Pollock at Booths

“Pollock for puss
Coley for the cat”
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Back to my tour of Booth’s flagship store in Garstang (see yesterday’s posting). We were shown the fresh meat, the fresh fish and the vegetable sections. For some reason our host skipped over the processed and frozen food aisles, which is a pity because this is where they make most of their money.

A young man who works on the fish counter proudly told us about his training and the store’s policy of selling only ‘sustainable’, fish- which means pollock rather than cod.

After seeing what was on offer, did I feel tempted to change my shopping habits? I’m afraid not- in fact I was rather shocked at the lack of choice and the inferior quality. The fish counter was frankly pathetic, with very little on offer and what there was looking tired and shrivelled. Funnily enough there was no sign of pollock, coley or cod.

On the meat counter there was a decent choice, but the beef had no marbling and looked very red, which is an indicator that it hadn’t been properly hung. It wasn’t a patch on the choice and quality on offer at Higginsons in Grange.
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The brutal truth is that if Booths are to survive they have to compete with the likes of Tescos and Morrisons which means that, whatever their PR people might say, they are driven down to the lowest common denominator on price and quality. And so, in answer to your question, No, I’ll not be tempted to return, as long as there’s an alternative to go to.