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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
Entertainment
Caroline Barry & Kirsty Bosley

I tried Waitrose's £20 Valentine's Day meal deal and it gave me nightmares

There are just a matter of hours left until couples across the country try their hands in the kitchen to make up a romantic meal. But there are ready-made options available if cooking is not your particular strength.

Kristy Bosley, a journalist from Birmingham Live, was shocked when she took to Waitrose to buy a dinner deal. She was surprised to realise that the boozy Passionfruit Martini cocktail, which was £16 on its own was actually part of the £20 deal.

Both Kirsty and the supermarket assistant were amazed at the deal which included a starter, main, dish, dessert and cocktail. They felt it was a great Valentine's Day deal considering the price.

The dinner she chose included: two extra mature cheddar and Emmental soufflés, a PlantLiving 'no beef' bourguignon, some potato gratin for the side and two Heston espresso martini chocolate tortes. She felt this was 'a lot of bang for her buck' and was delighted with the deal.

Read more: How to sample different cuisines from around the world without leaving Nottingham

She popped the soufflés into a preheated oven and was relieved that these required no effort at all. However, it was all downhill from there as she soon realised why souffles are often hard to make.

She wrote: "It's no wonder they're hard work to make; they somehow capture the tang of cheese without the greasiness, the fluff of egg without the egginess. Proper posh scran that felt really special to share with someone you love. I imagine so, anyway. I ate mine in the kitchen on my own with a spoon."

She added: "The cocktail was boozy as heck, even shaken over ice. It tasted surprisingly fresh for a pre-mixed drink, tart and fruity like a summer's day. I had a second glass."

When it came to the meat-free beef bourguignon and potato gratin, she began to realise the pairing wasn't potentially ideal.

She wrote: "Next up was the no beef bourguignon, with a side dish of potato gratin that, in hindsight was a bad pairing. I needed more greens on the plate to make me feel better about all the calories I was about to smash."

"I wanted a little more firm bite in the beef replacement. It tasted artificial, which wasn't ideal. I found myself picking out the baby mushrooms and little tiny cute silverskin onions instead. The red wine gravy, flavoured with parsley, I could have taken or left."

She concluded: "The gratin was golden brown on the top and very, very rich. More extra mature cheddar for a cheesy tang, it was my favourite part of the main but I was starting to feel gluttonous."

Disaster struck as Kirsty opened the box of espresso martini chocolate tortes for a taste later that evening. Heston, for all of his food-based trickery and skill, had made these with pork gelatine. She passed them off to a neighbour and drank away the sadness with another glass of Passionfruit Martini.

In hindsight, Kirsty thought if she was to repeat this, she would prefer to choose items that weren't in the meal deal. Although, she recommended the souffle and booze but wasn't a fan of the main.

She wrote: "That night, my belly filled with cheese, cream and booze, I had nightmares. I really should have chosen the green veg over the potato gratin, but as my colleague Dayna rightly pointed out, only maniacs would choose vegetables over cheesy potatoes."

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