It was overall a satisfying alternative to cooking from scratch
The M&S Mother’s Day Dine In deal is £20 for three sides and a main (Image: M&S)
If you’re planning on spending some quality time with your mum, grandma or a motherly figure this weekend, sharing a meal might be something you have in mind.
After breakfast in bed or perhaps a spot of afternoon tea, a roast dinner could be a great way to round off a lovely Sunday. But there is an obvious downside which is the prep work and washing up. After all, the day is meant to be for spending quality time together, not standing over the stove.
To combat this, Marks & Spencer is offering a ‘Mother’s Day Dine In’ meal deal which is £20 and comes with a main and three sides.
With options like a whole salt and pepper chicken, tender beef or a salmon side, as well as vegetarian options like mushroom stroganoff pie, I put it to the test to see if it was worth swapping out the home cooked meal.
Having tried the M&S Valentine’s Day meal deal, which was incredible value for money with a starter, main, side, dessert and bottle of wine for £25, this didn’t come with quite the same full package but it was still a generous selection of food.
I walked away with over 1kg of beef, Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes plus cheesy greens with a garlic crumb – something I wouldn’t normally bother with for my own roast.
Everything could be cooked in the oven or air fryer, which made it super easy.
The beef had a few additional steps, including basting 10 minutes from the end and adding a sachet of sauce. I also added extra oil, salt and herbs to the potatoes and gave them an extra 10 minutes in the air fryer than instructed.
Besides that, the instructions were fairly fool proof, just check if you need foil for anything before you leave the shop (I didn’t).
The result was impressive too. The potatoes, once crisped up, were light and fluffy, and the Yorkshires were a generous size and a necessary addition if you ask me.
It could have passed for a meal cooked from scratch (Image: M&S)
The cheesy greens were delicious too, but for anyone who doesn’t like them there were carrot and parsnip trays, herby hasselback potatoes and spring greens as alternatives.
If I didn’t know already I would have found it a very believable homecooked dinner, and your mum definitely won’t be left feeling cheated out of a homecooked roast. The beef even reminded me of meals cooked by my grandma. I was also able to make a good beef gravy with the juices by adding a bit of cornflour.
Portion-wise, for a family of four it’s unlikely you’ll be having leftovers. The cheesy greens went easily between just me and my partner and the potatoes too. There were plenty of Yorkshires though, and tons of beef.
The only let-down was my own mistake. Because I forgot foil I cooked the beef in a covered pot and, panicking about doing it wrong and undercooking it, I ended up overcooking slightly and quickly became dry – not the succulent, tender beef I’d hoped for.
My advice is to follow the instructions carefully on the beef. Other sides needed the opposite and took a little longer to get properly crispy.
Overall, the £20 felt worth it for saving the faff of cooking and it was a tasty meal too. Next time I’d go with the chicken, which I think would be harder to mess up and more of a family crowd-pleaser.