Tip jar

If you like CaB and wish to support it, you can use PayPal or KoFi. Thank you, and I hope you continue to enjoy the site - Neil.

Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Support CaB

Recent

Welcome to Cook'd and Bomb'd. Please login or sign up.

March 28, 2024, 06:13:26 PM

Login with username, password and session length

When your local takeaway blatantly buys their ingredients from Lidl

Started by Shit Good Nose, February 05, 2019, 10:20:33 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Shit Good Nose

Does it bother you?  Does it matter?


We have a pizza place and a Thai place nearby and they're both very nice, but they both get the bulk of their ingredients from Lidl.  Obviously there'll be the odd thing they can only get from specialist suppliers, but for the most part it's from Lidl.  And I know this to be true as I regularly see the main men from both places in there with trolleys full of stuff that definitely isn't for home.

When I said this to Mrs Nose, she turned her nose up a bit (not that she likes Thai anyway), despite the fact that the food from both places hasn't changed and is still nice and we do about 70% of our shopping in Lidl ourselves (cos it's a 30 second walk from our back garden).

Obviously there's the fact that I now know what the mark-up is and it's quite eye watering, but thinking logically it would be the same price or thereabouts if they got their stuff from a "normal" takeaway supplier.  After all, the pizza place is a few quid cheaper than Dominoes.

Woss reckon?

Ferris

Is your concern with the potential lack of quality about the ingredients from lidl? Not sure I follow. They want to keep margins low to increase profits but you know that already, I guess they've determined lidl is the place to be.

I reckon it's fine. Pizza shop people have to get their items from somewhere.

Quick edit: unless you mean you saw them with a cart full of frozen pizzas which they intend to pawn off to an unsuspecting public. If so, then that is not on and you can report them to the pizza authorities.


Shit Good Nose

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on February 05, 2019, 10:27:52 AM
Is your concern with the potential lack of quality about the ingredients from lidl? Not sure I follow. They want to keep margins low to increase profits but you know that already, I guess they've determined lidl is the place to be.

I reckon it's fine. Pizza shop people have to get their items from somewhere.

I've got no concerns whatsoever - the food from both is nice, and they've scored 4 (pizza) and 5 (Thai) on the old environmental health thing - just Mrs Nose's reaction made me think about it, and I realised that I've never known (at least knowingly known) a takeaway to buy its stuff from a local supermarket instead of a supplier.

Just wondering if anyone else shares Mrs Nose's opinion...

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: bgmnts on February 05, 2019, 10:28:29 AM
Maybe you should just cook yourself you fat, lazy cunt.

No cannibals in my family.  Although I often say "I'd rather eat my own balls", so there's a first time for everything.

Sebastian Cobb

What makes you think the quality and price would be much different from a wholesalers?

ZoyzaSorris

Were you expecting them to be getting their raw materials from the Thai equivalent of Abel and Cole or something? Id think myself lucky if they were getting their ingredients from Lidl, rather than from some dodgy wholesaler bringing in arsenic laced chicken fom the phillipines or something.

imitationleather

When I had a girlfriend who worked in a Chinese takeaway (which was a boyhood dream come true) she told me that that the chips they serve are the cheapest frozen ones that can be bought. When I learned this I felt as though I was in possession of sacred knowledge. I felt like I had actually become Chinese.

Now, years later, it does seem kind of obvious.

Shit Good Nose

I think some of you have misunderstood/not bothered reading - it's not me who has a problem with it, it's my wife.

I'm asking if anyone else thinks like her about it...

gib

I agree with your wife, i have no idea why you have such a problem with this and as a result i think less of you.

Ferris

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on February 05, 2019, 10:33:50 AM
I've got no concerns whatsoever - the food from both is nice, and they've scored 4 (pizza) and 5 (Thai) on the old environmental health thing - just Mrs Nose's reaction made me think about it, and I realised that I've never known (at least knowingly known) a takeaway to buy its stuff from a local supermarket instead of a supplier.

Just wondering if anyone else shares Mrs Nose's opinion...

That's fair enough - it's not something you think of until you see it happen. I see it fairly regularly where I live (lot of takeout places and we shop at a nice but cheap grocery store so it makes sense). I also see it with booze a lot because we all have to go to the same government-run liquor outlet so you see the odd decrepit old Chinese lady wheeling off with 180 bottles of Tsingtao or whatever. Took me a while to clock the reason for it.

Lidl's alright so I think you're fine. Let her know my opinion and report back.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: ZoyzaSorris on February 05, 2019, 10:48:24 AM
Were you expecting them to be getting their raw materials from the Thai equivalent of Abel and Cole or something?

All takeaways - even the shittest chicken places - should buy all their ingredients from Fortnum and Mason.  Or Harrods, at the very least.  If they don't, they are cunts.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: gib on February 05, 2019, 11:04:55 AM
I agree with your wife, i have no idea why you have such a problem with this and as a result i think less of you.

It's true, she is at least twice the man I am.  On account of her cock and balls. 

On the other hand she's mental and I'm not, so there's that.

gib

Quote from: Shit Good Nose on February 05, 2019, 11:08:44 AM
It's true, she is at least twice the man I am.  On account of her cock and balls. 

On the other hand she's mental and I'm not, so there's that.

How's the old cutting down on the mind medication working out?

It happens all the time, numerous times ive had hte local takeaways come into my shop and buy boxes of Cucumbers and other Salad ingredients. One Indian would buy mountians of After Eight Mints. The only thing they don't buy is fizzy pop, that seems to come from abroad as it has the squggly writing on it.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: gib on February 05, 2019, 11:12:31 AM
How's the old cutting down on the mind medication working out?

So far so good, thanks for asking.

I have noticed that she gets upset more than she used to when little Nose (who is nearly 9) plays up, which is a fairly regular thing at the moment, but that could just be because it's happening more often of late. 

She's seeing her gp next month for a check and, presumably, to agree (or not) a further reduction in amount and/or frequency.  So we'll see...

Elderly Sumo Prophecy

Quote from: imitationleather on February 05, 2019, 10:54:13 AM
When I had a girlfriend who worked in a Chinese takeaway (which was a boyhood dream come true) she told me that that the chips they serve are the cheapest frozen ones that can be bought. When I learned this I felt as though I was in possession of sacred knowledge. I felt like I had actually become Chinese.

Now, years later, it does seem kind of obvious.

Those chips are always shit, unless it's a Chinese/chippy hybrid. I usually eat about one or two, think "Yep, they're still shit", then give the rest to the dog, along with the complimentary bag of prawn crackers.

Ferris

Quote from: Elderly Sumo Prophecy on February 05, 2019, 11:17:10 AM
...I usually eat about one or two, think "Yep, they're still shit", then give the rest to the dog...

This really made me laugh.

Chips from UK Chinese takeouts are fucking great though. Funny little paper bag, plum sauce for dipping. Magic.

wooders1978

It does ruin the mystique somewhat to see the folks from the Chinese takeaway shopping in Tesco's (per my town)

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Delete Delete Delete on February 05, 2019, 11:15:52 AM
It happens all the time, numerous times ive had hte local takeaways come into my shop and buy boxes of Cucumbers and other Salad ingredients. One Indian would buy mountians of After Eight Mints. The only thing they don't buy is fizzy pop, that seems to come from abroad as it has the squggly writing on it.

Oooohhhh!!!!  One of our Indians used to sell Thums Up coke, which was a nice alternative to Coca Cola and Pepsi.  Unfortunately they stopped selling it a few years ago and replaced it with normal Coca Cola.  Wouldn't be surprised if it was only me that bought it.

Wet Blanket

I've seen the Indian takeaway near me chucking out empty industrial size jars of Patak's curry paste, which spoils the magic more than fresh ingredients from Lidl, even if they must buy those from specialist wholesalers.

I note they also often prop the back door open with bowls of cooked chicken

Ferris

Quote from: wooders1978 on February 05, 2019, 11:19:51 AM
It does ruin the mystique somewhat to see the folks from the Chinese takeaway shopping in Tesco's (per my town)

They should trade with the travelling spice merchant who brings exotic wares from distant lands to source the ancient spice blend for Set Meal #2 With Chips. Nipping to tesco does remove the glamour, I'll grant you.

Sebastian Cobb

A couple of lads that worked at a fruit, veg and flowers wholesalers used to drink in my pub. Quite regularly you'd see their van outside supermarkets, not because they were supplying fruit and veg, but because they were buying as much short-code stuff as they could.

The worse bit is their English was so pour, that they couldn't understnd the amount of money they could get back by getting Loyalty card. In the Co-Op its 5% on Co-Op products which is the entire Produce Range and Milk. They could be rakeing it in.

wooders1978

Quote from: FerriswheelBueller on February 05, 2019, 11:23:39 AM
They should trade with the travelling spice merchant who brings exotic wares from distant lands to source the ancient spice blend for Set Meal #2 With Chips. Nipping to tesco does remove the glamour, I'll grant you.

That's my view on it - My chilli beef comes from tesco? Get te fuck ye charlatans!

Ferris

Quote from: wooders1978 on February 05, 2019, 11:36:14 AM
That's my view on it - My chilli beef comes from tesco? Get te fuck ye charlatans!

This made me laugh. I'm very sleep deprived though.

Shit Good Nose

Quote from: Wet Blanket on February 05, 2019, 11:22:47 AM
I've seen the Indian takeaway near me chucking out empty industrial size jars of Patak's curry paste, which spoils the magic more than fresh ingredients from Lidl, even if they must buy those from specialist wholesalers.

It is true that a HUGE number of takeaways and restaurants use Patak's lime pickle, but most of them don't try and hide the fact as it is incredibly hard to beat.  I think I can count on one hand the number of restaurant-own pickles that were anywhere near as nice, let alone nicer.

Buelligan

I work in a (fairly highly regarded) restaurant.  We used to source all our ingredients from small organic suppliers and pay for it to be shipped into the country if necessary (this angle was never used as a selling point, we simply did it because we thought the quality and authenticity were better. 

But the restaurant trade is highly volatile and waste will always occur and margins are tight and deliveries can fail.  So now we do a mixture, some shipped in all special.  Some bought local from small mainly organic producers, eggs, cheese, honey, wine, oil, meat and most seafood, veggies, truffles etc.  But we do buy some of our flour, eggs, cheese, dairy and salads from local supermarkets, because you run out or it's cheaper or whatever.  We are working towards producing our own bio oil and flour and we already do most of our cheese and some of our meat (but not many people are in a position to do that).

Salad in Aldi and salad in Waitrose all grew in fields or glasshouses without class systems AFAIK.  As long as things are clean and fresh and not grown by slaves or full of chemicals, it's all good.

(With obvious vegetarian caveats.)

Lisa Jesusandmarychain


PlanktonSideburns

Linda McCartney do a lovely Vegetarian Caveat, better than the meat ones I recon