A bin end bonanza

If there’s one thing that beats raiding the reduced items in the supermarkets for bargains it’s doing the same thing in a posh shop. Harvey Nix to be precise where today I found a shelf with all sorts of goodies that were too good to pass up. The best one was some seriously classy egg tagliatelle (right) reduced from ££3.25 to £1.62. I would have bought all four packs if my husband hadn’t restrained me but probably it’s as well he did as they would have no doubt joined the other ‘bargain’ buys lurking in my store cupboard.

There there was a pack of bottarga reduced to £1.47 – something I’ve always meant to try, a pack of my favourite snack, deep fried broad beans, at 95p instead of 1.25 and best of all 20% off a bottle of Yves Cuilleron Marsanne (£11.25 reduced to £9). A 2006 vintage would be a bit dicey with many whites but Marsanne ages well and Cuilleron (better known for his Condrieu) is a good winemaker.

So I suppose you could say (and some would) that I spent 13 quid on things I didn’t really need but my argument would be – and I’m an expert at convincing myself – that these knock-down prices give me a chance to try things I might not otherwise feel I could afford.