First Time Grocery Shopping at M&S - Is this the best British supermarket?!
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- Опубліковано 22 січ 2023
- Today we are checking out M&S for the first time and doing some food shopping at an M&S Food Hall (and also trying M&S food for the first time!). The concept of a food hall inside of a department store is one I don't think we've ever come across in the United States, so this is a completely unique experience for us. Plus the M&S Food Hall has so many amazing store-branded items that the whole experience was unlike anything we've ever experienced before. Trying M&S food for the first time was a lovely experience. There were so many interesting options that we are dying to know what your recommendations are for next time!
Have you seen this video of our first time ever grocery shopping in a British Supermarket (Tesco): • Grocery shopping in a ...
This video was recorded October 30, 2022.
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Our first M&S was a lovely experience. We tried some great items, but there are so many interesting options that we would just love to know what your M&S favorites are for next time! Have you seen this video of our first time ever grocery shopping in a British Supermarket (Testco)? Watch it now: ua-cam.com/video/IpOaSJeS6bA/v-deo.html
You should compare Asda M&S Sainsburys and Morrisons to see which one you like the best👍
We would normally have mashed potatoes, veggies, and plenty of gravy with the toad in the hole. I send those M&S cheese sticks out to my g/f in the US, and also the cracked black pepper ones. All M&S meals and desserts are heaven, and with the meal deals don't really cost much more than Tesco / Sainsbury's. M&S food is always the best quality! Try their 'Four Cheese & Onion' crisps too, as well as their 'Mature Cheddar & Onion. Happy Eating! As a point of interest did you know that the show 'Pointless' is made at the same studio where they made the Star Wars, and Indiana Jones movies, in my old hometown in Hertfordshire. It is known as the home of Star Wars, and across the street was where the original Muppet Show was made.
@@bobbybigboyyes I agree, prices are fair in M&S but they win hands down in taste
Need also to try Waitrose
@@jonathonblacker299 Or Booths if north of england.
As someone who works in food manufacturing and made fresh produce for most of the uk supermarkets over the years and seen the ingredients that go in I will say you definitely get what you pay for when it comes to M&S. You truly are paying for the quality.
Amen !
It’s not just food….it’s M&Sfood❤
Damn right
The problem at M&S is the best sort of problem - so much choice!
When I was in university in Canada they had a M&S and I used to go and buy food from there all the time. Before I went home I would go there to get pork pies for my grandma.
We used to have an M & S in Canada but then they closed. Miss the food hall, fabulous foods. Wish you had gravy and mashed potatoes with your toad in the hole, Mmmm
I work for M&S and I get 20% staff discount. People say it’s pricey but you’re paying for the quality, but with my staff discount it brings the price down to other supermarkets so I have no excuse but to shop at Marksies 😆
I find portion size is small and not everything is better quality like chicken is chicken 🤷♂️
The only think I like n&s for is the snacks
@@alexrowson-brown6568 I buy the chicken legs for my dog and the amount of chicken I get off the bone is much more than the Sainsburys 1kg boxes.. even though M&S is only 620g
@@alexrowson-brown6568 Portion size should be bigger, M&S policy is always to be generous with the customer. I work for a company that makes ready meals and we make ready meals for many customers. The ingredients are not the same, M&S Chicken and Prawn are a higher quality than Tesco's and Tesco is a higher quality than others. Generally M&S quality is the best, fresher ingredients, less frozen stuff, less purees. One thing all ready meals have in common is sugar my god the amount of sugar we put in to food it's insane.
@@alexrowson-brown6568 the living conditions of the chicken matters to that chicken and as a bonus happier livestock leads to nicer tasting meat.
So I’m happy to eat less meat at a slightly higher price point.
My sister worked at the Torquay town branch some years ago and had the same staff discount. She did
put on some weight though!! I do know she was sad when leaving her job! M&S always had a good
name.
After watching this video I think we Brits should feel pretty proud of our M&S’s wonderful range of ready meals! (Not forgetting they also do a great range of raw meats to cook ourselves)
After all these years, the term "ready meals" has made it across the pond. America really is behind in many areas.
I notice the majority of posts mention that M&S is expensive, but personally I feel when you take into account the quality of produce it’s actually good value. For years the food side of M&S has propped up the whole business and it’s because it’s so popular. I’m pleased you enjoyed your M&S visit and must say that store was massive; I haven’t come across many of the products you viewed in that Chester store.
Exactly
You get what you pay for & I always feel it’s quality in there so buy it.
Its quality but you pay for it!
M&S is a treat for lazy cooks and people in a hurry. I have done a 'cheats dinner party' from M&S before. However, M&S is still not as good as the superb fresh produce at my local farm shops here in the Cotswolds, if you are a keen home cook. I can always, always taste the preservatives in ready meals.
Personally I've found theirs no difference from M&S to Tesco Finest. If anything M&S is way overated. It's similar to Waitrose in the fact that because something is more expensive it's better without actually being better quality!! Its strange as most ranges come from the same producers but with slight differences in packaging but vastly different price tags.
When Mum got into her 90's she began to rely upon ready meals, M & S were so superior. Most supermarkets ready meals were just meat and potatoes they usually had a selection of veggies with them and in reality when you considered the quality they were better value. The shelf life was shorter as there were less preservatives and the variety was vast. Her favourite was the Salmon with watercress sauce and baby new potatoes mine was the hake with roasted tomatoes other supermarkets had a few curries a few chinese cottage pie etc just bog standard stuff she never got bored. Roast pork with cider gravy was another favourite. She really enjoyed their meals. On her last day on earth just shy of her 94th birthday she went there on her scooter and did her weekly shop. Hale till the end on M&S food I never had any worries about her appetite. She had brain hemorrhage very quick the way she would have wanted it totally independent to the end.
If I say that's a lovely story it sounds cruel of me but that's how it was with my auntie and yes it's so great that many people remain active and witty to the end. I just love to think of your Mum,just like my Auntie,all neat and spruce going to the shops and just being in the moment then off on that Big Adventure.
My mum loved the pasta ready meals and sandwich fillers. Her 80th Birthday cake was ordered from M&S. She went very quickly after a brain haemorrhage at 82, here one day, gone the next. The food hall brings back lovely memories. Best wishes to you!
Aww, I worked in ms food hall in Brighton for years and I could practically do the elderly customers shopping for them , I knew exactly what each of them bought every week 😊
Sorry for your loss but what a lady.
🤗
Yes it is! It's an unwritten rule that you havn't been to Britain until you've tried a Percy Pig... glad you enjoyed! 🐷🙌
Is everyone ignoring the fact that M&S just replied to this video?!
I’ve lived in England all my life and I’ve never even heard of a Percy pig 😳
@@autumn5852can confirm for me also.
I first heard of Percy Pig when I was 4 years old. I am 76.
Sure enough there weren't any Percy Pig sweets back then and the variety of sweets was very limited because sugar was still being rationed.
There was also a Percy the bad chick in another book among our first readers in infants school along with Dobbin the horse, Daisy the cow and lots of other named animals in tales of old farmer Lob's farm.😊
The duck fat and goose fat is perfect for when you are roasting potatoes. They go super crispy! Perfect for a roast dinner.
Very east European. The Poles and Croatians swear by it.
I live in Australia now, but I grew up in Britain (for the most part) in the fifties and sixties. Back in those days Marks and Spencer were known for their inexpensive but quite good quality clothing. The week before I left my family and emigrated (as a parting gift), my father took me to M&S and paid for a whole new wardrobe to take with me. I was like a walking advertisement.
I am 67 and have lived in the UK all my life. My parents told me that M&S used to be as you described but I can't really remember that. In the late 1960s and 1970s they sold good quality clothes but were more expensive than rivals like C&A, British Home Stores and Littlewoods (none of which exist anymore in the UK). In the 1980s they really took off with a much wider range of clothes, catering for their traditional market as well as the more fashionable market. After a blip about 20 years ago, when they largely stopped using UK suppliers and charged similar prices for lower quality products made in Asia, they lost a lot of customers.
However, having closed many stores in smaller towns (and some bigger towns like Luton and Northampton), their remaining shops are busy again but a relatively small proportion of their customers are under 40. The main exception is food, where younger people do shop from my observation. The larger stores have all got large food sections and there are also many standalone M&S Food stores in smaller towns. As others have written, the food side has propped up the clothes side of the business for some time now.
@@user-mn4cc6bb7t I am 85 and remember M & S since the 1950's.
I have always loved it. When all the clothes were made in Britain the quality was better. However the food has always been superb. They have gone right up again with their clothes and it is not true to say that young people do not go in there. They do.
I left England for Kenya in the 1950's for three years. I used to dream about M & S. I have only left England since for holidays. I still love it and have it on good authority that shopping in England is far better than Australia.
Back in the day everything was made in Britain and everything was pure quality.
@@valeriedavidson2785I emigrated from the UK to Australia. I miss M&S for underwear. That's about it. I'm guessing that, like anywhere, some places have good shops and others don't. In Melbourne shopping is blah, like in the UK, (Walking around small shops, hunting for a coat for hours 😢) We live in Queensland. Here, there are the most fabulous Shopping Malls, where you can purchase anything. There are also Restaurants, Hairdressers, and Cinemas. It's all down to individual perception and preferences
Love how enthusiastic and bubbly you two are staying on our little island. Please come back and stay longer 🥺
I go to the UK every year (from Canada); it's my favourite place. And I LOVE the supermarkets. On my last morning, before heading to Heathrow, I always go to the Tesco and Sainsbury, and I nearly fill a suitcase with treasures.
My kitchen spice rack is stocked entirely with Tesco-brand herbs and spices, and it makes me smile every time I open my cupboard and see them.
Years ago I worked in a large bakery which supplied a lot of supermarkets. But when the time came (usually in the extremely early morning) to do the Marks and Spencer run. There was a long pause. Recipes changed, and a crew from the store would oversee everything. They also had the power to reject the whole run.
Cost more?
Yes. But that's OK
I worked in a factory that made M&S clothes and yes they used to come out and check. They didn’t want us making for other companies, so we had to lock orders for other stores away when they visited
Rhinestones in cornfield near sheffield England do this
That's reassuring that they take additional steps like that
My ex worked in a pop factory and the same thing happened there. Whenever the line changed to an M&S product a team turned up to inspect the cleanliness of the line, the labels and the product. Thats what we're paying for.
Ocado does m & s home deliveries. My grocery bills are ridiculous !
M&S and Waitrose are our high end supermarkets, but you do get what you pay for. For an extra pound or two, the ready meals are far superior to Tesco/Sainsbury's/Asda/Morrisson's.
Went looking for this comment and found it 👍🏻 agreed. Love Aldi for some essentials but Waitrose for everything that shines with better quality.
If you want above and beyond, try Harrods, Selfridges, or Fortnum & Mason.
Super quality.
Super varieties and ££££
For endless variety and sensible £..
Try Borough Market.
Fair play. I used to volunteer at a food bank that got all of M&S end of day/day after end-of-date stuff that we'd hand out. Probably the best food-bank in the world.
Wow, that does sound like nice food for a food bank.
I think that's one of the nicest story I've heard about Marks & Sparks. Just because Life dealt a person a bad hand doesn't mean that they must be "punished" by having always to eat the crappy food that's all they can afford even for the kids. Comfort food - the pies, Yorkshire puds, the thick gravy that doesn't come powdered out of a box - must bring them, however briefly, the same warm feeling it does to other people!
I know these guys had barely touched down before they went to M & S, and were knackered so the whole idea was not to have to cook...but next time I hope they either go into the Veg. section, or the rice/salads/ pasta/cous-cous sections, or the stacks of different kinds of salads or, even better, find a market - because, obviously, one doesn't eat these prepared meals on their own.
To shop in a Farmers Market means the right person is getting paid for their work & worry. And you get to bite into a strawberry, or plum that actually has juice in it! Or cook a potato that came out of the ground yesterday in its skin (we say "jacket"😊) because it tastes nutty and full of flavour. Promise you guys that with things (like those vegan "chicken") you can serve them as part of a Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Polish...whatever, meal by serving with rice/pasta/salad/vegies...add a few herbs & spices and all the flavours will just burst in your mouth!
(Oh and got a giggle out of watching two adults in the Sweety aisle and buying Percy Pigs😄😄).
Where is it? I"ll move there!
Hi, did you notice that the M&S food has virtually zero additives unlike the food in the US!! Exceptionally amazing ready prepared food!!! Enjoy it all. X
And GM free
This !!
This is making me proud to be British 😊
The wide eyed wonder at things that seem so ordinary is very touching.
The Toad in The Hole traditionally has a rich onion gravy with it . 🙂 . If you make your own , seal / brown the sausages in a frying pan transfer to a baking tin , add the Yorkshire batter and bake . Make the gravy in the same pan you sealed the sausages in to get the meaty flavour into the gravy . Its generally a main meal in itself served on its own with gravy or with the addition of whatever veg takes your fancy .
The temperature of the baking tin is vital.
Vegetables are vital!
Definitely needs vegetables
only baked beans will do.🥹
Pork pies best cold. And the duck and goose fats are for roasting potatoes.
….and lots of English mustard!
You cannot go wrong with M&S foods!
I was salivating as you walked through the store. My children vaguely remember M&S in Canada. On our 2019 3-generation trip to the UK we hit M&S in Oban. We were all like kids in a candy store. The food is just so good and the quality amazing.🇨🇦🇨🇦
We are very lucky to have a big selection of excellent food. Lots of supermarkets have upped their game
I think we in the UK take it for granted that we can just pop out and buy a vast array of excellent food, I've traveled the world and it's surprising how many first world countries are lacking in the availability of good food. I've visited Canada by the way and it is stunning and the people were incredibly friendly. 🇨🇦
The more I see you guys the more convinced I am you need to live in the UK or even Europe!!! I love how you react to our world! You will always be welcome!
Well Dwight Mc Guirre did live in the UK for 5 years 😜 !
@@davidholgate123 I endorse what you say, having been an immigrant to another country for nearly 20 years at one time, before moving back home. But your argument should never deter anyone from taking that chance in my opinion. Anything can and will happen in life and now I'm nearing the end of mine, I would have hated to be sitting in my rocking chair saying "I wish I'd taken that opportunity". Sure it's different as an immigrant to being a tourist, sure you need much longer than you think to feel comfortable and at home in your new location, sure it's difficult when the time arrives to move back to your original home for whatever reason, but don't let that stop you doing it. And let's not forget that Americans and Brits share a similar language. Many people have a new one to contend with in their new countries too.
@@davidholgate123 UK emigrant here and 15+ years in (Singapore in my case) still enjoying it greatly. Miss family of course, but moving back would only really be a consideration for retirement really.
I use Goose fat for my Christmas dinner roast potatoes . I don’t like pork pies but I think most people would eat them cold with a buffet or in a picnic etc. All our food prices have increased in the UK and still are. I would normally serve toad in the hole with nice thick onion gravy, mash and fresh veg.
Thanks, Debsi!
In burton on Trent you could go in to one of the pubs and order a pork pie ( always eaten cold never had a warm one ) they would give you a tea spoon of English mustard with it and you wash it down with a scrumpy cider (still and cloudy) I miss it !
The jelly in a porkpie is the best part
@@michellejames9718 Scrumpy in a Burton pub - sacrilege !
I only know ONE nutter that heats up pork pies 😂
M&S is generally seen as more expensive but they do have good meal deals. They have a famous “dine in for two” deal which was £10 for 2 mains, 2 sides & 2 desserts. On special occasions like Valentines its £20 and includes better meals and wine.
I hope you filmed more of Chester!
Gromarks hsve actually.got good value food
Some of the ready meals had red price tags (usually some sort of special offer) but they seemed to ignore that.
Hi from Fife, Scotland !
Pork pies are only eaten cold.
If you heat them up ,
they disintegrate. They're like a kinda paté ,
often eaten as a bar snack, with good mustard ,
or Branston pickle, or both .
I like a dash of Tabasco, too. xx James
Hello fellow Fifer!
Can’t say I’ve ever heard of someone ever heating up a pork pie. Quite fancy one now! 😂
Heat a pork pie and serve with hot mushy peas, tinned are fine. Top with mint sauce.
This is nonsense, I worked at a butchers who made peis including pork pies. Took a pie home for lunch and heated it up so the gelletin melted and then ate with baked beans - better than any other meaal.
@@MontytheHorse Raised in the UK living in the USA would love a pork pie miss British food
Pork Pies and Scotch Eggs... gotta have cold. I like to remove the egg, sprinkle a little salt+pepper and maybe a smidge of mustard then put the egg half back in. Pork pies with a good slather of mustard too.
I just love M&S food. The food is always top quality - As a single woman (children are now adults) I buy a lot of their meals for one and meal deals. Meal deals are a side, a main, a dessert and a bottle of wine! They're great value. I also love Percy Pigs and hide them away from my grandchildren! 😅
we ended up with some Percy Pigs a few more time during the trip. They didn't last that long. 😂
I had a brief look in the comments, and it doesn't seem like anyone explained the Deli pots.
Yes they would typically be used for filling Sandwiches, using whatever style of bread (Baguette, Ciabatta, Wrap, Bap, Sliced, etc) but they could also be used as Jacket Potato filling, or served as part of a Salad.
Sometimes in the Summer, my Mum plans a Salad for dinner (as opposed to serving a simple salad as a side to a main dish), and typically it includes either Potato Salad, Pasta Salad, Rice Salad, or Couscous Salad, or possibly a couple of them, plus a usually meat or fish based option, often with a mayo type dressing (Tuna Mayo, Prawn Mayo, Coronation Chicken, etc) as well as assorted prepped salad veg (including the basics of Mixed Salad Leaves, Tomato (dressed with a little Olive Oil and Cider/Wine Vinegar), and Cucumber, as well as adding things like Grated Carrot (especially good dressed with a little Orange Juice), Pepper, Radish, Spring Onion, Avocado etc), sometimes a cheese (such as Feta), and usually some toasted nuts or seeds or those crispy dehydrated Fried Onion pieces to add some crunch.
Everybody chooses which elements to add to their plate, so it's easy to adjust to individual preferences.
You are a girl after my own heart. I lived in NYC for 18 years and am still loving my trips to M&S for food shopping now I’m back in England…I love this food.
It’s so lovely to hear and see how excited you are.
It’s great you are having such a wonderful time in the UK 💕💕💕
M&S is amazing value in my opinion, usually shop there when I have a some spare cash. Brilliant ready meals and food in general. Love your videos, you are both a fabulous and respectable couple, welcome to the UK 🇬🇧💙👫
Thank you so much!
@@TheMagicGeekdom thank you both for your content and letting us into a little part of your world. I see your in Chester, my favourite city in the world 👍👍
Word 💯
I’m from the home of the pork pie Melton Mowbray, also affectionately known as pork pie town, always eat it cold with Branstons Pickle and our also famous local cheese Stilton. To be really adventurous try the aforementioned items with celery,pickled onions,coldslaw,ham, grapes and a doorstop size hunk of bread with butter, it’s called a Ploughmans lunch, mostly served in pubs, very filling and yummy.
Alright, well now I want a pork pie with Stilton. That sounds fantastic.
I love M&S food, it always makes me happy walking through there ❤
I’m British but have lived in Spain since 1991, and years ago, coming on holiday to England and walking round UK supermarkets seemed like being in wonderland - so you can imagine how we felt about M&S! A dream come true! But seeing the sheer amount of ready meals there in your video was a bit shocking, a sign of how lives have changed, with nobody seemingly having time to cook even simple things like vegetables. It can’t be healthy, can it? Of course, if it’s an occasional treat, no problem; but I don’t think I’d be buying shepherds pie then.
Here is Spain supermarkets are also offering more ready meals now, but nowhere near like in the UK. The emphasis is still more on ingredients.
Ready meals weren't healthy back in the 90s, but so much better now in many cases
M&S have always done great food. They used to be considered expensive compared to normal supermarkets, but the quality was always much higher. I've seen some recent articles that showed people have been finding M&S food cheaper than their normal supermarket as they have done a better job at keeping their prices down. That may be because it is mostly all M&S own brand and they can control costs. Waitrose is also a great food store, they used to run the food hall for John Lewis (I think they still do). They have some really nice stuff in there, although I would say M&S has the edge as it seems to have a larger and better range of items in my opinion.
Waitrose and John Lewis are part of the same company, IIRC.
M&S obsession in everything puts me off..
I will be honest, I live in UK but rarely venture far for grocery shopping so haven't been in that many M&S food halls, but even I did not realise how good the ready meals and side ingredients looked! (As an addendum, my father worked for a food supplier to M&S and he never divulged any trade secrets but he did say with some admiration that M&S work with their suppliers to ensure the absolutely highest standard of quality that can be attained, very strictly!)
Salad Cream was what the Brits used instead of mayonnaise for decades before mayonnaise was a thing here. The first ready-made commercial product was introduced in the United Kingdom in 1914, when it was used as a salad dressing and a sandwich spread. Historically, salad cream, often mentioned in Victorian sources, consisted of "hard-boiled eggs puréed with cream, mustard, salt and vinegar". Commercially made Mayo came onto the market much later. Salad cream is much more acidic so works well in sandwiches with fillings like egg, tuna, or anything flat tasting and bland.
Toad in the hole is usually served with thick onion gravy. I'd have it as a kid with mash and peas. Yum!
Yes the better quality pies are amazing.
Yes the tuna and sweetcorn is a sandwich filler or baked potato filling.
Enjoyed the video. The UK supermarkets have more of a variety of ready meals than here in the US. Our "ready meals" are usually just frozen dinners. I lived in the UK for two years and got used to the convenience of just bringing them home and warming them instead of having to thaw them out. I enjoy walking around the grocery stores when I'm there and looking at what they have. I'm going to be visiting the Manchester and Leeds area again in March and I'll be hitting the stores when I'm there.
Jealous that you're going to be in Manchester in March. 😁 Hope you have an amazing time.
Be sure to hit the Pubs as well … 👍
I’m from Manchester and have been living in the states for 25 years now. I go home every year usually for Christmas and M&S and Asda are always at the top of my list for a shopping trip.
Difference likely is most UK rfeady meals are fake food ie more chemical/processed than anything else.
@@TheMagicGeekdom I’m from Manchester and it’s crazy for me to hear they’re jealous of someone going to Manchester😂
So glad you guys seem to be enjoying your trip back to the UK! Always look forward to your uploads.
The deli fillers are good for sandwiches but also as a filling for a baked potato 🥔 👍🏻
Adorable seeing how you find British food. Look forward to more videos.
Tuna and Sweetcorn is a much loved staple for sandwiches or best on jacket potatoes. Sort of a go to filling along with the humble beans and cheese :D
We'll have to try it next time.
@@TheMagicGeekdom easy to make yourself and probably cheaper. Just a can of tuna, can of sweetcorn and a generous amount of mayonaise 😁
Personally, hate Tuna with sweet corn, which usually comes drowned in mayo. Yuk. All ingredients fine, but the combo sucks.
@@johnburton3865 way better than beans
@@richardlaundonalso really nice with chives or a bit of red onion+ squeeze of lemon :)
Onion gravy is the traditional accompaniment to Toad in the Holel. According to my mother, the "toads" were originally pieces of beef steak.
If you go to the Help Desk, and explain you are American visitors and don't have a £1, then they have a special token which means you can use a trolley. Yes, Deli Fillers are for sandwiches, jacket potatoes, toast. Cottage pie is beef, Shepherds pie is lamb, Cumberland is beef but with cheese on top of the mash. Yes, all the M&S Food Halls have lots of ready meals and snacks. Pork pies are normally cold and served with pickles, salad .... You can also make a Ploughmans by adding cheeses, bread, butter, .... There's normally a section with hot pies like steak and onion, chicken and ham, cheese and onion.
My favourites? All the little afternoon tea cakes!
Their gastro Scotch Eggs in the fridge section are my favourite 😍You have to put them in the oven for 14 minutes as they are soft boiled, to heat the yolk. Cold yolk would be nasty
I love them too
Toad in the hole is best with loads of onion gravy! You can also add mashed potatoes and veggies as a substantial meal for a cold winter day.
Onion Gravy seconded. Some sort of potatoes and some peas as well
Thanks for the tips!
Surprised M&S didn't push some on the same shelf, pretty sure they do ready made sachets
You can't go wrong with M&S for their food products. Better quality than supermarket brands in my opinion. A bit more expensive though but well worth it.
What a delightful couple.
They are opening more M&S stores and food halls around the UK this year. Just read that the other week. Nice to read about success and not closures. Keep the high street alive!!!!
From what I understand they plan to close some High Street Stores and open new ones in shopping centres. I hope I’m wrong, this is the last thing the High Street needs, more closed shops.
They closed our main m and s couple years ago open just food Hall on out skirts of our city very hard get if you don't drive
Europe and especially Asia have very upmarket food halls. Tokyo is incredible. Food is an art!
I love you guys, keep doing what you do! 🥰
Tuna and Sweetcorn is one of my favourites, especially with white pepper added. It is sold in most stores, including German. Coronation Chicken is lovelly as well.
Pork pie is usually served cold with salad and pickle. Here in Yorkshire we often have them hot with mushy peas and mashed potato and sometimes with a dollop of mint sauce
We've now enjoyed them cold, but warm with sides sounds nice as well.
Love pork pies, but never heard of a hot pork pie before. Another thing to try. 👍
as a person from yorkshire i gotta say that sounds disgusting and i've never heard of it, but each to their own
The 3 for £8 section is my favourite because it encompasses so many things, I love the halloumi and courgette triangles and feta parcels, prawn pots, honey smoked salmon, soo good on some warm bread. I just love going to M&S for a little snack especially in the summer when having picnics!
Do they still do their Wensleydale cheese and carrot chutney 🥪? Haven't been in a M & S for years after they left our town and next store is 50 miles away. Have searched high and low for the carrot chutney to make my own version of the sandwich and can find it nowhere
So glad you are enjoying your adventures in Britain. You can't go wrong with anything from M&S - I always enjoy a custard tart.
Great video as always, and can we all take a minute to appreciate the Meow Division shirt! It’s amazing and I want one
Hope you enjoyed Chester! M&S food is generally more expensive but higher quality than the other supermarkets in the UK. I love the original Percy pigs, they are my favourite x😀
I was in Chester in October last year. Lovely place. Discovered the charming Albion pub.
Hi Angela nice shop in chester I am from prenton
I have been visiting the UK every year since 2010, and I visited Chester for the fist time last year. I loved it!
Only 13 seconds into this video, I saw the clock, and instantly exclaimed, "Chester!"
You are both so nice. I’m glad you liked the M & S food, it’s a little expensive but rarely disappoints. Oh, welcome to the UK by the way and safe journey home.
Love that you went to Chester, hope you had fun, it's my favourite day out destination.
That’s such a great video. I smiled all the way through it.
I love watching you two, explore and eat different foods. I wish you both good health and good travels.
M&S may be bit pricier, but the quality is top rate. The food is fresher, lasts longer, and is just higher quality than other places. Their prawn mayo sandwich is an iconic work lunch, and a Colin the caterpillar is the only shop bought cake we buy.
I love, that it's all new to you both, welcome to the UK,
M&S is a luxury treat in my household. Pizza meal deal goes down very well. I agree they are alot more expensive however the quality is mile's better than other standard UK supermarkets. They are really specific about where their ingredients are sourced from, and who they use for supply. I work in food manufacturing and their food standards are second to non. To be an A list supplier takes alot of work even for very simple ingredients.
Mannn You cannot go wrong with M&S all butter mince pies. They should sell them all year round.
If you like your cheese, you need to try the M&S cheese scones from the in store bakery. You can eat as is but warm, haled & buttered is heaven.
With toad I would have potatoes (mash or boiled), whatever veg I fancied (peas always good) and a good helping of onion gravy.
Wow Jeffrey, your hair is amazing soo jealous of your look without side parting!
Yay Chester! Great to see you in our kneck of the woods.
In lockdown M&S was a couple of minutes from my apartment. Pricey, but it became my corner food store. I lived well from their meals. And staff were and are great. Can’t go wrong with their foods. Those cheese straws two boxes for two quid. Can’t go wrong. And good wine selection 😊
Love you guys, another great video. Definitely try toad in the hole with mash and gravy. You guys should try the m&s minced beef short crust pastry pie, cheddar cheese and smoked bacon crispbakes and for dessert strawberry & clotted cream sponge roll. (Trust me) so good!
Just read a piece about you guys visiting M&S in the Daily Mail!! You're becoming a pair of national treasures, love you guys 🥰
Living in USA from England. I miss M&S SO MUCH! Their food is so good and fresh. Have nothing like it here in USA. All us Brit ex pats miss M&S the most. PLUS it’s far cheaper than USA supermarkets!
The Italian, some curries and some Chinese are my favourite ready meals.
Things are a bit tight money wise currently so I go late to get the reduced items. Coupla days ago it was two Chinese meal boxes for 2 for £8 instead of £26.
The paella that you showed is one of my favourites too when I was able to get.
Best sandwiches too.
Oooohhhh!!! You almost picked up from their Indian section!!
Their Indian stuff is sublime.
Get a curry to match your tolerance of spice, get a rice and a few naans.
Cold white wine. Heaven.
Easily the best UK supermarket for Indian food - in my opinion obvs.
I also find find going first thing in the morning is when they put the yellow stickers on.
Can get a right bargain there if you time it right.
Delighted to see Chester. Grew up there and still love it.
I love Marks & Spencer, along with Fortnum & Mason and Harrod's. So interesting and great fun!
Ready meals are excellent in M&S, I worked in M&S for 30 years, and I can assure you that the quality of the food is outstanding, yes they are more expensive than most stores, but really are worth every penny! 👍
It is higher priced generally in M&S but definitely worth it. I always go round with a basket and find it impossible to fit all I want in it so end up getting a trolley lol. Love your videos :-)
I discovered your channel recently and am loving going back through all your videos! I'm a Brit living abroad and everytime I go back to the UK I have to go to M&S for 3 things that I can't find anywhere else. Percy pigs, wasabi peas, and stuffed vine leaves! I think the wasabi peas and vine leaves are things you either love or hate but they're definitely unique to M&S!
I’m so glad you liked the M and S products. The store you visited was very well stocked and seemed to have plenty of choice. I can confirm that the berries and custard Danish you mentioned in the bakery section is delicious.
You definitely need to try the “our best ever handcrafted sausage rolls” it’s a m&s own item! Heat them up for a minute and they come out so good!
Sounds great!
The pork and apple ones are my personal favourite, with the crumbly topping!
As soon as you picked up the Melton Mowbray pork pie I felt you were going to be confused whether to eat hot or cold. I've never known anyone heat one - they are only ever eaten cold as they are fully cooked. I don't like them but they are never hot!
Love your video. First time watching your videos. You showed M&S lines that I haven't seen in the Manchester store that I shop in.
So funny to see Americans going around M&S, we just take all of this for granted NOW I live in the US and long for M&S food, thank you for sharing your experiences
I love the Meow Division t-shirt. Made me smile. Colin & Connie sweets are really nice. Try them next time.
Thank you!!
If you like prawn mayo sandwiches, I would 100% recommend the M&S ‘our best ever’ prawn mayo sandwich. It’s elite. Also, the fondant fancies are the M&S version of the infamous French Fancies that mr Kipling does. Staple at a kids bday party in the 90s haha
Most other supermarkets do a couple of "best" ready meals., but no one can match M&S for quality or variety of them. Back in the 90s my girlfriend and I used to get £35 each in M&S vouchers as a Xma bonus. We used to blow the whole lot on food and drink!
Glad to see Chester featured on your video. Makes me homesick!!
I think that M&S cheese scones are delicious and also the giant strawberries and rainier cherries are nice although it's not the season for them yet. When you buy fruit from M&S each and every piece of it will be ripe and consistenly delicious. Some supermarket fruit is a mixed bag so to say, even Waitrose seems to have dropped the ball on that a little bit.
Marks and Spencers food is so delicious and no it's always been on the expensive side but the quality is superb and I don't mind paying for the things I like xx
Loved this video! It's like shopping at Macy's in 1902! LOL
I do love to watch you having food fun. :)
So funny watching you guys walking around M&S. FYI, Yorkshire Pudding should always have a gravy of sorts. Have you tried a YP with Chilli Con Carne? And for your next shop, might I recommend Waitrose, where the really posh people do their shopping 🤣
YP with Chili? 🤔
@The Magic Geekdom YP- Yorkshire Pudding
Great recommendation with chilli 😋
Personally I think that M&S food is superior to Waitrose and I have both shops nearby.
No contest with M+S V Waitrose-----M+S every time.
We always take M&S ready meals to tide us over for a few days when we go touring in our caravan .it’s cheaper than than eating out and in most cases better quality , Waitrose also have good ready meals not to mention Booths , but they are normally found in Northern England ,they are a bit expensive but as I said way much cheaper than eating out .
You two are adorable. I wish I could adopt you both so you could live in the U.K. permanently. Anyway, we are experiencing high inflation also at the moment as well which is in part triggered by high fuel prices
I love those cheese and Marmite pinwheels! Also their biscuit selection boxes - I got an M&S biscuit advent calendar last year and they are so delicious - great chocolate to biscuit ratio.
I LOVE M&S and I'm so glad to see you picked up the cheese twists because they are my favourite. If you stumble across one next time I recommend their tea cakes! The marshmallow is a bit chewier than the creamy Tunnock's ones but the layer of chocolate is thicker.
M&S for me is for a special treat as it’s a bit more pricey than other stores, however I cook a lot at home but the M&S ready meals are usually rather delicious
That totally makes sense.
We have a M&S food hall on our high street - just a 5 minute walk from my house. I usually buy a couple of ready meals for my husband and me once a week to give me a night off cooking.
The meals are typically around 50p more expensive than budget supermarkets, but they are worth the extra money.
M&S used to be thought of as really expensive, but there's not that much difference in price for basics like produce and fresh meat. I'm a pensioner, but still find a lot of the food affordable- just wouldn't do a week's grocery shopping there. I tend to get a lot from Aldi - tinned/frozen foods, toiletries, cleaning products, tea etc... and call at Marks multiple times a week for fresh stuff.
I think Waitrose is the most expensive - but also the place I would choose to shop if money was no object.
I buy the toad in the hole regularly for my husband and serve with mashed potatoes, veg and lots of onion gravy poured all over.
We also serve meat pies with veg and gravy.
Pork pies are usually eaten cold with salad or pickles - but in Yorkshire, where I was born, its eaten warm with mushy peas and gravy poured all over it.
Weirdly, food halls in basements of department stores are also really popular in Japan too!
They have a few in Singapore too, like Takashimaya on Orchard road....
And it's funny that they don't recognize that Walmart and Target are department stores with a supermarket in it! (A budget department store, but still).
We love our ready meals and over the years they’ve improved so much taste wise as well as health wise.
M&S ones are top tier along with Waitrose.
Also tuna, sweetcorn with loads of vinegar, dash of mayo will always make be a good filling.
Anything like pies you really do get what you pay for, pay a pittance you get sorry and gravy and that’s it.
Oooooh Chester! Just down the road from where I was born and grew up. A beautiful city full of history and historic architecture. Hope you enjoyed it.