on the other aisle...

When I was in France I missed Waitrose.
I've told you all that before, n'est-ce pas?
I sometimes think I should wear their logo on a T-shirt
but instead I carry it in my heart

You may laugh, but when I was looking for a house to rent I deliberately chose a town in which there is a Waitrose store. In fact, sitting at my keyboard in The FVH, I sometimes even surfed their website, idly looking for job openings. Once I applied for a trainee manager job, thinking that a scientific foodie background (did I ever mention I was once an analytic chemist in a chocolate factory?), my passion for cooking good, healthy meals from raw ingredients, an understanding of the health benefits of food and having a fridge stocked with French cheeses, fish and wine, as well as being good with people, might make me suitable...

They declined
C'est la vie
C'est dommage

We'd have made a good partnership...
One little foodie fresh from France and one ethical employer committed to customer care

Waitrose is an upmarket supermarket in the UK. Waitrose is the food division of the British retailer and worker co-operative the John Lewis Partnership. As of June 2009, there are 204 branches across the United Kingdom. The company differentiates itself from competitors by offering high quality food and emphasising customer service. Waitrose competes with the likes of Tesco and Sainsburys, in terms of corporate values and quality.
Wikepedia

Aside from the food, which is often from small, independent producers, and the calming atmosphere inside a Waitrose store, and the truly delicious food,
Waitrose is an ethical business

Waitrose's donates a proportion of its profits to a group of charities on a proportional basis whilst individual Waitrose branches manage their own charitable donations and local decisions are made on which charities are to be supported. This is a system called 'Community Matters', where customers are invited to choose who they want money to be donated to.
The supermarket launched the Waitrose Foundation in 2005, providing funds for education, worker facilities and health services among other things for fruit growers in South Africa.

When I came to England to view houses to rent The Ragazzi directed me to the local Waitrose store. They knew I was tired, anxious and a little apprehensive, faced with the momentous decision to leave my beloved commune and return to The Rat Race and they guessed, rightly, that I was sorely in need of the comforting familiarity of my favourite store, that I needed to feel at home and safe.

So we popped in to Waitrose to buy some food for lunch and a few goodies to transport back to France to keep up my spirits over the following weeks.

I was in my element!
Or rather, I was Home


Wandering along the aisles of familiar foods
seeking out new product ranges
standing gazing in childish delight at the large range of cook's ingredients
I felt on familiar ground
and reassured

Traceability is key...
...which is why Waitrose knows every farm and farmer who supplies every pack of our British pork, bacon and sausages. We know the parentage and history of the Aberdeen Angus and Hereford animals supplying its beef; and we know the origin of every own-label free range egg and pint of milk – claims that few supermarkets can make.

The Ragazzi used to joke about that
"What was the name of the hen that laid this egg?"
They'd ask as I served up an speckled brown organic egg on home-baked bread
"That one is from Henrietta"
I always told them
Well, maybe it was!

We believe being a responsible retailer is the right thing to do.
This is why we introduced organic food way back in 1983, why we have a sustainable fishing policy and why we have retained the title of ‘Compassionate Supermarket of the Year’ awarded by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF).

The Ragazzi were raised on Waitrose organics.
I taught them well, they are fussy eaters only in so much as they demand good, tasty food cooked by Maman and though they do like pizze and paste it's Waitrose macaroni cheese that tops their list of "comfort food in a carton"

Our buyers seek out the finest local and regional products our country has to offer.
Working in partnership with small producers, Waitrose helps boost the economy in many rural areas and its customers get to sample the very best foods made locally

Such a very French notion.
Local and regional food.
I love to travel, but when my beans accumulate more airmiles than me then I start to wonder.
If Waitrose ever decide to open a store in Guingamp then I will move heaven and earth to be their first employee.

Imagine that. Living at The FVH and working at Waitrose...

Okey dokey, enough already
I could go on and on...
But I think I have recovered sufficiently from my trip to Tesco
and reminded myself of why I prefer Waitrose
(Did I ever admit to an excess of enthusiasm?)

Pics and quotes from Waitrose' website
I hope they don't mind my borrowing them?