Shoppers blast M&S over price rise of popular meal deal after celebrity chef endorsement
M&S customers have blasted the retailer for hiking its popular Gastropub dine-in deal by 25%.
The revamped offer now includes creations by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge – but shoppers are still furious that the cost has risen from £12 to £15.
The deal for two – which includes a main, side and a starter or desert – is among the priciest of M&S’ dine-in offers.
There’s also a pasta bundle for £7, an Indian meal for £15 and a slow-cooked one for £12.
But the Gastropub offer has hit shoppers radars in recent weeks after it was revamped at the end of September.
One fan complained to the retailer: “So food inflation is flattening or in some instances reversing. So you have put your dine-in meal deal price up 25%? (£12 to £15).”
Another added: “I have no doubts about the quality and having awesome chefs endorsing it adds a nice touch, but I’d prefer you kept the pricing reasonable.
“Gastro dine in from £12 to £15 is a noticeable hike.”
A third said: “I expect prices to rise every now and again but a 25% increase in the Gastropub meal deal in a week is just a little beyond the pale.”
Others complained that the deal previously offered fish and chips together as a main dish, but now the dish is only haddock and the chips must be bought separately as a side.
One said: “Extremely disappointing to see that the Gastropub dine-in deal has not only increased a whopping 25% to £15, but the chips have also been removed from the haddock and chips box.
“Bad deal, I didn’t bother buying.”
M&S – which has highlighted “British Beef Cheeks” and Kerridge’s Treacle Tart as top picks of the range – said the offer was intended to “bring the flavours of your favourite restaurant home”.
Analysis by The Sun has revealed that many of the dishes present in the relaunched offer were included in M&S’ old Gastropub deal, including lamb moussaka, cottage pie, chicken forestiere and lasagne.
Meanwhile triple cooked chips, greens, emperor carrots and dauphinoise potatoes remain as sides, as well as runny scotch eggs and prawn cocktail for starter options and tarte au citron and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.
But the retailer said 95% of the dishes are new or had been improved and all now only use selected M&S Foodhall ingredients or specific ingredients from its Gastropub larder list.
Tom Kerridge has also brought in various new dishes into the deal, including a pork and bacon pâté, British beef cheeks, treacle tart and molten cookie dough.
How to save money on your food shop
Consumer reporter Sam Walker reveals how you can save hundreds of pounds a year:
Odd boxes – plenty of retailers offer slightly misshapen fruit and veg or surplus food at a discounted price.
Lidl sells five kilos of fruit and veg for just £1.50 through its Waste Not scheme while Aldi shoppers can get Too Good to Go bags which contain £10 worth of all kinds of products for £3.30.
Sainsbury’s also sells £2 “Taste Me, Don’t Waste Me” fruit and veg boxes to help shoppers reduced food waste and save cash.
Food waste apps – food waste apps work by helping shops, cafes, restaurants and other businesses shift stock that is due to go out of date and passing it on to members of the public.
Some of the most notable ones include Too Good to Go and Olio.
Too Good to Go’s app is free to sign up to and is used by millions of people across the UK, letting users buy food at a discount.
Olio works similarly, except users can collect both food and other household items for free from neighbours and businesses.
Yellow sticker bargains – yellow sticker bargains, sometimes orange and red in certain supermarkets, are a great way of getting food on the cheap.
But what time to head out to get the best deals varies depending on the retailer. You can see the best times for each supermarket here.
Super cheap bargains – sign up to bargain hunter Facebook groups like Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK where shoppers regularly post hauls they’ve found on the cheap, including food finds.
“Downshift” – you will almost always save money going for a supermarket’s own-brand economy lines rather than premium brands.
The move to lower-tier ranges, also known as “downshifting” and hailed by consumer expert Martin Lewis, could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your food shop.
Some have praised the overhaul, with one fan enthusing on X: “This new Tom Kerridge Gastropub range from @marksandspencer is absolutely banging, btw.”
Expert Amir Mousavi, a food consultant at the Good Food Studio in London, suspects rising costs were behind the hike.
He said: “Supermarket meal deals, traditionally, run as low-margin permanent promotions.
“Retailers often make 5% to 10% less margin on these offers compared to full-priced products, and their white label producers also sacrifice 5% to 10% margin.
“With rising costs of goods over the last few years, margins have naturally shrunk for both retailers and suppliers.
“Meal deals are not as commercially viable as they once were, necessitating a price restructure to maintain profitability.”
M&S said: “As part of our exciting recent relaunch of our Gastropub range we’ve improved the quality of our dishes to ensure our customers get restaurant- and pub-quality food at home.
“As part of this we have improved 95% of our dishes and also incorporated what we call the Gastropub larder – where all our dishes use ONLY ingredients from this select list.”
“So, for example, rather than any butter being used, the only butter in these dishes are M&S Salted/Unsalted British Butter, M&S West Country Butter Sweet Cream Butter, or M&S West Country Brue Valley Butter.
“All of these are found in our Foodhalls and ensure that the quality and taste is the same across every dish.
“We have also included the exciting new Tom Kerridge range within the Dine In deal, meaning you can get Michelin star-inspired food in the comfort of your own home and at a just a fraction of the price compared to a restaurant.”
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