www.coop.ch/jamieoliver (German, French or Italian)

He has a new range of "stuff" in Coop as of this week. Don't worry, the hyperactive lispy one is not in every store!!

I cannae remember what it's called - something like flavour shaker whatever. It's brill.

Its a hollow weeble with a heavy marble. You put your dry herbs inside, and shake it.

My Sis bought me one from the UK - much easier than your normal pestle and mortar - but I was VERY skeptical at first....

Ahhh, now a visit to COOP will be just like a visit to Sainsbury's

except for the bigger bill, poorer quality and reduced selection

Please, please go away Jamie. OK, at least he never actually claimed to be a good chef, he knows we know that it's his great big mockney gob that gets him around.

His warez are crap, they break and are generally for people who don't know any better. It's like he's coming up with solutions to problems that don't exist.

Food is the new porn, and Jamie's Johnny Wadding it all the way to the bank.

There isn't the choice of hilarious types of baked beans and tinned pasta, sadly...That would single-handedly have the whole of Switzerland smiling.

I remember buying some Rindsfilet in Laax with Green Sauce (Grüne Sosse?) expecting some kind of nice Salsa Verde type concoction. I actually got some vinegar with dried herbs in it.

When I objected she laughed at me and said "ha you come from England, you have Jamie Oliver and you expect Fresh Herbs!" With that she walzed off back to the kitchen.

At least it wasnt Krauterbutter.

THANK GOD For that (will boycott any store that stocks his stuff)!!
There always were many good chefs BEFORE Jamie O.and the english/scottish/irish and even welsh cuisine is NOT that bad if one knows what to look for!
He simply found a niche that no one has used in that way before,but gimme any other chef anytime!

Very irritating chap but his current work to convince British schools to serve decent food to pupils is to be commended.

Aye, well said.

An idea he nicked from Nick Nairn who tried it back in 2003 but who is not quite so popular on TV.

I like his recipe books though even those can be irritating to read.

For tradtional British recipes, I prefer Delia Smith's "Complete Cookery Course".

For Italian cooking, by far the best book to have is the Silver Spoon.

What is important in any cooking is having good quality basic ingredients like olive oil, balsamic, fresh herbs, spices as well as food items like vegetables and meat. It pays to shop around IMHO.

Cheers,
Nick

Indeed. UK supermarkets really wipe the floor with what's on offer in Switzerland.

I've got a (smallish) Tesco at the bottom of my street and the selection eclipses pretty much any supermarket in Switzerland.

My typical bill is less than half of what it would be in CH (ok, I typically buy expensive stuff), the quality is at least as good as any off the Swiss chains and the staff are a lot friendlier and more efficient. Plus they will bag your goods for you if you want.

All this and it's open 'til 9 every evening and from 10-6 on Sundays too. Great stuff.

The icing on the cake - I can get 'Innocent' Smoothies there. I'm addicted to them now.

Speaking of wiping the floor and supermarket, here's something for the Tesco fans.

http://www.supermarket-sweep-up.com/

Aaah, differing experiences Gav...

There is a greater selection indeed. The difference is mainly in the junk food and ready meals category though. How many types of baked beans/crisps do you need...

Price difference is much reduced in my experience if you aim for similar quality. Marked increase in quality since 1995, that's for sure, the premium ranges have introduced the novel concept of products that actually taste of something, which is great

Opening hours are indeed better, no question.

Staff wise, it's typical UK service, amiable but slightly incompetent, don't ask anything too complicated to the spotty lads...They do tend to talk a bit less than the ladies at the checkout in Geneva though, it's great for older folks there but if you're in a rush...

I don't like people baging my stuff for me, I'm slightly OCD about that...

The problem with UK supermarkets is that, yes, they do have a big choice of say, tomato's, you can have 10 different varieties, they all look perfect but all taste the same, of water. At least the tomato's (Bio at least) at my local Co-op taste like tomato's.

English consumers are generally scared of anything that looks like real food, tomato's with strange lumps and green bits of skin, and yet those are the tomato's that have real taste. Also, English consumers seem to relate "exotic" with good, i.e. "Hand dived Argentinian Scallops" (M&S) - how can they be better than scallops from Cornwall & Scotland? they are not, but they are cheaper for M&S to buy, and they are "Exotic". I lived in Hertfordshire where there are a lot of watercress beds and the local Sainsbury's were selling " blah blah luxury watercress from Indonesia!" I bought mine down the road for less than half the price, and guess which were better?

And why do we rely on supermarkets? I went to an amazing market in Zurich a week or so ago and the choice and taste was amazing - and half the price of supermarkets, here or the UK. Most people are just too lazy to spend any time buying or preparing real food. Fresh natural food is the biggest contribution we can make to a healthy lifestyle. Of course, you will say "I'm too busy" Are you too busy to go to the gym, too busy to go to the pub, to watch TV?

You can knock Jamie for his style, but he is trying to get kids (and adults too) interested in good food, making & preparing good fresh ingredients into tasty meals. I did some work for CH4 on Jamie's School Dinners programme and he is making a difference. I agree though that the commercialism surrounding him is just plain daft. Don't buy a Jamie branded bag of mixed salad (if it doesn't exist yet it soon will) buy a lettuce and chop it yourself.

That's my supermarket rant for the week.

__________________
Mike

Monger of fine British Cheeses

My mother does a lot of shopping at the bi-weekly market next to her flat, in urban Geneva. They sell really excellent stuff, mainly fruit&veg from the area and also cheeses, cured meats and home made jams.

Thats nice!

I saw the Jamie stand in Coop last week.I have some of Jamie's books, but I have absolutely no interest in buying his endorsed products.

Why have a recipe for pasta sauce in the book and sell it at the same time. Is it not the point that we try to use fresh ingredients to cook for ourselves??

He is milking it too much in my oponion. A lot of people here don't even know who he is.

You got me !!