BBC 1 | Daily Kitchen

It's bad enough at the best of times that these TV chefs assume you can just pop out and get some of these ingredients, never mind now when you're advised against browsing in the supermarkets and told to go, get the basics and come back. Yes, herbs and spices and the like can really add to a dish, but are they essential in the current climate - absolutely not.


However appreciate this isn't a how to make Beans on Toast type show - it is about using what you may have, and if you're a bad cook, throwing a load of seasoning on it to make it edible.

I suppose what the show will encourage people to do is buy in these items - we are still allowed to go out shopping after all. It’s useful to have some inspiration for what your kitchen cupboard should have in it. I now always have garlic, fresh lime and thyme in my kitchen after seeing a few recipes that included them fairly recently. More of us are making meals at home from scratch at the moment (I know I am).

I personally do actually spend a lot of time cooking, and do have a lot of ingredients at home, but am not keen on spicy food, and do have a number of herbs and spices, but just not those particular ones, which is why out of that list I only have lemon juice, and wasn't mocking the list.

I'm actually a food technologist, and work in the food industry.

Sorry Brekkie, but that is nonsense. You can buy what you like in supermarkets. Herbs and spices are no less essential than any other ingredient you might be buying to produce a meal, especially ingredients as basic as the ones listed. Picking up a pot of cumin isn't going to be any more dangerous than buying something else in the store. As long as you're 2 meters away from other shoppers that's all that matters.

I don’t get the criticism here, really. This is surely a show for people who have a low budget and don’t cook a huge amount – anybody complaining about getting a few extra herbs and so on in (and most of those things are reasonably basic supplies for most people who’ve used a recipe before) are probably the sort of people who aren’t going to be watching the show anyway, as they’ll stick to ready to use meals and ingredients.

I haven't been forbidden from buying anything in supermarkets and I, personally, don't know anyone who has! Infact my local Tesco have been practically begging people to buy Easter eggs because they've got a warehouse full of them. I'm not sure this food policing we keep hearing about is as widespread as we've been lead to believe.

I went into Tesco today, the seasonal aisle is still fully stocked of Easter eggs. Normally by Good Friday there would be dregs left and the rest of the aisle would be garden stuff.

There are some on social media who are trying to make lockdown as horrible as possible by shaming anything that doesn’t fall under the strictest interpretation of the rules.

I think if those people had their way, everyone would be inside with just basics.

Well, indeed, and the other point is that most supermarkets have now introduced a one-way system - mine certainly has - so you have to go down every single aisle anyway, even when you don't need anything from them. So it's hardly like you're going out of your way.

I was at Asda yesterday, and they have no shortage of chocolate eggs either. They're all discounted now, of course.

Absolutely staggering to see Sainsbury's today fully stocked with Easter eggs on the Tuesday after.

I wasn't. Three easter eggs for £2.25 earlier. Well done me.

It's not that surprising. With social distancing, and the near ban on non essential travel and relation visiting (i.e Grandparents who would normally buy Easter Eggs in near industrial volumes for their grandchildren) does stand to reason that the shelves would be more full of them than normal.

Hopefully, any left are donated to local food banks by the larger supermarkets.