All the restaurants I know of buy their stuff directly from markets early in the morning. In London, restaurants all pile down to Smithfields, Spitalfields and

All the restaurants I know of buy their stuff directly from markets early in the morning. In London, restaurants all pile down to Smithfields, Spitalfields and Billingsgate markets at the crack of dawn for their day's ingredients - they don't go down to their local supermarket and walk around with a basket. They fill up their crates with the stuff they buy and head back to their kitchens.