Store Valentine’s food unromantically out of date

A RETIRED insurance worker bought a supermarket’s Valentine’s Day meal for him and his wife but was surprised to see that part of it was already out of date.

Derek Watson bought the Valentine’s Day meal from Waitrose in Monmouth but later realised the vegetables had a use-by date of the previous day – February 13.

Luckily Derek had a well-stocked fridge and managed to save the big night in with wife Debbie.

“They advertise, and have done for a long time, this Valentine’s Day meal,” the former Lloyd’s broker, 68, said.

“You get a starter, a main food dish, two sides, a pud and bottle of wine for £20.

“I was pushed for time so I bought that on the 13th, the day before Valentine’s day.”

The upmarket chain was one of several supermarkets tine’s Day deals.

“When I got it out of the fridge I realised the purple potatoes with pesto had a use-by date of the 13th, which was quite incredible,” Derek said.

“I assumed Waitrose had moved Valentine’s Day.

“I thought it was bizarre and contacted their customer services.

“I haven’t had a reply from them so with Valen- I emailed.” That was on Thursday.

“I got an autoreply saying they would get back to me within 48 hours,” Derek, from Trellech, in Monmouthshire, said.

Since then he has emailed chief executive Rob Collins.

He asked the boss: “How many others have been caught out by this?”

Derek has yet to take the spuds back. “I’ve not been back to the store because I have not been back to Monmouth, it is a 15-mile round trip,” Derek said.

Options included a dressed crab starter, a flat iron steak main, purple potatoes and pesto butter as a side dish and raspberry mousse hearts for pudding. The price included a bottle of wine. A spokeswoman for Waitrose said: “We are sorry to hear Mr Watson was disappointed and we have offered a full £20 refund.”