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Linda Robson declares the new Co-op at the Gainsborough building open |
Getting back to idealist foundations
Don Ryan welcomes the Co-op back to the retail cutting edge and investigates recipe card meal deals
IT'S all at the Co-op trumpeted an old TV advert – a sentiment that was clearly shared by the enthusiastic young woman charged with escorting me around the newly revamped Co-op convenience store at the Gainsborough building in Islington’s New North Road.
The stock on the shelves certainly appeared to be a cut above that available at the average neighbourhood supermarket, such as a Sainsbury’s Local or Tesco Express.
On display was the cream of the Co-op range, items usually only found in its larger outlets: pure, unadulterated, fruit smoothies, speciality breads, premium sandwiches – not just the odd token item but entire ranges.
The meat is British and includes poultry which, along with the Scottish salmon, is farmed to the RSPCA’s, animal friendly “freedom standard”. The shelves are peppered with fair trade goods – the Co-op has led the way on this issue.
“The emphasis, where possible, is on seasonal produce,” my escort enthused, pointing to the fresh vegetable racks, where unseasonal British strawberries held pole position over seasonal asparagus and brussel sprouts. Most of the recent issues that have dogged the food manufacturing industry and undermined the reputations of the big supermarket chains are definitely resolved.
In the products I checked, there was not a trace of flavour enhancer, starch or any of the other wily ingredients often added to manufactured foods.
This leads one to assume that the look and the taste of the processed foods in the store is derived from nature, not a test tube.
It is good to see the Co-op back at the retail cutting edge. It has been a trendsetter in the past, opening the UK’s first self-service store in 1942 and introducing trading stamps – the forerunner of today’s loyalty cards – in 1965.
It is certainly different to its mainstream supermarket rivals, having no shareholders. Anyone willing to pay one pound can become a member and share in the profits.
The Co-op was founded in 1844 by idealists dedicated to selling affordable and nourishing food at a time when most cheap food was adulterated, often with dangerous additives.
Over the years the society has diversified and moved into many other retail areas, including financial services, banking and even undertaking.
And not a lot of people know that the Co-op is also a successful political party. Allied to the Labour Party, it has 29 MPs in the current parliament, including Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families.
Sainsbury’s, too, is making retailing waves. Jolly Jamie Oliver can nightly be seen bouncing about our TV screens and promoting the supermarket’s “feed your family for a fiver” campaign.
The ingredients for the dish featured in the campaign – Meatballs ’n’ More – cost £4.76 according to a handy card.
The card – part of a set – has a shopping list on one side, with each item priced and accompanied by a little photo. On the reverse side sits the recipe.
Pick up the card, shop, then take the shopping home, follow the recipe and cook the meal is the clever concept.
The ingredients for the meatballs include 500g minced beef, spaghetti, onion garlic and peas.
Another card, for Savory Sausage Bake with fresh broccoli, mozzarella and dried penne, costs even less then the meatballs – £4.60.
Among the other cards are recipes for Tuna Cakes and Beefy Burgers, Bangers and Roasted Mash along with a recipe for spicy chili.
These are simple dishes, ideal for children or a light meal for adults perhaps.
If you want something more sophisticated and substantial, take a trip to Waitrose.
They have offered free pick up and shop, double-sided, recipe cards that change monthly, for several years.
Pheasant Breast, Roasted Seasonal Vegetables, Poire Belle-Helene (pears, cooked in a poaching liquid then covered in chocolate sauce) are just a few of the many classy dishes that have featured.
These dishes will usually cost more then a fiver, yet like the Sainsbury’s versions, they feed four (according to the cards) and make use of some frozen, dried and even tinned items.
The Hearty Minestrone – one of the dishes featured last November – contained 100g Waitrose, wholesome dried soup mix (from the beans and pulses shelf), advised the card.
And finally, this week’s handy hint: any unwanted copies of Delia Smith’s How To Cheat At Cooking, her self-styled “manual for a shopping and cooking revolution” – that was out of date before it was published and is now becoming ancient history – can be sold on eBay or given to charity shops. |
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