In cooking aids, Waitrose’s degree of overtrading (its market share of one sector versus its share of all groceries) is now quite spectacular, due mainly to these stylish packs with an irresistible story: “I’m a proper cook”. With their chatty titles that take you half way into the recipe you’re going to use them in, it’s as if Nigel Slater was personally coaching from behind the packs.
Two different types of risotto rice? Look them up and you can impress your dinner party guests with both good taste and ingredient expertise; what could be more middle England than that?