Missing some home comforts

When I first moved to Catalonia in 2001 I knew it was going to be a big change. I’d spent pretty much my entire life living close to London but had for many years wanted the chance to live in another country, perhaps because neither of my parents was born in the UK (mum is Aussie and dad was born in Tanzania) and while they spent the majority of their lives in Britain they retired on the Costa Brava.

Then while visiting them one Christmas I met the person responsible for me leaving the UK behind; but that, as they say, is another story.

Living in Barcelona I knew I’d need to make a lot of adjustments. I’d just walked out of a very well paid job, although the upside to that was that I hated it. I had no plans other than moving myself – and all my belongings – to Barcelona and setting up home with the woman I loved.

I seem to remember bringing a box of 160 teabags, which, being more a coffee lover lasted for several years but not much else in the way of provisions.

Missing some essentials

But quickly I learnt what it was that I was really going to miss about living in England beyond having to make a real effort to communicate; cheddar, Marmite, Coleman’s mustard and a good curry.

While I’m reasonably handy in the kitchen and never afraid to have ago my curries had always seemed to lack something. However, I asked for the Indian restaurant Cookbook by Pat Chapman for Christmas and once in my hands I was headed in the right direction.

Most of the spices I already owned but after consulting a loooooong term expat resident about buying spices I was able to stock up in Barcelona with all the ingredients I needed, including poppadums.

Funnily enough, while most spices are readily available on Spanish supermarkets, ground coriander, which I would consider one of the basics is not, and nor were things like the fenugreek seeds that I needed.

Starting out my new life then, I quickly identified the things I couldn’t live without, while my parents sometimes provided Marmite, Mustard and cheddar from a shop in Lloret de Mar that imported items from Britain.

These days things have improved massively.

What a difference a decade makes

Those 160 teabags would never last so long now that I drink tea most days (I’m still primarily a coffee drinker though) but PG Tips and other common UK brands are easily found in the major supermarkets alongside the very iffy Spanish tea. Chedder used to be difficult to find (!), but is commonly found in most supermarkets now.

I can also find Marmite in many supermarkets, and Coleman’s mustard is widely available; in fact many supermarkets have sections for foreign specialities that cater for most expat populations, whatever their nationalities and tastes.

Thai curry paste? No problem.

Pataks curry paste? The same.

The Catalan chain that operates under the brands Bonpreu and Esclat are particularly good for this these days, although I remember buying stilton on when occasion when the shop assistant asked if I’d like him get a pack that wasn’t mouldy.

Incidentally, I have no idea why they operate under two brands as the two supermarkets are almost identical and I can never remember whether a particular shop operated by them is Bonpreu or Esclat, which creates problems when they have both in one town.

Reasons to go back still

So, the good news these days is that you kind find many items in the supermarkets here. They may not have everything (coriander still is hard to find except from specialist shops) and so if you’ve moved here or planning to move you will have to get used to going without some of your favourite things.

But you knew that anyway, didn’t you?

And didn’t you want to experience a new culture over here anyway?

At least you’ll have something to look forward to next time you visit the UK. I don’t go back very often but when I do I always make a point of going to an Indian restaurant as there is nothing like it in the world.