Top 10 foodie gifts for Valentine’s Day

If you’re keen to avoid clichéd lingerie (tricky), flowers (expensive) and teddy bear (you're an adult) related Valentine's gifts, but still want to shower your significant other with a token of your affection, then food related gifts are a fine option.

Usefulness aside (I mean, who doesn’t like food?) they’re also great for negotiating that tricky stage in a relationship where you’re past the ‘just a card’ gesture, but not quite ready to pop into Tiffany for something sparkly.

Food gifts can also be a fine way of solving the problem of what to buy the person who has everything (so long as they’re not with gastric band) as well as stopping the panic that comes when you've been together long enough that you've done all the 'usual' gifts.  Basically, they are the perfect present.  Convinced?  Good.

Sweet tooth

If you want to stay relatively traditional, chocolates are always a safe gift, although you should definitely go out of your way to be more imaginative than a slightly squashed box of Roses from the local garage (top Valentine's tip: the local garage should never feature as your present buying location).

Thorntons allow you to compose your own message on chocolates so can you double up on the sweetness of your romantic message (and if the message doesn't go down well, at least it will taste good).

Alternatively, you could opt for a more selfish, ahem, sharing option with some 'mine mine mine... yours' by Choc on Choc (via Not On The High Street) or be a little more indulgent and choose something delicious and visually extravagant from Hotel Chocolat.

Sweet heart

If you're feeling a little more adventurous and fancy cooking a meal for your partner on the day itself, why not make your food heart shaped, thus injecting instant romance into the humblest of breakfasts.

Start the day on the right note with some heart shaped eggs (guaranteed bonus points if you make the egg heart in the middle of a slice of toast, no need to thank us), and use some Le Creuset heart shaped cookware to add a touch of love to your gourmet dinner menu.

If you plan to finish dinner with some cheese (and if you're not, may we politely suggest you reconsider), serving it on a personalised heart shaped marble board will add some understated affection.  For your girlfriend, as well as the cheese, we hope.  If you would rather focus on dessert, chocolate fondue sets are not new, but are always a fun addition to a romantic meal.

(Make) Sweet love

If it's your partner who loves cooking rather than you, and provided (this bit is key) you present it as a treat rather than a slight on their abilities, cookery experience days/short courses make ideal gifts.

Jamie Oliver's Recipease lessons are surprisingly affordable (though don't expect to be taught by the loveable mockney himself) and could be a fun way to spend time together as you learn how to cook the perfect steak. Leiths cookery school offer more involved, day courses around a variety of themes.

However, if you really want to push the boat out, send your loved one to Le Manoir for a day.  If you throw in an overnight stay in the hotel, you'll probably be forgiven for bypassing the jewellers for at least another 365 days.

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