To wonder what the obsession with M&S Food is?

[Jajana]

Decided to pick up a few bits and bobs from M&S as I needed some underwear and the food was very average. The fruits like grapes don’t taste any better than Tesco (albeit it was 25p more expensive at M&S) and was surprised to see that it’s more expensive than Waitrose! It seems like a nice place for takeaways/ready meals though

Can anyone clarify to me why they shop at M&S food over Tesco/Waitrose/Sainsbury’s?

I get a monthly delivery from Ocado and when they began stocking M&S food I thought oh good, as I remembered their ready meals being v good. I started to put a few M&S ready meals, cakes, desserts, fruit etc in my trolley but was invariably disappointed in their quality. The reviews are also lower than 4 out of 5, which surprised me. M&S do charge a premium price but the quality of their products has definitely declined over the years. I'm happier with Waitrose now.

Part of the reason I tend to use M & S is that the welfare standards for the meal products are higher therefore no chicken overloaded with hormones for accelerated growth that can’t support their own body weight, outdoor bred pigs etc. They have also pledged to ensure the welfare standards will filter into the ready meals over the next couple of years.

I don't regularly shop there, maybe once a month for a treat as I have Coeliac disease and they have a good range.

They also do a lemon curd ice cream which is delocious. And I buy their cherry chocolate liquors for my mum for her birthday/mothers day/Christmas.

I will say though I've never heard of anyone say they are obsessed with it!

Indian Curries are good.
Anchovies in vineger from the deli.
Candy floss grapes

I hear you! We had a holiday in the US before the pandemic and I was really struck by how the food didn't really TASTE of much. Fruit, veg - it was like cardboard. We drove around the west coast and even in smart places the food just didn't really taste nice.

(OTOH we went to an ice cream parlour and they kind of chopped the ice cream and mixed in bits of eg honeycomb, sprinkles etc and that was fabulous!)

We buy tons of fruit as my son eats loads of it. 100% the m&s ones we get taste a mile better. We even once did a blind taste test (because that's how cool we are in this house!)

I think almost all of the food tastes better from there and I'm not someone who is obsessed in any way with brands, I couldn't care less about heinz or supermarket own.

I love their 3 for £7 snack foods. The chicken and chorizo empanadas are 🤌🏽

Because that's who Ocado work with now!

It was a sad day when Ocado swapped Waitrose for M&S. as a result I started doing more shopping at Lidl - for example their British tomatoes are far nice than any I have found in M&S or Ocado.

We don't eat all in one ready meals, and are all vegan/vegetarian. We do have ready made stuff like veggie sausages. I just find M and S don't do good vegan or vegetarian food. Or add some random ingredient that makes it not suitable for vegetarians. Quite like their confectionary and popcorn.

The fruit and veg are in my opinion much nicer than anywhere else lasts a long time too compared to sainsburys.

I shop in both Tesco and M&S , they are both nearby and I get different things from each .

That's great @LaWench
Can you let me know where I can buy the attached or similar?

I particularly like some of their jarred sauces, ones which other supermarkets don’t have. Nibbly things for a special treat - lots is the same but some bits they have which other places don’t. And their ready prepared and dressed meats for a lazy fancy dinner. Oh. And their peanut chocolate bar things and walnut whips and a few other chocolates.

couldn’t afford it all the time, would get bored of it all the time. But it’s a nice pick-me-up sometimes. It’s not local so I have to make a special trip which makes it special too.

It's the sort of thing I splash out on when we are doing a self catering holiday. Cheaper than eating out, different from the food we have at home.

Their £10 pizza deal is brilliant

M&S

• Sapphire raspberries - the best I've tasted, though Waitrose speciality raspberries come close
• Large black Queen cherries: very reliable quality, large, plump, sweet and juicy with a pleasant firmness of the skin (that was last year though. I've not seen them in my closest M&S yet this year)
• Their 3 for £7 or 3 for £10 deli items. Including their roasted chicken portions. Better than Waitrose for flavour and price. Especially the hot smoked salmon fillets.
• Their fresh baked specialty breads and fresh baked scones (especially the fresh plain scones)
• I used to love their Gastropub fish pie but the last few times I tried it they skimped on the fish, hardly any prawns, too much boring mash - which used to be delicious- and the sauce was weak and watery instead of creamy as before.

WAITROSE

• very convenient for my location and very accurate online delivery too
• hot smoked mackerel fillets
• speciality breads
• their own excellent range of chocolates
• the regular promotions on their products. At the moment I'm working the weekly vouchers against what I regularly buy anyway
• currently I'm wolfing down their "sweet and juicy" British strawberries, which are properly ripe, right through. No unripe white bits or hard core.

• good range of Waitrose essentials vs the premium items
• VERY helpful staff and, if I do have a concern, it's addressed quickly and professionally

I've looked at the other main supermarkets and they just don't have the range of things I like and have got used to do whilst I do shop in them occasionally i prefer these two.

However Sainsburys muesli and cheddar rolls are pretty superior.

If Aldi or LIDL delivered food I'd buy there more regularly for the basics. 🌹

Yawn, another M&S bashing thread

If I’m going on a long train trip, I always stop at M&S for my train picnic - prawns with Marie Rose sauce, salad, fresh fruit and some sweets.

And I do love Percy Pigs - I occasionally get dh to pick some up for me, as a treat, and when I was in hospital with covid, ds1 and my lovely DIL made me up a care package including lots of them!

Agree with many about the fruit & veg. It’s much better in terms of taste and quality that other supermarkets.

Their ‘best ever’ prawn sandwiches are fantastic. Their scones and pastries from the bakery are better than from elsewhere.

I go in and get treats instead of what I would normally spend on a take away.. tonight we have teriyaki beef with big bang slaw and bao buns...however all the prices have gone up! Pizza £5. The deli things now £8 as are the ready meals

@126orbust I have bought those before from Tesco

We only shop at M&S for food when my husband get his vouchers for using their credit card.

Their strawberries are the best I’ve ever found. Cornish cruncher cheese and their longlife cheese sauce. Reduced fat coleslaw is amazing as is their Mexican layered dip. New potatoes are delicious. I even buy their steak in a tin and make steak pie with it. It’s so tender and lean and the gravy is delicious. They do a juice with pineapple and lime that I love. Their cherry bakewells are just gorgeous too. I could go on and on….

The quality of some items is far better than other supermarkets and the Sparks card means you get some fab offers.
We shop at Lidl and M&S.