retire to bed with a cup of Ovaltine.......

Ok Neil. Maybe, I misread the free delivery price weight quantity, but that link has disappeared. The other UK site is £17.99 for up to 30kg, so yes, more. Obviously, the "Blue Dragon" products cost more, but then they are UK market lines and not that authentic in taste. Have tried them ....... never again!!! As for the Indian range and spices, it is better to go to the Asian food shop in Corridonia. Everyone on this forum is entitled to post their own opinions, as some have, but to call them misguided, narrow minded or just plain stupid, is a reflection on your own mentality, in that they cannot make constructive critisism.

So Annec, are we all village idiots that live here? At least we live here all the time!!! I'm sorry I started this thread now.  I stupidly thought that it might be of interest to forum members. I forgot that actually what would happen is that the village idiots would slide in with their usual snidy comments,

I think the Little British Food Shop is the bee's knees.  I am very grateful to have a source of things like Cheddar, Branston Pickle, cider and good tea bags so close to where we live.  There is no shame in satisfying a craving for good food, whichever country it comes from.  English foods have become treats for me, and I think Neil's prices are very fair, and sometimes a real bargain (have you priced Heinz Baked Beans in Oasi?)

I[m sure Annec posted with the best of intentions. I'm intrigued, because I'm thinking Esme and Rickardo could both be synonyms for Flip: but HGS, it's an entertaining thread, and the food shop is getting some exposure.

  Yes Esme, you are right. I can’t summon up much enthusiasm either. As for the food shop getting publicity, I hope for their sake it turns into orders or its all been a massive waste of time and the cause of another slanging match. 

Damn !! my MPD has been discovered, did you tell them Mother?     No Love, it was the OTHERS !! wait till they find out WE are a Psychopath as well!!

   According to this theory, if you have the same opinion as someone else, that means you must be them? Or is it a ploy to make it easier for those of a different opinion to think there can’t possibly be more than one person who disagrees with them. A bit like calling everyone with a different opinion a village idiot really. All rather infantile!

"According to this theory, if you have the same opinion as someone else, that means you must be them? Or is it a ploy to make it easier for those of a different opinion to think there can’t possibly be more than one person who disagrees with them." Ric, I often have the same opinion as myself and, as I am always only me, I often disagree with not only myself but everyone else. Simples.

just before the whole thing disappears inside (it) i'd just say; first of all i never slag off people who are working...i know that sounds very "fifties" but i believe in that and wish them( with the food shop i mean) the best of luck...it won't be easy. personally i don't care much for processed foods marmite/hp sauce and whatever..but certainly don't make a crusade out of it... i like people doing what the f++k they like. as regards italian attitudes towards food ( this has been gone into a few trillion times on this site) a lot of people are comparing attitudes in extremely rural corners of this country(italy) against a "whats avaialble in London" scenario, whilst backward very rural areas in the UK ( see Scotland/mid wales etc) are certainly not beating the gastronomic tap dance and most things are NOT there.There are so many fantastic "ethnic" restaurants in Italy probably NOT where you are and i had the best indian food in my life in Milano ( better than what i'd had in the UK, India & Pakistan) Prices/VAT etc is all a bit boring but i'd certainly expect to pay premium prices if i suddenly felt the need to consume marmite/custard/sauces/beans etc from the UK in a small shop in this area. thats it folks.