Perhaps I should explain.

The Grocery Store is an online British market, started last autumn by Giles Wareham. Orders placed by 22.00 on a Wednesday are delivered as soon as two days later. Based in Brussels’ Elsene municipality, the service specialises in British products that are hard to find in Belgium. Or, even if they can be found, The Grocery Store sells them cheaper.

Sometimes a lot cheaper. The aforementioned Shreddies run to more than €6 a box at my local Carrefour. At the Grocery Store, the same box is less than half that.

Shopping in your pyjamas comes at its own price, of course, in the form of delivery charges for this online service. However, delivery is free on orders over €100; for that reason, says Wareham, most people order in bulk. “It’s not a business to order two packs of biscuits and a pot of jam – it’s more like 12 cans of baked beans. People shop once a month to fill up their British larder.”

The product selection includes 350 items to date and continues to grow, largely based on what’s available and requests from shoppers. The website interface is easy to use, and payment is by credit card or bank transfer.

After submitting your order, a delivery time is arranged. Conditioned by years of Belgian deliveries being scheduled for “between 9.00 and 17.00”, I asked how specific I could get. “To the minute!” laughed Wareham.

My delivery didn’t arrive at the minute we agreed, but I did get a phone call warning that there were traffic delays and, 40 minutes later, I had my supply in hand.

Delivery is currently available in Brussels, Waterloo, Sint-Genesius-Rode, Overijse and Tervuren. Wareham prizes customer service and is very open to requests, so if you have a special order or see a product missing from his site, get in touch.

www.thegrocerystore.be