Seduce your love with a Michelin star meal at home

Who doesn't groan inwardly at the culinary expectations around Valentine's Day? The hushed rows of duos trying to be performatively romantic while dining out are enough to put anyone off their steak frites – as are the high restaurant prices.

But slaving over a hot stove to prepare a feast at home can leave romance as the last thing on your mind. So why not let your favorite chef or restaurant do all the preparation and just take the honors this year?

Here are the best available meal kits with a three-course restaurant-style meal for two for an unforgettable Valentine's Day…

IDEAL FOR FOODIES

Enjoy, £65 per person for three courses, plus canapé, bread and petit fours (indulgedining.co.uk)

BEGINNER: Heritage carrot, radish, buttermilk and dill.

MAINLY: Celeriac, turnip and leek with Montgomery cheddar sauce.

DESSERT: Vanilla cheesecake with apples and crystallized ginger.

TIME TO COOK: 30 minutes.

Andy Bowler founded Indulge Dining in lockdown after years working in top Michelin restaurants, including Gordon Ramsay's Petrus.

I opted for the vegetarian package, although both the vegetarian and meat menus start with a canapé of mushroom wafers, topped with pickled enoki mushrooms and a wild garlic and mushroom cream that tasted superb and only required assembly.

The same goes for the starters: the traditional carrots with radish, buttermilk and dill oil were ready-made and only needed to be plated.

The dish looked beautiful with the addition of micro shoots and flowers in their own separate container, with a damp cloth to keep them fresh.

I then reheated the salt-baked celeriac in the oven for eight minutes, while I reheated the turnip puree and Montgomery cheddar cheese sauce in separate pans.

The finished dish was delicate, with a good bite and reminded me of a dish I had eaten in a two-star Michelin restaurant.

The dinner ended on a high note with petit fours with citrus tart – a small crisp pastry into which I piped bergamot cream, finished with small grapefruit segments and candied lemon peel. Perfect for gourmets. 4.5/5

LOBSTER & FRIES

Cote, £74.95 (coteathome.co.uk)

BEGINNER: Cheese soufflé or French onion soup.

MAINLY: Lobster thermidor, fries, peas à la Francaise.

DESSERT: Tarte au citron or almond financier.

TIME TO COOK: 25 minutes.

This is one of three Valentine's Day packages from the Cote at Home branch of the restaurant chain.

The cheese soufflé, made with cheddar and camembert, comes with plenty of grated Comte and a packet of leek and cheese sauce to spoon around while you warm it up in the oven for 20 minutes. You don't have to worry about it not rising, but it does sink quickly, so eat right away.

The highlight of the meal was tasty, with good sharp cheese spiciness and plenty of sauce.

But the lobster, while admirably sourced from East Anglia, was a bit woolly. I would have liked sweeter, juicier meat and the thermidor sauce was rather thin with a muted flavour. It is reheated in the oven, with the sauce poured into a container provided, along with good fries, which can still be browned a little. We also reheated the peas à la francaise, with baby onions and surprisingly without bacon, in a pan with the supplied butter, with good results.

Unfortunately, the lemon tart was a letdown, with soggy pastry and a filling like lemon curd.

But despite the mediocre main course, this felt worth the cost: lobster would easily cost more than this in a restaurant. 3/5

TASTE OF SPAIN

Jose Pizarro for Dishpatch, £99 (dishpatch.co.uk)

BEGINNER: Grilled red pepper escalivada and Gordal olives on coca flatbread.

MAINLY: Castilian suckling lamb leg with crispy potatoes and yoghurt aioli, plus Little Gem lettuce with lemon vinaigrette.

DESSERT: Tres leches.

TIME TO COOK: 30 minutes.

Jose Pizarro is one of the darlings of the Spanish food scene in Britain with seven restaurants to his name.

The Catalan escalivada (roasted aubergines, tomatoes and peppers), served at room temperature, was exquisite, garnished with plump Gordal olives. It didn't look spectacular, but the taste was authentic.

The leg of lamb and potatoes were impressively tasty. The lamb sauce was added during the last five minutes of cooking to make the dish exceptionally moist, and the lemon dressing was fantastic. It took 30 minutes to prepare and heat up with no fiddly juggling – just make sure you have some extra virgin olive oil on hand. The tres leches, a light cake dessert, lacked the wow factor, but this was restaurant-level food with minimal fuss. Impressive. 4/5

JUST PERFECT

Cafe Murano for Dishpatch, £110 (dishpatch.co.uk)

BEGINNER: Bruschetta of cannellini bean and pancetta.

MAINLY: Florentine steak with fried gnocchi, pumpkin and cavolo nero.

DESSERT: Chocolate olive oil cake with pistachio cream.

TIME TO COOK: 35 minutes.

Known for her refined yet simple, Italian-inspired cuisine, Angela Hartnett is chef-patron of the Michelin-starred Murano, as well as three Cafe Murano brasseries.

Although the cannellini bean appetizer sounded a bit plain, it actually had a pleasant, earthy flavor and was easy to put together.

The pumpkin and cavolo nero gnocchi were exceptional and only needed a topping of pangrattato (breadcrumbs and herbs) before being reheated in the oven. A little trickier: the superlative had to be seared on both sides before finishing in the oven. Served with a spicy ready-made salsa verde and arugula (lightly dressed, as suggested) it made for an unforgettable dinner.

The chocolate olive oil cake tasted sensational with the pistachio chantilly. The only downside? We wanted more! 5/5