lindaf

Thanks for this info Interesting about Chamonix because next weekend we're off skiing at Pila so not too far away. We've been to Pila before and the large supermarket near the ski-lifts sold Ovamaltine chocolate bars so I've got my fingers crossed that they still do

TestaRossa

Lol! We went there last year! Allow about an hour or so from Pila if you do the trip because of the tunnel. There's a ski pass that lets you use the runs over there and you can get a bus from Courmayeur that's free apparently - we just stayed in Chamonix as the weather wasn't up to travelling around the resorts. I liked the big supermarket in Aosta, no Cadbury's though - can't remember the Ovaltine bars or can I?? In the car it's €44 return through the tunnel. Go to the big Super U in the centre of Chamonix - if you head towards the St Michel car park either park in there or use their own car park. The English food is at the top of the escalator going up from the basement. There's also some smaller grocers called Casino in the centre and they do small selections of English stuff too. If you are feeling really adventourous and fancy a day off skiiing go over to Geneva - it's about an hour from Chamonix by car, but your OH might object to having to pay Swiss road tax for a shopping trip! Not sure they do Cadbury's but the shopping is great there and they have Starbucks too! I had fantastic Steak, chips and gravy in Geneva!

PAT M

How nice to live within a decent driving distance from British food shops, I live in Puglia (provincia Lecce) it would be great if some enterprising Brit would open a store down here. My eldest son lives in Belgium and there is Stonemanor just outside Brussels where he can buy anything his heart desires, the staff are terribly British too "Sorry to keep you waiting chaps", you wouldn't get that in Tescos

indiebird

Sounds wonderful.... I got excited seeing Fig Rolls in Les 2 Alpes!! Sad innit??!!

Margaret M

Wow, almost a neighbour. We are up in Brindisi province. Do you have a Lidl down there? You can get some of the stuff there.

PAT M

Yes thanks Margaret we do, Lidl are great, we have one in Ugento (Le) near here or Sava (TA) when we spend time with the family in the Summer. I get my son to bring me down things like Paxo, gravy and teabags.

Gio

Really odd thing is that when you haven't got all these British delights in Italy and then suddenly they are all there at your finger tips you don't bother...I must admit I can't get enough of brown sauce though at the moment. Though stopped from doing too much shopping as can't get to shops at mo cos we are snowed in...well iced in really, so it's walk there or nothing..& I'm in the middle of dear old London town

PAT M

Take care Ernesto, my son has slipped over twice on the ice on his way home from work, fortunately they have gritted the pavements now. Don't forget to bring home a good supply of British goodies, you are spoilt for choice in London!

Gio

Can some one just lay out a quick guide to what cuts of meat I am buying in Italy and what they correspond to in the U.K.
for instance:

Belly Pork
chuck steak
sirloin
stewing steak
middle neck chops (lamb of course)
Lamb shanks( think maybe it's not a cut I have ever seen here)
lamb shoulder

and so on

Salerno

has anyone actually tried the British Corner Shop online? I ordered from there last week and my box arrived this morning, 2 days after they posted it in the UK. They have cut their shipping prices at the moment and up to 30kgs is €17.

I got my bistos, HP sauce, lucozade and other stuff.....and it was worth it!!!!! Am sitting now having a cup of tetley and have my ginger nuts, rich tea and chocolate digestives in front of me with the eyes popping out of me head lol lol

I was also able to send them an email and they send me bacon, cheddar and sausages too which arrived in perfect condition and went straight into the freezer!

I was a bit iffy at the start ordering food over the internet but it was well worth it seeing as there are no brit shops round here, lidl stocks nothing from home and I had 3 flights cancelled over Xmas because of snow at home so I didn't get to do my shopping!

I'll be shopping with them again but as they made my birthday with a big 30kg box of stuff from home this morning

TestaRossa

I have used BCS the once, then I realised I was paying twice what I would in the UK shops and didn't do it again! I can get so much here anyway that the things I can only get from BCS don't seem worth ordering! Plus if I was really desparate I could probably persuade my OH to bring stuff from Spain or the UK when he is there but he normally comes hand luggage only. Apart from Ribena, which I do miss as I don't like drinking cola or tea all the time and I'm not a water fan, my main missing item was Hellman's - and I can get that here now!! So I'm happy! But if I was out in the sticks or a non-anglicised community I would probably use it!

Salerno

Thanks TR....I know the prices are a bit dearer than at home but when my mum had to pay £50 to send me a 10kg box I thought it'd probably be cheaper to do it myself. I have a friend who is in Belfast often and I get him to bring me stuff like potato bread, soda bread, sausages, bacon and vegetable roll (which is a meat from Northern Ireland) so I can freeze them but it normally entails long calls from Tescos or Sainsburys when he can't find the exact item that I wrote and me trying to understand his reading of the labels

I was thinkimg of opening an Irish food stuffs shop here and importing the stuff but then I realised that the anglo community here come here for lemoncello and the typical Amalfi coast cooking and I'd probably end up eating all the stuff meself and closing within a month 100 kgs heavier

TestaRossa

Lol! To the last bit! I think you would be surprised! Having said that the food down there is great, not sure I would hanker for home with Naples and its delights on my doorstep! Again, though, I'd be more overweight than I am! I think if you did mailorder you'd have a good chance of success selling to us up North!!

lindaf

The delivery time sounds good - 2 days to get here and I'll bet it did make your birthday

I looked at BCS last week but seeing as all I wanted was chocolate it would have been an expensive order so it didn't happen.

Salerno

Naples does have a shop which stock English food and I think it does quiet well. I used to be a regular when we lived there but its a bit far to go now for a jar of Pataks and a mint aereo