My favourite is the Waitrose New York style cheesecake but you have to get them to cut you a piece at the counter. M&S New York style is nice but not in the same league, and it comes in rectangular chunks instead of proper wedges.

M&S is full of convenience food and ready meals. And they're no better than ones from other supermarkets in terms of nutritional content either. Many people I know worked or do work at Northern Foods / Cavaghan & Grey in Carlisle where many M&S ready meals are made; the comment about jumping through hoops to maintain the quality is just not true. They do have additional ingredients in most meals, such as spices and herbs - these are what give the taste/smell differentiation, but when it comes to meat and vegetables, sorry and all, but its the same stuff. The larger, best shaped cuts do go to M&S though.

That's a lot more than can be said for sainsburys. Their food really is no different to anywhere else - apart from often being more expensive for smaller pack sizes - yet there's a demographic that will pay much more for the same and still be smug about it.

I'm sure there used to be a better selection of food about 10 years ago. At one time I would just go mad in there, stocking up on all the fab selections (my now husband was convinced I was a fantastic cook!). These days I struggle to find something tempting and I really have had to learn to cook now. I still treat myself to a prawn mayo buttie for lunch regularly, how come no matter how I try I can't get a homemade one to taste the same.

There definitely used to be a better choice of vegetarian food. Maybe it was longer ago, 20 years perhaps, but you could buy a selection of vegetarian dishes that would make a tasty meal. Now it's all meat or fish main courses and prepared vegetable side dishes. The range of pizzas has reduced too, although that's probably a good thing.

Yes I do when my daughter has sausage and mash. Can't be bothered faffing about peeling spuds, boiling, mashing, adding milk and butter then washing a pan. Nice creamy mash for a quid in Tesco and does 2 people.

Powdered mash just isn't the same!

Sorry was the peach melba one then.

The Count On Us desserts are great, so tasty and a low calorie content. It is like not being on a diet. I find them a real treat. knocks Weight watchers stuff into the floor!

Off to Tesco for a banoffee cheesecake later! Think they're £1.49 but still much cheaper than M&S.

My daughter's suddenly gone mad on cheesecake after she had it at a friend's house. I've been offering her it for years and she said she didn't like it, even though she'd never tried it!!

I used to use them regularly years ago (90s to mid 00's), but only for buying sandwiches & a dessert at lunch time. Their individual desserts were always better than anywhere else. In the 90s they were priced quite competitively, but with the increasing popularity of cheap supermarkets like Asda & Tesco this decade, the price difference is more apparent, and personally I would only shop there now for an occasional treat if I was in the area.

True. M&S food is not worth the price. A lot of their ready meals are bland and uninteresting. Anyone with basic cooking skills can produce something more nutritional at a fraction of the cost.

M&S 's vanilla cheescake is to die for! Like eating a dream

Yes but are their ready meals better than Asda, Sainsbury's or Tesco's though?

Is that 4 quid too though?

Tesco and Sainsbury, no, they're not. I haven't tried an Asda ready meal as I got thrown out of one of their shops once and refuse to use them again.

GUESS WHAT FOLKS ! - We use something called our Local Bakery and Butcher.... best Cheesecake we ever tasted !

With the move to supermarkets we have lost the quality in our food for shure - people think the cheapest is best.. but all they are eating is stuff full of air or chemicals and flavour enhancers.

Were you mutilating broccoli like I was when they threw me out?

I buy certain things only in M&S - I love their key lime pie, I also love their black olive crackers, humous, Mexican chicken and granary bread.

I find their fruit and veg to be better quality than most other supermarkets.

I've never been a huge fan of their ready meals though. However I am not a fan of ready meals per se.

The kiddy meals are pretty good though - cheap, low in calories and I occasionally have them for lunch!

Do they still do the blackcurrant tarts that I loved as a boy? Pastry bottoms with blackcurrant jam then a thin round of cake with buttercream round the edge too. We had these once a week but that was the late 60's.

This is good marketing speak. It's spin, not fact.


Oh yes you do !


Only compared to eating out - and you're not!


Yes absolutely.


Tastier too.

Ha ha. No, I had a lot of shopping to do so I used one of those large trolleys with the seat in it. You know, for the kiddies to sit in. Some supervisor type came up to me and said I wasn't allowed to use it as It was reserved was people with children. So we had a stand up argument and I got asked to leave.

Outrageous, as was my ejection for destalking the broccoli.

I know. You don't pay for broccoli stalks. It's ridiculous.

I still go in there though and still do my dirty deed. Not paying for thick stumps that I don't eat!

their veggie food is dire

Yes, I got some in a selection but they had a six pack too