Tomatoes

The Clerk of the Kitchen is fussy about the flavour of tomatoes, and quite right too.  Being an excellent husband, on occasion I prepare for her delight a simple breakfast of poached egg on a bed of tomatoes roughly chopped and sauted in good olive oil with rosemary picked fresh from our garden, and black pepper.  I deliver this to her in her bed chamber with a slice of brown toast and a fragrant cup of fine Darjeeling tea.  (You would not believe the Brownie points).  But, and it's big but, the tomatoes have to be flavoursome, otherwise the Brownie Points earned are significantly reduced.

Bring on Tescos and Thanet Earth plc. (Bear with me, this is going somewhere)

Today I made The Dish using Thanet Earth plc Kent Temptation toms. on the vine sourced from Tescos.  Brownie Points earned were substantial.  So, out of curiosity I Googled Thanet Earth.  Let's look at what I found.

The ever reliable Daily Mail dated 11th June 2008. (I couldn't find the 'and damages house prices' meme, but it'll be there, somewhere).

Looking further down the Google search, we find an article by a foodie from the even more reliable Guardian. also dated 11th June 2008. (Make sure you read the comments).

Better yet is this piece from the unbiased BBC

And here is the link to Thanet Earth plc's own website

Now, I admit that we are not what you would consider to be gourmands but we do like good grub made from the best ingredients we can source reasonably conveniently and sensibly priced.  Not a lot to ask is it? And the household vote is that Kent Temptations are Damn' fine tomatoes for the money and available at Christmas. Not as good as could be grown by us perhaps, but then we couldn't get them in December, well not without a lot of fag and the denial of the economic advantages of specialisation.

So really its bloody lucky that Tesco's and Thanet Earth plc (brilliant name) didn't give a stuff about the sneering journalism of the Mail, and the journalism in the Gruniad which manages to be supercilious and Luddite simultaneously, or the attempted coercion by Unite for their own self-interest.

Capitalism is hated because it destroys privilege and special interest and elite power and the vested interests of small groups and undermines the ability of trades unions to use coercion whilst on the other side delivers brilliant products at an excellent price to average families pretty well all year round.

Result:  Capitalism 1. Authoritarian Special Interests 0.

Here endeth.