Today I read this article that was titled “Celebrity chef David Chang blasts Costco’s famous $4.99 rotisserie chicken as ‘inedible’ and ‘disgusting” where it seems like a typical scenario where someone with a lot of expertise in their field criticizes basic items that most people buy mostly because it is affordable. In this case Costco was the target of the criticism. While cheap hotdogs is the first thing that comes to my mind with Costco, it did make me wonder where when you buy store bought meals like these chicken are you expecting a lot or it to be just good enough to consume for the cheap price?
I know for myself if I went into a supermarket to buy a prepared meal I would expect it to cost a lot less than what you would find at a restaurant with the standard at least being on par or just better than what I could make as a non professional chef. Almost in the same vein as buying those pizza pockets where you quickly heat it in the microwave versus expecting more in buying a slice of pizza from a restaurant.
Ultimately if you are buying from the supermarket to save money it would still be better to just cook the meal yourself. But in terms of say evaluating it like people do with fine dining is not something I usually think of personally. As long as it tastes okay and you don’t get sick, then saving a lot of money is just as important in these circumstances so that you can invest that money in other things to make life better.