I don't go to Marks and Spencer's very much these days, although the brand still has a firm positive imprint in my brain, it was the place everyone wanted a Saturday job because of the higher pay and great working conditions, it was the place to go for an expensive food hall in the North, like Selfridges or Fortnums in the South and of course it was where everyone bought their bras and knickers. It was made in the UK personified, the backbone of the British retail industry, the conduit for beautiful British products to be brought to market, still very apparent in the "Farm to Foodhall" strap in the exquisite award winning (and very expensive) brand marketing campaigns, where production costs for one single advert can exceed £320,000 and that doesn't even include the costs to air. Not really surprising smaller companies cannot succeed in the "pay to play' food retailing game.

Fast forward 20 years and even though I still have M&S bedding and soft furnishings I use passed on from my Mum, excellent quality still going strong I don't shop there. I think the fashion buyers, creators have lost touch with their established audience, and don't capitalise on the foundations of trust the brand has built over generations. I hate to say it run by men I fear caring more about shareholders profits and the British feel has all but disappeared. I did buy in to a Made in UK ad campaign a few years back and went to find out what was happening to discover non of the products were available locally and I had to go to London or specific larger stores to see the range.

I do a lot of cooking at home to keep the cost down and because I enjoy cooking and the family prefer it (or have just got used to it), my food shopping keeps me out of the big supermarkets, buying fruit and veg mainly from independents and other stuff from delis and at a push Aldi or Sainsbury's. We have a Waitrose nearby which I use on very special occasions.

So when I went to the new and improved Marks and Spencer's Food Store in Fosse Park Leicester I got a real shock. It's vast and modern, designed like a very high end delicatessen with all the fresh fruit and vegetables laid out at the entrance. 
I searched high and low for grapes, I only had 6 things on my list, I found them, packed in plastic, stacked behind glass doors in high tech chiller cabinets. I have to say it did make me wonder how fresh and juicy they might be. I didn't check the price, I had £20 at the ready for my purchases which I imagined would be more than enough.

I had two meat items to buy, three slices of topside beef and four chicken thighs that would both usually cost less than a fiver. I located them with assistance in more closed floor to ceiling chiller cabinets. The whole shop felt like it was a laberinth of big fridges to be fair, not my usual way of farmers market style shopping. It was extremely tough to navigate although very busy so people clearly like it.

I overheard a mid aged lady, my age, reassuring her elderly Mum she earned good money, and her husband earned good money too so not to worry about what they were buying, she could afford to treat everyone and it made me think about maybe I should be more conscious about what I was spending, check the prices and add things up as went around to save embarrassment at the checkout.

I carried on found a couple of tomato and basil ready meals for one and a small portion of garlic bread to go with, a sliced whole meal loaf and I was done.I had to queue, like I said the place was packed and while I was waiting I sorted out some change for the volunteer patiently standing with a Loros collection bucket as I watched her being ignored by the shoppers checking out. I thought how tough it must be on your feet all day at her age and sorted out some change from my purse. When I interrupted her gaze to drop the money in the bucket the level of gratitude was palpable. The nicest interaction I'd had in the shop to be fair and definitely not proportionate to amount I had donated a couple of quid, if that.

When it was my turn to pay I was ready with my £20 note. The young assistant, as frosty as the chicken thighs, not long out the chiller. My six items when tallied up came to over £30 and I wondered how the lady in front and the chap behind with massive trollies stacked could actually afford it.

The food I bought was good, nothing wrong with it but the prices are extortionate. The interior of the store is lovely, high tech, modern and clean, the experience not fantastic, when I asked for help as a first timer, the person, maybe a manager definitely gave me the impression he had better things to be doing than showing me where to find ready made spaghetti.

I'd say if you've got money to burn knock yourselves out but it's not a cooks paradise, if you like seasonal meats and produce and you like the market feel of knowing what you are buying then there are loads of better farm shops and independent food retailers around Leicester.

The romance of the human touch in the advertising campaigns, Farm to Foodhall, it's not just food, it's M&S food, didn't translate for me. I'd say "Food shopping in the 21st century and that's going to cost you."

That said I am hopeful some of the old values of M&S will return some day when the ordinary people who love the brand just cannot afford to support anymore.