Stocking problems at our local Sainsbury's continue: on a very recent visit I was unable to buy fresh leeks, tinned artichoke, tinned asparagus or Clamato juice, yet fennel bulbs and fresh mint could be found in abundance- two ingredients they seem to run out of on a regular basis. Their stocking policies seem bizarre. If you want to buy fresh dill there, forget it- but yet, just now and again, you will find it there: masses of it, heaped up untidily on the otherwise near-empty shelves. It's like a store from the bad old days of the Soviet controlled Eastern Bloc. Very hit or miss. And sad too, as there was a time back in the '80's when Sainsbury's had a reputation for quality, value and service.
Why do you bother going there then, I hear you ask? It's a fair comment. The answer's not especially one I'm proud of: out of sheer laziness. The supermarket's about a five minute drive away. But I'm on the verge of ditching Sainsbury's completely and switching one hundred percent to the excellent and wonderful Waitrose. Incidentally, The Girl introduced me to the equally excellent John Lewis Food Hall, which can be found in Cavendish Square. As with the superb Wholefoods, whoever manages its stocking deserves some sort of award.
Anyway, back to Sainsbury's. About twenty years ago, they produced a charming series of cook-books, edited by one of the most famous editors in the food business, Jill Norman, and published by the excellent Walker Books (better known for their beautifully illustrated children's books). It's hard to believe now these lovely books were associated with the very same supermarket we're discussing, as frankly, the original "Sainsbury Classic Cookbook" series could have come from another planet.
So far, I've bought three of them, for a few pounds each: "Simple Fare" by Nathalie Hambro (with illustrations by Sally Davies), "Classic French Cooking" by Ann Willan (with illustrations by Susan Alcantarilla) and my latest find, "Fish and Shellfish" by George Lassalle, with illustrations by Alan Cracknell.
Alan Cracknell's work reminds me of Kit Williams and his "Masquerade". In case you've forgotten, he's that bearded artist chap (similar in his style of painting to David Inshaw and the Brotherhood of Ruralists) who fashioned a hare made from beaten gold, buried it in a field near Tewksbury and then published a book with all manner of esoteric clues to the golden hare's whereabouts hidden within the illustrations.
