Since the supermarkets have come to dominate the marketplace for day to day groceries, the best online food shops have differentiated themselves by offering a specialist quality and variety which the supermarkets are unable to match. As a result, for dinner parties and special occasions, your best bet for top quality ingredients may be an online butchers or farm shop.

Take venison, for example. If you are lucky enough to find a supermarket which stocks venison, the range is likely to be limited. But if you go online, you can buy directly from the highly acclaimed Fletchers hill farm in Fife, where they stock a huge range of fine venison products from their own free range herd. (See http://www.seriouslygoodvenison.co.uk). This enables you to buy the finest venison joints, fillets, sausages and other products, confident not only of the quality but also of the ethical farming practices behind them.

Other online farm shops specialize in organic produce. For example, Graig Farm has picked up numerous organic food awards for its extensive range of organic meat, vegetables and other produce, sourced from a group of organic farms in mid-Wales. (See http://www.graigfarm.co.uk).

For succulent meat of all kinds, from beef and lamb to wild game, free range poultry, fish and seafood, pay a visit to Donald Russell. (http://www.donaldrussell.com). The meat they supply will cost you more than supermarket meat, but the quality is outstanding. Indeed, they are so confident in their produce that they guarantee your money back if you've ever tasted better!

Most of us cannot afford to enjoy meals made with the finest ingredients every day of the week, but for parties, Christmas and other special occasions, you can afford to spoil yourself. For more top quality online food shops, have a browse around the food and wine quarter in Ootown, the online town (http://www.ootown.co.uk/food).