Alright, let’s talk about sorting out food for a recent get-together. We had a fair few people coming over, maybe about 15 folks, and the thought of cooking everything from scratch just wasn’t appealing this time. Too much running around. So, I decided to check out the M&S party food options. Heard decent things, thought I’d give it a proper try myself.
Choosing and Ordering
First step, I grabbed one of their food catalogues, but honestly, I ended up mostly browsing on their website. It’s easier to see everything in one place. Spent a good hour clicking through different platters and bites. They have a lot, almost too much choice, makes it hard to decide.
Ended up going for a mix:
- Some classic sandwich platters – can’t really go wrong there.
- Those little mini quiches they do.
- A selection of sausage rolls and pork pies, the mini versions.
- Some prawn things… looked nice in the picture.
- And a couple of veggie options to make sure everyone was covered.
The ordering process online was okay. Found most things easily enough. Had to pick a collection day and time slot. That part was important; needed to make sure it fit around other errands. Paid upfront online, which makes collection quicker, supposedly.
The Collection Experience
Come collection day, I headed down to our local M&S food hall. Had my order confirmation ready. Went to the designated collection point, which was just a spot near the back of the store. Gave my name, and waited a few minutes. The staff member seemed a bit rushed off her feet, but she was pleasant enough.
She brought out the boxes – everything seemed well-packaged. Did a quick check of the list against what was there. Looked mostly right. You always have that little worry they might forget something, don’t you? Anyway, loaded it into the car carefully. So far, so good.
Getting it Ready and Serving
Back home, unpacked everything. Most of it just needed arranging on plates. The sandwiches were easy, just open the box. Some items, like the quiches and sausage rolls, needed heating up. The instructions were on the packaging, pretty straightforward. Standard oven heating stuff.
I did find that some bits took a bit longer to heat through than the packet suggested. You know how ovens vary. Kept checking them. It wasn’t a major issue, just needed a bit of attention.
Laid it all out on the table buffet-style. It actually looked quite impressive when it was all together. Definitely saved me hours in the kitchen, that’s the main thing.
The Verdict
So, how did it go down? Pretty well, actually. Guests seemed happy, plenty of munching going on. The mini quiches were popular, disappeared quickly. Sandwiches went down fine, as expected. Those prawn things? They were okay, maybe a little smaller than I expected from the pictures, but tasted alright. The sausage rolls were good too.
Overall, it did the job. It’s convenient, definitely. Quality wise, it’s decent, standard M&S level. It’s not gourmet cooking, obviously, but for taking the stress out of hosting a crowd, it worked for me this time. Saved me a load of prep and cooking time, which meant I could actually talk to people instead of being stuck in the kitchen. Probably do it again for a similar situation.
