We were non-plussed by Sophie Grigson's statements this week blaming the University of Oxford for a lack of quality food in the city.

If it is true that there is a lack of quality food in Oxford then we would guess it is in spite of, not because of, the University.

Does anybody really believe that Oxford could have sustained the number of quality food outlets in the Covered Market, for example, were it not for the business supplied by the University and its colleges? There can be few places of Oxford's size that boast the specialty butchers we enjoy.

The truth is that there is lots of high-quality local food in Oxfordshire - you just have to look for it.

And that, surely, is the problem. If we all looked for it, whether it be the University, a local restaurant or all of us as we do our weekly shopping, there would be much more of it on offer.

We would probably have to pay a premium for it but we might also enjoy a little more one of the essentials of our daily life.