Stock up on groceries

It’s worth checking out all of your local supermarkets to get a sense of them, because there’s a fair amount of variation (a Tesco in a posh area can be nicer than an M&S in a less posh area).

We’ve discovered that Asda’s pantry products are great value and of a decent quality for us, but that it’s better to get our fresh veggies from a local greengrocer. Lidl and Aldi are wildcards: sometimes you find gems there, sometimes it feels like rummaging through piles of trash in your uncle’s garage. Try them all and find what feels right to you.

FANCY

• Waitrose

• Marks & Spencer

• Ocado (online only)

• Amazon Fresh

MID-TIER

• Morrisons

• Sainsbury’s

• Tesco

• Co-op

AFFORDABLE

• Asda

• Lidl

• Aldi

• Spar* (the quality of Spars are all over the place; some are mega-fancy, some are rather grimy)

BARGAIN

• Iceland

QUICK GROCERY DELIVERY

• Getir

• Deliveroo

MEAL BOXES

• Oddbox (veg)

• HelloFresh

• Gousto

• Mindful Chef

• Allplants

• Riverford

• DabbaDrop

If you’re doing your first big shop to stock the pantry in your new home, Ocado, Asda, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco all offer online delivery. Many of them offer vouchers for first-time shoppers.

Where to get South African food

Psst … longing for biltong, wors, Mrs Balls chutney and rusks? There are South African food shops called The Savanna and Snoggys that deliver throughout the UK.

• The Savanna (they also have physical branches throughout London)

• Snoggy's