If your favourite part of any plan is deciding what to eat, build the date around it.
You can spend a whole afternoon cooking, go out for one really good dessert or make a meal out of things you already have. These ten food date ideas give you a few ways to do it. Agree a budget and any dietary needs before choosing.
1. Pick a few dishes at a food hall
A food hall can help when you fancy different things. Each choose a dish, find a table and compare what you've gone for. Share if you both want to and the food suits you both.
Look up the current traders first, especially if one of you needs particular dietary options. Opening hours and ordering arrangements can vary between vendors.
2. Choose ingredients at a market and cook dinner
Visit a food market or a few local shops with one meal in mind. Find a vegetable you don't usually buy, choose some bread or ask what would work well with your main ingredient.
Set a budget before browsing and keep the recipe flexible. You want dinner, not six unrelated ingredients and a very expensive jar of chutney.
3. Make pizza together
Use ready-made bases or make the dough if you fancy it. Lay out a few toppings and make one pizza each, or divide a large one down the middle.
Try one new combination alongside something you know you like. Leave time for dough to rise if you're making it from scratch, and read the oven instructions before you're starving.
4. Go on a bakery walk
Choose two nearby bakeries, buy something small from each and compare your favourites on a walk. One could be savoury and the other sweet.
Check opening days and the route beforehand. If the weather's miserable, choose a bakery with somewhere to sit and make that your whole plan.
5. Book a cooking class
Look for a beginner class in something you'd both like to eat again. Learning a useful dish gives you a reason to try it at home later.
Check what the ticket includes, whether you'll cook together and how the organiser handles dietary requirements. Pick a class that fits your interest rather than simply choosing the most ambitious menu.
6. Have an indoor picnic
Clear a space, put down a blanket and bring out bread, dips, fruit and whatever else you fancy. Homemade food is lovely, but a supermarket picnic is still a picnic.
Each choose a couple of things so it feels like a shared plan. Make a plate, settle in and resist the temptation to tidy the entire room first.
7. Bake something you've never made
Pick one recipe and check what equipment it needs. Cookies, brownies or a simple cake are useful starting points if you don't bake often.
Take turns with the preparation and include cooling time in your plan. You can have a cup of tea while you wait rather than discover why recipes tell you to let things set.
8. Go out just for dessert
Have dinner at home, then head somewhere for cake, ice cream or another favourite. It can make a weekday evening feel like you've done something without booking a whole meal out.
Check that the place serves dessert at the time you want to go. Choose somewhere easy to reach so the journey doesn't become the main event.
9. Put together a tasting plate
Pick a few cheeses, chocolates or other small bites and taste them side by side. Make your own scorecards if you enjoy having strong opinions about snacks.
Add bread or crackers and something fresh so you've got enough to eat. Check allergens before sharing, and don't feel obliged to include alcohol. Tea or an alcohol-free drink can be part of the tasting too.
10. Take turns choosing a restaurant
Agree the budget, area and any food requirements, then let one person choose this time and the other choose next time.
It gives you a way to try each other's saved places without starting every dinner with the same discussion. Confirm the booking and tell the other person what they need to know, including when to leave.
Save the places you keep talking about
When a menu catches your eye or someone recommends a café, add it to your shared ideas in Unfaff. You'll have those food plans together when it's time to choose your next date.
