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?

I’ve got the rose petal jelly!

Let's hope those taste buds return with a vengeance and you have a splendid Christmas 🎄🎅

Have you tried the Rose Pouchong loose leaf tea?

I went to F and M for the first time last week and was so impressed. It was lovely and the staff Altho busy were charming. I was flying home with only hand baggage but next year I am going back with hold luggage!
They did post my pickled sprouts to me however.
Lovely shop. I also went to Liberty and bought 8 buttons!

When I first started working in London 20 odd years ago I bought my mum a box of the mini mince pies. It is now tradition and I get them every year or it wouldn't be christmas, even though it's a ballache for me to get to now.

The pork pies in the deli are amazing and perfect for a picnic in green park.

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

are you seriously saying that all vintage cheddar is the same? Good lord!

The difference in taste between eg cathedral city and proper cheddar is phenomenal

F&M is fantastic (esp. loose leaf teas, chocolate and macadamia biscuits, smoked salmon, cheeses, mayonnaise etc).

Aldi has its place, though - it's ideal for feeding visiting students cheaply.

The disabled loo is lit by a chandelier. The staff are charming and go above and beyond. I ordered a few things online and they come in a beautiful box with everything carefully packaged. The orange, lime and chilli marmalade is apparently amazing. I love the little round tins of tea bags. The champagne truffle bar is far superior to any other truffle I've tasted. We got some Lindt champagne truffles last week and they are overpoweringly harsh tasting to the point I have given them away. Everything is packaged beautifully and feels special. The staff treat you like you are valued even if wearing scruffs and wearing eau de underground. The marzipan fruits are huge. I dream of a hamper full of all my favourite things. Maybe next Christmas.
I'd rather eat less of something high quality than buy cheaper food and eat more of it and for a special occasion F&M really fit the bill.

The scotch eggs from downstairs deli are amazing.

We buy a different tin of biscuits when we visit London, and Ds uses them empty in his play shop and kitchen.

And they sell edible coal for Xmas stockings

If you want to club together to send me a hamper, I can arbitrate on this dispute.

Although we live a few miles from F&M we always do an online order of our very favourite things. Very exciting when the Fortnums van turns up. Sometimes buy an empty hamper, and fill it with goodies. They make great laundry bins, blanket boxes, emergency coffee tables! The hand made chocolates are divine, as are the scotch eggs, with runny yolks. The rib eye steaks are perfect, and we bought the beef Wellington en croute last year, it was gorgeous. Best thing of all though is the Christmas Coal. Honeycomb enrobed in chocolate and rolled in black lemon sherbet powder. Has to be tasted to be believed. It always sells out by the beginning of December. The passion fruit curd is also superb!.

I love the F & M store at christmas. It's a bit of a family tradition to go and see the windows - they are beautiful, and the dancing christmas puddings are great (I think I enjoy it more than my 6 year old). This year I got swept anyway with it all and spent £25 on an advent calendar which if I'm honest is disappointing. We treated ourselves to some chocs so hoping for great things.

I'm just doing a another F&M order to be delivered in time for Christmas, definitely going to get some passion fruit curd and scotch eggs.

They do indeed - on Sunday I had a debate via text with DH about whether 7yo DD2 (who is at present living up to her nickname of 'tiny madam') would actually cry if she saw it sticking out of the top of her stocking on Christmas Day. We decided she probably would so I reluctantly put it back.

OK, just for fun. This is the ingredients label from a box of chocolates sold by a shop mentioned on this thread.

Note the inclusion of palm oil amongst many many other ingredients and the BBE date many months hence, indicating the presence of preservatives.

Are these cheap nasty chocolates from a budget retailer, or chocolates marketed as naice luxury artisan chocolates from a high price luxury shop?

Do you really get what you pay for?

Thank you and may I wish you much joyous feasting!

No…sounds great though! I’ll give it a go, thanks.

Their biscuits are lovely and the tins are handy !

Just ordered some splendid temptations from Harvey Nicks, I love their pickled mini pears, so good with cheese. Also some rather stunning glace fruits from F&M. Retiring from this thread before I end up bankrupting myself 😄

See I don't like things that come in fancy boxes, tins etc, because I never use any of them and it seems such a waste to throw them away, so I end up hanging onto them all for ever and a day. Plus it will add to the cost of the item for it to come in nice packaging. Even if I was given it as a gift, I really don't mind basic packaging.

Pickled pears are another of my cheeseboard favourites. We seem to have very similar tastes - please do feel free to keep on sharing your wonderful finds. 😊

@BarbaraofSeville it’s F&M it’s not going to be basic packaging the biscuits come in nice tins…

I wouldn't eat anything from F&M after hearing stories from someone that worked in there at night on the displays 🤮

I bought some of the strawberries and champagne jam not tried it yet

I got an Afternoon Tea hamper last year for my birthday and the food was gorgeous. Definitely better than supermarkets incl. Waitrose and M&S.

We love their loose tea, expensive but it's our luxery.