Times may be tight but when it comes to food, customers still want quality says Mark Price

As Valentine’s Day looms, it seems appropriate to turn our attention to romance. We all know that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. But a recent study showed that, for women and men, being able to cook adds to their allure.

Finding the right partner has never been easy and the publication last month of Marry Him: The Case for Settling for Mr Good Enough by Lori Gottlieb has only clouded the issue.

Gottlieb argues that many single women get to a state of desperation in searching for a husband because they don’t make wise decisions early on. Instead of dating dependable men they date cads and it all goes very wrong.

Customers look for inspiration during tough times; they want to be wowed with a bit of glamour

Mark Price

But why is settling for Mr Second Best wise? Well, according to Gottlieb, family life is not about bodice-ripping passion but is more like “running a small, tedious non-profit business”.

I’m not sure about that, but whatever is going on among Britain’s singles, I’m glad to report that this second-best approach to life doesn’t seem to apply to the way we buy our food - shoppers are definitely not prepared to compromise.

At the beginning of last year speculation was rife that the discounters, the Plain Janes of food retailing, were about to turn the UK supermarket sector on its head. It’s true, some shoppers did trade down as the credit crunch bit, but many soon realised that rock-bottom price and true value for money are not always the same thing.

When we launched Essential Waitrose last spring we set out to prove that cutting prices does not have to mean a cut in quality.

Customers continue to look for inspiration during tough times; they want to be wowed with a bit of glamour as they become fed up of being fed up.

That’s why we’ve launched Menu From, our new top tier range, which along with our successful Seriously range of indulgent treats and plans for the Duchy Originals brand, offers plenty to inspire.

Being able to buy impressive, restaurant-quality food is essential to fan the flames of love, if our Valentine’s research is anything to go by. We’ve discovered that Brits avoid cooking a meal on a first date for fear of turning potential partners off with their poor culinary skills.

So the concept of “food cocooning” that we’ve seen over the past couple of years - using food, cooking and dining at home as a way of saving money and as a symbol of comfort and stability - clearly comes later in the relationship.

As we emerge from recession and confidence begins to rebuild, I’m sure our customers’ love affair with quality, value, service and innovation will stand the test of time. I’m glad they didn’t choose to settle for Mr Second Best after all.

Mark Price is managing director of Waitrose