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Get your free copy- An angry farm shop owner has spoken out after Jay Rayner, a food critic for The Observer, said customers who shop at farmers' markets are 'narcissistic' and 'self-righteous'
Chris Reeks, co-owner of La Hogue farm shop in Cambridgeshire, called for the critic to ‘get out of London’ and experience farm shops, delis and markets located outside the capital.
Mr Rayner, who regularly appears on BBC1’s MasterChef, commented in July’s Observer Food Monthly that shopping at farmers’ markets, though commendable, is a fruitless way of trying to change food habits.
“Shopping for luxury goods is an act of acute narcissism. It’s all about the positive light in which we view ourselves, and the unnecessary rewards we think we deserve or, even worse, need, as a result,” he said in the article.
“Buying a £17 organic free-range heritage chicken from Borough [Market] is no more a challenge to the supermarkets than buying a £1,000 Mulberry handbag is a challenge to Primark. Indeed, the supermarkets do what they do precisely because there is someone out there flogging a chicken for £17; because they can offer a product at half the cost which is not half the quality,” he added.
However, Mr Reeks disagreed with the critic’s comments, saying in his blog, “I have a lot of time and respect for Jay Rayner, both as a balanced and knowledgeable columnist and a TV and radio celebrity. However like many ‘celebs’ I believe that sometimes he forgets that there exists a world outside our capital.”
He points out that many contemporary farm shops offer competitively priced goods so all demographics can buy quality food. “In our own case we attract over 2,500 customers a week from Lords to dustmen. They’re searching for good quality, locally produced, seasonal fare at competitive prices and will not – and in some cases cannot – pay over the odds for the prestige factor,” said Mr Reeks.
“So come on Jay, come on a little tour with me outside London and I’ll show you the true picture!“ he added.
Read the full La Hogue farm shop blog at: http://www.lahogue.co.uk/blog/get-out-of-london-mr-rayner/
Read Jay Raynor’s article at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jul/17/farmers-markets-jay-rayner
