Lidl has just recruited a Michelin-starred chef to create recipes using produce found in the aisles of its supermarkets, and Aldi is to start stocking bottles of fine wine – complete with hand-painted labels – in a bid to better cater to its growing ‘upmarket’ clientele.

Have the two discount suppliers to Irish families been gentrified? That’s what George asked the Irish Times’ consumer affairs correspondent Conor Pope on this evening’s Right Hook. Listen below:

While hiring Michelin-starred chefs and stocking their shelves with bottles of full-bodied reds might be the way to break open the UK’s class system, on this side of the Irish Sea, we’ve already taken Aldi and Lidl to heart – and written ballads about them.

Mick McConnell, a singer/songwriter, was filmed in Listowel, Co Kerry, a while back, espousing his affection for the discount supermarkets in song. Any keen shoppers who’ve entered one of their stores on the hunt for bin bags but left with an entire lobster and a pair of welding goggles will appreciate his work.

Performed live in John B Keane’s pub in the Kerry town, it’s a clever song, complete with the kind of memorable chorus that will have you tapping your toes and humming along the next time you walk down the aisles.

You can listen and watch Mick McConnell’s Ballad of Lidl & Aldi below, and you can read the lyrics on his website here.