Fortnum and Maisons or Aldi?

[EachandEveryone]

I went to F and M the other day and everything looked so beautiful. I was tempted by the tea and mince pies and hand made chocolates but then I thought us it just the packaging? When it comes to it is there that much of a difference?

F&M mince pies, biscuits and cheese are all absolutely lovely.

I actually don't even like biscuits normally but theirs are just lovely

Harrods food hall and Fortnums are less good than a really really good deli but better than 98% of places. Big fan of their champagne truffles.

Whatever you do, do not buy one of F&M's over priced rip off hampers! Some of them don't even come with food.

I keep eyeing up the F&M Christmas spiced potted Stilton...

F and M mince pies (certainly when I tried one 2 years ago) are hands down epic. And absolutely enormous. A meal in themselves really

I think I might just order some bits recommended on here and send them to my brother and his new wife without a basket will
that be bad? He never buys us anything nor told us he was getting married.

Is this like the Aldi vs Harrods program from the other evening?

It’s not really a choice is it? You don’t swap between the two do you? They’re totally different entities and sadly you do get what you pay for.

Whilst Aldi might have some nice packaging if you compare the ingredients to a premium supermarket they’re not the same.

I'd prefer that to an overpriced hamper containing things I don't really like.

Not sure what his getting married without telling you has to do with mince pies though 😁

Mmmm in which case keep the mince pies for yourself

If you have to go there yourself this time of year then Aldi/Lidl win every time! But I do love F&Ms ginger and chili biscuits, maybe just order online!

That’s what I’m thinking

Waitrose do a fig and balsamic relish. Ver' nice with biscuits and Stilton and a glass of port.

I believe myself to be somewhat of a mince pie connoisseur (or just a greedy arse) and the cheapest box of Iceland mince pies are currently my favourite due to a very fragrant orangey tang to them when heated.

If mince pies all year round were a thing I'd be featured on my 8 million lb life.

Bought a Christmas pudding in Harrods a few years ago, it was bloody awful, the M&S one was far better.

My sis gave me some F&M chocs for my birthday. I might be a bit of a philistine but I thought they were style over substance...nice box but not so much the chocolate.

My DH enjoyed the red wine though.

It bloody wants to be for the price!!

F and M tea - even the teabags of it - is amazing as are all their biscuits.
But the chocolate is hopeless - nowhere near as nice as Cadbury's!

F&M salted caramel florentines are amazing. Worth the trip for those alone. Also love their piccalilli.

I'm happy with Aldi food.

I tried a Fortnum’s biscuit for the first time ever today - some sort of dark chocolate coated ginger biscuit with candied ginger pieces - and it was genuinely once of the nicest biscuits I’ve ever eaten.

Me too, although I pushed the boat out today and went to M&S!

I've just ordered my daughter a box of the rose and violet creams - she will be going to her future in laws for Christmas day this year. Thank you for the heads up.

It depends what you are buying. A vintage cheddar from Aldi, for instance, is going to contain the same ingredients as a vintage cheddar from anywhere else. Okay, it may not be made from milk produced by prizewinning cows hand-fed with the very best organic daisies, but other than that? Does the gigantic price difference really compensate?

I’ve just been to F&M to buy some bits for DHs stocking. Usually it will be a chutney, a jam or marmalade, some biscuits, chocolate and some tea or coffee. Anything in a nice tin makes a nice gift and we like to store other bits and pieces in them afterwards. The tea in tins look lovely and I’ve given those as gifts in the past. I did send a tea hamper to my friend during lockdown and it was a bit cheaper than some of the food ones and came with a little tea cage thingy ( diffuser? 🤔). I would rather have a little bit of something special than a load of cheaper.

I used to work for the guy who bought the tea there, back in the day! He had the nicest job in the world.

Im literally eating a macadamia one now. There's no comparison between the two. Everything is just SO much nicer. Took my mum and friend a few weeks ago to buy a few things and the decor was a nice treat too.