Grocery Shopping on the Islands Part I
- Mar 1, 2018
- 4 min read
When you have good ingredients, cooking doesn't require a lot of instruction because you can never go wrong
- Alice Waters
Grocery Shopping on the Islands has improved leaps and bounds over the last few years in terms of produce, quality, choice and availability. Another issue when it came to running errands was that it needed before Saturday 12pm as most shops closed by then. But over the last few years that has changed and many shops have bucked the trend and are staying open throughout the weekend and also staying open until quite late on weeknights.
Working in a hotel, you tend to not have the most conventional hours to be able to go grocery shopping so having the option to be able to go grocery shopping when you have the free time is quite nice.
I have come to discover the best time to go grocery shopping is on a Sunday morning, this is when everyone is either still sleeping or at church so there are no crowds and you can really take your time and be able to make the right choices.
Over a few posts, I will be highlighting my "Go To" shops on the Islands.
P.S. The first shops on my "Go To" list are the few that are not open on Sundays, so they're not on my Sunday Grocery Route
Shop 1: Temooljee
This shop is probably one of the oldest on the island having been in operation since the early 1900s. Obviously the shop is has changed over the years but it is still found in the heart of Victoria a stone throw away from the iconic Clock Tower.
The reason why I love this store is because it is where I can find main of my baking ingredients I need. This is where I can find many Dr. Oekter products (like their icing pens, icing kits, baking powder, Madagascan Vanilla Essence and more). I came across Cadbury Cocoa Powder as well as English Strawberry Jam (perfect to have with scones), Temooljee seems to stock many British known products.
Shop 2: Denis Island Fresh
Hidden away in the Providence Industrial Estate, this little shop is an absolute gem for some organic produce. Firstly, I would like to give a little background about Denis Island Fresh because it is a truly remarkable story.
Denis Island is an outer island within the Seychelles Archipelago and on that island is a Seychellois owned island resort. The owners chose to create a farm on the island to become more sustainable and be able to provide their guests with the freshest and organic ingredients. The farm began to produce a surplus to what they were using in the resort so they chose to sell the surplus and that is when Denis Island Fresh was created.
There is such a wide choice of produce to choose from, not only will you have different cuts of meats available, they also have on sale pre prepared, ready to cook options as well such as duck confit, peri peri marinated chicken, pies, sausages and pastries to name a few. You can also get fresh milk, yogurt, cheese and free range eggs.
Shop 3: ISPC
ISPC started out as a catering specialist shop solely for the hotels on the islands. Through working in hotels is how I came about knowing this store but now it is open to the public as well.
The products available are normally sourced mainly from Europe, there is a preconceived notion that everything is expensive at ISPC especially the fruit and vegetables, which is understand as they are air freighted in weekly from Europe. But if you have time and you look carefully, you can actually find some bargains here.
ISPC probably has the widest and freshest selection of fruits and vegetables on the island. You can find all sorts of fruits from mandarins to figs and many different vegetables from beetroots to celery.
If you're someone who enjoys their fruits and vegetables, I highly recommend you to visit this one.
Shop 4: Fish Tech
Its name does give away what this shop sells, it is a fish monger style of shop found at Anse Royale on the roadside, so it is an ideal stop for those traveling to the south of the island. Fish Tech is probably the newest shop on my list as it opened its doors earlier this year and it offers you a wide range of fresh or frozen fish, fish products, seafood, and a small selection of condiments, vegetables and fruits.
So if you live in the south and you're on your way home and need a one stop shop to get something for dinner, I would highly recommend Fish Tech.
What I appreciate with Fish Tech is the fact that you won't always find the exact same choices of fresh fish (either whole or prepare in steaks, fillets or loins) every day which is quite nice. The fresh fish on sale comes off the local fishing boats (or Vapers as they're called on the islands) that are based at Anse Royale.
(P.S. I highly recommend you to go there just for their fresh tuna loin, it is good value for money as it is the highest of quality and freshness)
This marks the end of Part I of Grocery Shopping on the Islands, so stay tuned for part II.
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