The cost of M&S xmas food

[babyguffingtonstrikesagain]

I can't believe it! A beef wellington for 4-6 people for £60??? I know that for lots of people M&S is their go-to for xmas food but that's crazy right?

@Otamot

Not really the point, but beef wellingtons are a disgusting waste of fillet steak. Anything wrapped in pastry is just a sneeze away from a Pukka steak pie.

Aw man I love me a Pukka pie

It seems expensive to me - M&S do nice stuff but to be honest, their prices creep up and up every year and I won’t be shopping with them this year. I was also thoroughly disappointed with the desserts I got from there last year. Lesson learnt!

Steak and chips in the pub!! I'm so jealous.

Has anyone tried Aldi fillet steak .... amazing, melt in the mouth.

I bought a COOK beef wellington for valentines day this year and it was very disappointng .... although with hindsight I may have overcooked it.

Well I can’t afford £60 so I shall have a pukka pie instead 😁

But it’s not just food, it’s M&S food

Add some cheese and I'll join you on the pleb bench.

With £59 still in my pocket.

@MrsR87

Well, I personally wouldn’t pay it but I enjoy cooking and don’t really eat premise stuff so I would much rather prep that myself.

I’ve got a hamper coming from the butcher for £60 and in it I’ll get:
5lb turkey crown
Beef brisket joint
Gammon joint
Pork joint
Pigs in blankets
Sausage meat
Streaky bacon
Pork pie

So much better value for money to me!

That’s a very cheap butcher! Where is this so I can go?!

I was looking through the Aldi Christmas food leaflet at the weekend and thought that if you removed the prices and brand images, you'd think it was the M&S food selection.

It's not cheap but plenty of people will pay for the convenience and knowing it's good quality.

My mum does M&S christmas dinner every year. It's pricey but not extortionate. She pays more than if we made everything from scratch, but it saves a lot of effort and tastes great anyway. Plus it's low stress and low risk because you know it's gonna be good.

It's all about choice.

Lidl have got one in their Christmas brochure for £19.99 which looks really nice, for those not wanting to spend £60 on it

My dad’s disabled and getting out is a nightmare at the best of times (especially at the moment with Covid etc). Pre wheelchair he was a great foodie and loved eating out, he and mum now spend on really nice cuts of meat, wine, etc. I do sometimes blanche at his Donald Russell meat orders and feel a bit shocked when they buy in fancy M&S bits at great cost but for them, it’s the alternative to eating out in a restaurant once a week. So there’s clearly a market for this stuff!

@BigSandyBalls2015

Steak and chips in the pub!! I'm so jealous.

Has anyone tried Aldi fillet steak .... amazing, melt in the mouth.

I bought a COOK beef wellington for valentines day this year and it was very disappointng .... although with hindsight I may have overcooked it.

I haven't tried the aldi fillet steak but I want to now I've read your description! Is it fresh or frozen? Is it in stock all the time or just at the moment as a special?

@AllTheUserNamesAreTaken

I know! It’s in Derbyshire. I used to live 10mins away so would go every week but we now live around 40 mins away, so don’t go as often. I remember going to my new local butcher when we first moved and a typical order was about £20 more and not as good quality! I just the fact that I know the farms where all my meat has come from!

But M&S 'feeds six' only feeds three normal people!

I’d want to know exactly how much meat was in it.

Some years ago I ordered an M&S joint of beef for Christmas - supposed to serve 8 to 10. (There were going to be 6 of us.).
Well, maybe it would have served 8-10 - if you just wanted one measly thin slice each, and no lovely cold beef leftovers.

I shoved it in the freezer and bought a bigger one elsewhere.

That’s the only peeve I’ve ever had with their Christmas food, though.

Morrison’s this year is fantastic the fillet beef is cut into four steaks and eaten Christmas Eve, we’re also trying venison too, turkey crowns lovely I slow cook mine then crisper skin, always moist and tender.

@katy1213

But M&S 'feeds six' only feeds three normal people!

I was just going to say this.

I bought a lamb roast last week ( reduced) to feed 2-3. I was a bit upset that someone paying full price might think it fed 3. It was a tight portion for 2 once cooked and DS doesn’t eat much.

Their turkey crowns are nice but we are doing a Morrison’s order this year as we live very near one and last year I had to wait around for an hour and hour in. M and S to pick up the food (pre-booked) and there is no way I’m doing that this year.

@VinylDetective; I'm planning on getting one of their pork pi and smoked ham wreaths-it looks fabulous.my.morrisons.com/foodtoorder/product/the-best-pork,-smoked-ham-&-orange-jelly-wreath-pie/111428181

I made beef wellington for the first time last year for the Christmas meal. I bought the fillet from Waitrose and like many others on this thread nearly fainted when told the cost £40. I made 2 separate wraps - mushroom for one half and brussels pate for the other. The proscuitto alone was another £6. So the cost to make was easily £55-65+. But my family loved it - it served 8 portions. It took me a long afternoon and I was very nervous as to whether I had overcooked it. So £60 seems a relative steal. I am debating whether I offer again this year.

For me and the other veggies I made a nut roast from scratch and again the nuts alone are really pricey if you use more than just peanuts.

@BigSandyBalls2015

Yes I have it's sooooo nice!

I get a quite a bit from aldi now tbh.

Has anyone tried the scallops in shells from aldi yet?

I don't know what they are called but they come in a sauce with shells as how to serve them? They look lovely.

@nancybotwinbloom

Has anyone tried the scallops in shells from aldi yet?

I don't know what they are called but they come in a sauce with shells as how to serve them? They look lovely.

Coquilles St Jacques?