Tesco vs M&S: I compare two of the UK's top festive meal deals to see which is better

With the Christmas period upon us, our usual selection of meal deals is far from impervious to the impacts of rampant festive commercialism, with pretty much every major retailer with butties on their shelves rushing to stock turkey and cranberry-this, chicken-and-stuffing-that, and gingerbread-whatever-it-may-be.

With the range of Christmassy meal deals bigger and better than ever, I decided to see which was best by pitting some of the top sellers against each other. And so, today, Tesco’s humble yet market-leading meal deal will be facing off against Marks & Spencer’s somewhat more pricey offering. Let the battle of pre-packaged lunchtime wares commence.

TESCO

Menu details: Turkey & Trimmings Sandwich (tender turkey breast, sausage, sage and onion stuffing, and beechwood smoked bacon layered with mayo and cranberry sauce and served on malted bread) with Pig in Blanket Sausage Rolls (pork sausage meat wrapped in dry cured smoked bacon and finished with flaky puff pastry and classic sage and onion seasoning) and a Pepsi Max.

Cost: £3.60 (with a Clubcard) - value for money 4/5

Let’s start with the sandwich. It was good without blowing my winter socks off - the stuffing was very tasty and the chicken was nice as well, plus there was plenty of it, which was nice to see. No one wants to be short-changed by their chicken in a festive sarnie. There was also a subtle hint of saltiness from the bacon and a little edge of sweetness from the cranberry. Good all-rounder. 3.5/5

On to the snack, which let itself down by being very similar in flavour-profile to the sandwich. It was also very dry, which made for a bit of a cloying and claggy mouthful after all the bread involved in the sandwich. There was a definite taste of pigs in blankets, which was nice, but the soft texture of the pasty was too similar to the sandwich. Too samey. ⅗

There were no Christmassy drinks on offer at Tesco, so I went for a Pepsi Max.

MARKS & SPENCER

Menu details: Christmas Club Sandwich (three slices of toasted oatmeal bread filled with roast chicken, maple bacon, tangy cranberry chutney, stuffing, vibrant spinach, pickled red cabbage, and creamy gravy mayo) with a Mini Colin the Caterpillar (much-loved mini choc sponge roll filled with decadent chocolate buttercream, smothered in rich milk chocolate and adorned with festive sprinkles), and a Gingerbread Spiced Milkshake (rich and creamy shake crafted with British milk for a festive fusion of winter spices and warming flavours.)

Cost: £8 - value for money 1/5

Once again, we start with the sandwich, which boasted about having 12 different layers including three bits of lightly-toasted bread. It was nice and moist - not a dry tastebud in the gob - and the sarnie’s mayo and cranberry sauce really came through. The chicken was very juicy, which was lovely, but the bacon went missing a little. Another gripe: the spinach came out in clumps with each bite, which was unappealing and ended up with me picking it off. 4/5

Now to the snack and there really is only one thing to say: You can’t go wrong with a Colin. The famous caterpillar is well-renowned as the dessert Goat of our times for a reason, and he gets a perfect score of 5/5 here too - soft sponge, delicious ganache, flavourful chocolate, excellent bug detailing. No notes.

And finally we have the gingerbread milkshake, which started out promisingly but went downhill a little because of how sickly sweet it was. It had a definite ginger kick to it, which I liked in the moment, but after a while of drinking such a sweet and distinctly-flavoured beverage, I didn't find myself hankering for more. Not very thick either, more flavoured milk rather than a proper shake. Hit-and-miss. 2/5