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You only need a sprig or two of tarragon, though. The grocery store won't sell you it in that form, but for a company making a few thousand meals it's perfectly doable. A rasher or two of bacon, a quarter cup of creme-fraiche, a sprig of tarragon, and a single pie-sized circle of pastry should easily be doable for £5.

Bacon about £1.50, creme fraiche £1.00, fresh tarragon £0.70, ready pastry about £1.30, frozen peas around £1.00.

So about £5.50 with out discounting for the fact you're over buying

http://www.mysupermarket.co.uk/

Most of the local grocery stores in Portland have bulk spices where you could get enough of whatever you needed for a dish for well under a dollar.

Many grocery stores all over the US have that. Not for fresh spices though, maybe the poster was thinking of fresh tarragon, which is typically sold for around $2.50 for far more tarragon than you need for a single portion of anything.