Everything you find in Syon is here for a reason. We've chosen it because it's special in some way - whether it's a locally homemade cake, or a pie made with passion (and free-range meat).

Other products we've chosen because we've met the makers, and we know the effort and care they've put in to make the best possible sauce, or dressing - or whatever. We haven't gone to the ends of the earth to seek out these things - we're saving food miles.

But we have done a lot of research, and we've tasted everything. OK, call us picky. (Or piggy.) And, of course, our secret blend of coffee, apart from being fab, is fairly traded.

Saving the world (a little bit)

We're not big enough to do it alone. But we're doing our own little bit. Our deli food packaging is biodegradable. Those containers we use that look like plastic - they're made of biodegradable cornstarch, cunningly disguised as plastic.

We don't use the kind of container that contains nasties like parabens, partly because we don't think it's a good idea to eat petrochemicals, even in minute quantities.

Our containers cost us a bit more, but the cost the planet a little bit less.

We love small producers who make very special things - like small dairies producing quirky British cheeses, and companies that spend ages trying to figure out how to squish as much fruity goodness as possible into bottles.