How to make your Valentines night in perfect

So you want to cook a romantic meal for your date on Valentine’s day. What could be better? Just the two of you alone together, good food, wine, candles and romantic music playing quietly in the background. You’re excited about it already. But there’s just one problem – you haven’t got a clue what to cook or how to go about it. And now that the big day’s creeping closer and closer, you’re beginning to wonder if maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. Never fear, here are a few pointers to help make your evening as enchanting as you dreamed it would be.

Preparation: You could learn a lesson from the boy scouts here. If you want the whole evening to go without any problems you need to be prepared. Don’t leave everything to the last minute, take time to think about what will make it a night to remember for you and your date. If you want to go all out with a romantic setting, you’ll need candles, flowers and posh dishes and wine glasses. Get everything ready and set out before you start cooking so it’s one less thing for you to worry about.

Food: Firstly and most importantly, don’t go over the top – know your limits. It’s better to cook one really good main course than to stretch yourself too far and end up with an average-at-best three course meal that you’ll struggle to eat and enjoy. As for deciding on a menu it’s important to know a bit about what your date likes and dislikes, even on a first date. If you serve up a big juicy steak only to find they’re a devoted vegetarian it’s going to be painfully embarrassing at best, and you probably won’t be seeing them again any time soon! Once you know what they like – and what they really hate – you can choose a dish that will impress them. You don’t have to go overboard, a simple but tasty main course followed by posh ice cream or a chocolate fondue and strawberries to share would be fine – and don’t forget chocolate is said to have aphrodisiacal qualities!

Wine: Selecting the right wine to go with your chosen food can be a bit confusing if you don’t know much about fine wines, but there are a few simple tips that should help. To find a wine to compliment your meal, the easiest way is to match the colours – red for meat, white for fish and so on. If you’re serving a light meal choose a light wine, if it’s spicy go sweet. Enjoying a good glass of wine with your meal is almost as much about presentation as the wine itself. If you’re serving white wine or rose make sure it’s chilled in advance, and always serve it in your best wine glasses – good quality crystal glasses make all the difference, and they make it feel special too. Remember your date probably won’t know much more than you about quality wines, they may bring a bottle with them and it’s likely they’ll have been fretting over it as much as you have!