Valentine's Day Menu Planning

There are not many things to look forward to in the first couple of months in the new year, all the excitement of the festive period is over and it’s still cold. Unless you have a late winter birthday, there is not much going on. Apart from Valentine’s day. Which is a lovely occasion to celebrate. The holiday is steeped in tradition and dates back to ancient Roman times, however, they celebrated by running around naked and whipping the bottoms of young women in the street to improve their fertility – not something we’d recommend doing this year! Nowadays it celebrates love rather than lust. Making the occasion much less awkward to cater. 

It is a special, intimate meal that truly is a treat. Creating a menu for Valentine’s day means creating an experience for a couple, not a single diner or group. Because of this you can create a very fun menu, ideally designed to be shared. Unless you’re serving Joey - because Joey doesn't share food.

The perfect starter for a Valentine’s menu for us is a raclette sharing board. Cured meat, crudités, and warm bread served at the table with amazing raclette cheese, smothering the sharing board. This would be a real wow moment for diners, starting the night as you mean to continue.

An indulgent main course that will impress everyone is beef wellington – such a showstopper. This can also be adapted for vegetarian diners, with a mushroom and chestnut wellington which is just as impressive; find the Recipe here. There is nothing lacklustre about this vegetarian alternative! Serve with potato gratin (7006) and fresh seasonal vegetables for a main that will satisfy everyone. 

For dessert, it is a good idea to offer something slightly lighter as the preceding courses will leave your guests pretty full. A mango and passion fruit panna cotta is impressive and easy to create with our panna cotta mix (38720) and exotic fruit coulis (44440). This is also good for a busy service as it can be made in advance and only need to be plated up during service time. Making your life a lot easier. 

Want to create an alternative concept for Valentine's?

A fun option that is not so mainstream would be to promote a valentine’s brunch. For those that don’t take the occasion as seriously, but still want something nice and a bit different to do. We’re not talking love heart eggs and bacon roses unless that’s your jam – but creating the atmosphere that works for valentines. A relaxed space with very good service, maybe offering a speciality brunch cocktail that denotes valentines; such as a ‘Cranberry Love’ – its super simple and is just a cranberry mimosa but plays off the fun of valentines. 

Contact Us to get your hands on all these amazing products and tag us in your new menu creations on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.