Putting a price on romance

In a special extended PriceWatch ahead of Valentine's Day, Conor Pope evaluates flowers, chocolates and romantic dinners

If you wake up on Valentine's morning in a cold sweat after unaccountably forgetting to organise anything special, don't worry, all is not lost. Last-minute flowers, while not terribly romantic, are cheap, widely available and look the part - as long as you can separate the neat from the naff. The restaurants featured here may be booked out, but the all the chocolates should still be available.

The bouquets of flowers reviewed were purchased on Friday, February 3rd. The prices given are what they cost on that day. There is, however, no guarantee that the cost of similar bouquets in the same outlets will not rise on St Valentine's Day as demand skyrockets.

Last year PriceWatch compared the cost of a dozen red roses and found that on Valentine's Day flowers were almost three times more expensive then they were on February 15th. This price rise is not unique to Ireland. Global demand means that trading on the rose markets in The Netherlands at this time of year are frantic. On top of the increased demand for stems, everything, from the cost of cutting, wrapping and boxing the flowers, through to the costs of freight and Irish florists' need to hire extra staff, leads to significantly higher prices. To determine what effect Valentine's supply and demand has on the bouquets we reviewed, PriceWatch will return to the outlets in question next Tuesday, compare the prices, and report back any major discrepancies between now and then.

When comparing the price of Valentine's Day set menus, it is impossible to accurately compare like with like, as all restaurants are unique. In order to make the comparisons as fair as possible, all the Irish restaurants featured have an average price per person of over €30, according to the Adlib restaurant website. The number of courses on offer vary, with Zuni in Kilkenny, for instance, offering four courses and Wineport Lodge offering six. Some of the restaurants throw in a red rose or a glass of champagne or both as part of the package, while others - like Wineport - will include entertainment as part of the package.

LAST-MINUTE FLOWERS

Londis Bouquet €9.99

Highs: Bought in a 24-hour shop, these are the city-centre equivalent of petrol station forecourt flowers. This means they are widely available at very short notice, something which will come in handy if you find yourself in the awkward position of having completely forgotten about Valentine's Day until you get a thoughtful present from your loved one. They do smell fresh and are pretty healthy.

Lows: Bought in a Londis, these are the city-centre equivalent of petrol station forecourt flowers . . . This means that they look cheap and are about as romantic as a bowl of cold porridge. There are too many carnations, some class of dull daisy and some very small lilies included in the bunch. This bouquet was the only one not to come with plant food.

Verdict: Not very romantic but easy to get.

Star rating: **

Lidl Luxury Bouquet €9.99

Highs: While they are hardly luxury, for a cheap supermarket option, they are not bad. The bunch is a good size and the foliage is surprisingly plentiful. The colours are at least a little bit romantic and, coupled with the three pink roses, are in keeping with the big day. They also smell pleasant.

Lows: The roses are nearly in full bloom and are browning ever so slightly round the edges so they probably won't last too long. Getting your hands on a last-minute bunch might be difficult, what with all the finding of a Lidl and the queuing required. It will also be hard to disguise the fact that they're from a supermarket.

Verdict: Cheap but still cheerful.

Star rating: ***

Tesco Bouquet €12.99

Highs: This bunch was prepared by the excellent Mad Flowers florist and it shows, as they are certainly the pick of the bunch. The five healthy-looking roses are a beautifully rich dark red colour and the seven unopened lily heads look set to have long life ahead of them. The black plastic wrapping is pretty cool and a card with a fetching pink bow is included with this bunch which is, in truth, one of the only things to make it stand apart from the Dunnes bouquet. That, and the fact that the flower food looks just a little more fancy.

Lows: Some of the lilies look a bit broken and at least one of the roses is on its last legs, or stalk maybe.

Verdict: Gorgeous and good value.

Star rating:*****

Dunnes Stores Bouquet €12.99

Highs: These are very, very similar to the Tesco bouquet, although this red metallic packaging is perhaps not as striking as Tesco's black option, something which is, in truth, a very small distinction. The five good-looking roses and the nine lily heads smell great.

Lows: While it may be a little snobby, giving flowers with a Dunnes Stores tag on them hardly reeks of romance. The tag can be pulled off handily enough, but the food is branded with the Dunnes Stores logo.

Verdict: Great flowers, great value.

Star rating: ****

CHOCOLATES

Valrhona Valentine's Chocolates €8.50 for 100g, €85 per kg

Highs: Valrhona is one of the world's great chocolate makers, so it won't come as much of a surprise to learn that this dinky little Valentine's box has the nicest array of chocolates by a fairly substantial margin. Not only do they taste better than the competition, they look better too. They're nicely wrapped (saving you the bother) in pink paper dotted with gold and pink love hearts, and simply ooze class. They're hard to come by so if you do manage to find a box you should expect to score extra brownie points for going to all the trouble.

Lows: They will be hard to come by, are the most expensive and the box might be a little too little for some appetites.

Verdict: Good enough to gladden any heart

Star rating: *****

Roses Luxury Collection €8.55 for 200g, €42.75 per kg

Highs: This new upmarket offering from Cadbury tastes very good and in terms of quality there isn't much between it and the Butler's option. The chocolates are not overly ostentatious, are widely available and are the cheapest ones reviewed.

Lows: Because they are so widely available, however, they might not be - new packaging not withstanding - the most imaginative Valentine's option out there, and there is a danger that they could look a little last-minute. While the box looks big, there is a lot of plastic packaging and the wisdom of presenting them swathed in pale purple paper is questionable.

Verdict: Taste good but perhaps lacking imagination.

Star rating: ***

Butler's Chocolate Café Selection: €18 for 285g, €63.15 per kg

Highs: If velvet heart-shaped boxes are your thing, then these will win hands down every time. If nothing else, presenting these might create the impression you care enough to plan your gift ahead (or work near a Butler's outlet, at the very least). With 20 chocolates, this box offers more than the competition. The Jameson whiskey, Baileys and Irish Mist liqueurs are pretty good, and the other chocolates are pleasant enough without being outstanding.

Lows: There is a danger that some people might find the velvet box a little Austin Powers, so you'd really want to know your audience before you splash out on these. And splashing is what you're doing, as at nearly €20 a pop, they're not too cheap.

Verdict: A velvet extravaganza.

Star rating: ***

Windel Chocolates €7.49 for 165g, €45.39 per kg

Highs: With 12 heart-shaped chocolates and a bright red rose which has been showered with (fake plastic) dew drops, the love just keeps coming with these. Although the chocolate pralines look a bit dodgy, they actually taste quite nice. Mind you, they are so sweet you'd be doing well to eat more than two of them. While it is immensely tacky, it might work if given with a smile by someone with a sense of humour.

Lows: Otherwise there might be trouble. While these are trying very hard, it is all to no avail as fake flowers - fake dewdrops notwithstanding - are never, ever going to be romantic.

Verdict: Hilarious.

Star rating: ***