How and Where to
Buy English Food Abroad

You may love English food and would like to experiment. You may be an English expat living and working abroad. You may be serving or studying overseas. You may remember a food from a childhood spent in England. In any case, finding English foods and ingredients could turn into a challenge.

And so, Essentially England's here to help. I'll try and list places where you can buy English products, even if you're miles away from England. After all, we're not the only England lovers in the world....

This page would not be possible without the help of Essentially England's many readers who are happy to share their knowledge and experiences with me. I thank you all very kindly and hope you'll continue to mail me your discoveries. Over time, I hope this page will grow to a real top-class resource - thanks to all of you!




USA

English Food Abroad
The Essentially England Amazon Foodstore

The USA has many England lovers. And 50 states across which import and trading rules differ - especially when food items are involved. So even though there are many food stores selling English products, it's tricky to advise where to shop.

Fortunately, many US-based Brit Food Stores also sell through amazon.com. Which gave me the idea to build an amazon store dedicated to English food, cooking and dining. It's very much a work-in-progress, but will grow as I find more and more merchants and products to add.

Currently, we have tea and tea treats, ingredients for traditional English dishes - Yorkshire Pudding mix, Colman's mustard and dumpling mix amongst them, Christmas foods, cheeses, and tinned goodies like Fray Bentos Steak and Kidney Pie, Bachelors Mushy Peas and Heinz Sticky Toffee Pudding. There are plenty of traditional sweets and biscuits, too, plus chutneys, pickles and relishes to liven up sandwiches and BBQs alike.

Why not have a look around? You never know - you might find a merchant that's right around the corner from your home!


Canada

Many thanks to Yvonne, who told me about A Good Taste of Britain run by Anne and Dave Walker, who fell in love with Canada while on holiday. They've sinced left Britain for the coutnry of their dreams, but couldn't leave some of their favourite foods behind. So they set up a business supplying expats and Anglophiles alike from two stores in Calgary and one in Edmonton. Judging by the customer reviews, the business is very well liked and stocks some great English stuff.

If you know any other good foodstores selling English goods in Canada, then please please let me know where you buy English food!

I'm told that it's just as tricky for Canadians to buy from the US as it is buying from anywhere else in the world. And that simply won't do! So I'd really like to feature some Canadian shops in this space. Can anyone help?


Europe

Most of Europe is sufficiently close to England that some English products are stocked by most large supermarkets. They tend to be more popular things like Cheddar Cheese, English mustard, teas and some biscuits.

If you want the full range of English products, or are looking for a particular ingredient for a special dish or something for a party, then The British Corner Shop might be a good starting point. Beloved of expats and forces personnel all over Europe, they stock a great range and their delivery charges are very reasonable.


Australia and New Zealand

I don't think you can get any further from England than Australia and New Zealand. And while New Zealand is still a blank slate as far as my search for English food shops is concerned, Aussie reader Ian Connolly has very kindly started us off with a few Australian outlets selling English food.

British Sweets and Treats
This looks like a good, old-fashioned sweet shop with aniseed twists and cola cubes and sherbet lemons amongst the stock. Nice! They also offer chocolate, crisps and snacks and some groceries.

Treats from Home
This shop offers the whole shooting match of British products and quite a bit of football merchandise besides. I even found some things I had forgotten about - like Hartleys Black Cherries Fruit Filling, which is great in a cake!

Gawd Blimey
Another shop with a decent all-over selection of all things Brit Food. Actually, I'm a bit jealous. Somehow, their buyers have managed to get hold of Tiptrees Original Spiced Fruit Christmas Conserve... something that's nearly impossible here.


South-East Asia

My globe-trotting friend Bella started me off with this list of places to buy English food all over south-east Asia. Seeing how large an area we're trying to cover here, I'd be grateful if you could help out and add to the list!


Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Here are a few supermarkets and chains that carry a wide range of imported foods, including British brands (canned goods, chocolates, candy, packaged foods, etc.)

  • Village Grocer supermarket chain
  • Cold Storage supermarket chain
  • Hok Choon supermarket (Ampang area)
  • Ampang Grocer (Ampang area)


China

Again, all kinds of imported goods, catering to expats. In Bejing, you can try:

  • Jenny Wong's supermarkets
  • City Shop supermarkets
  • Supermarket in Lufthansa Centre

Shenzhen is a busy area. Many foreign tech companies manufacture or assemble here, so they're used to expats and foreign visitors. Most of the stores stock some British products. If you're looking for some special ingredient, it might take a few trips to different stores to find it, but I'm told it can be done.

  • Park & Shop supermarkets
  • City Shop stores
  • Silver Palate stores
  • Charlie's international foods store in Shekou
  • Metro
  • Ole supermarket (Holiday Plaza shopping mall)
  • Nogogo.com (online shopping in Shenzhen/Shekou area)

Hong Kong and England have, of course, a long history. So finding British products in the area is not too difficult. These are the shops that have been recommended as carrying a very extensive selection:

  • City Super supermarkets (IFC mall, Times Square Mall on Hong Kong island)
  • Three Sixty supermarket (ICC tower in Kowloon)


And the Rest of the World?

I'd really love to add Middle and South Ameria to this list. And we haven't heard from anyone in Africa yet. If you do buy English food wherever you live - would you mind sharing your favourite stores or websites with us? Just drop me a note and help lots of other England lovers and expats.


Thank YOU!