Food (and drink) for thought

Kickstart Valentine's Day with delivery of a

WANT to know how your romantic day will develop? Raspberry fortune cookies containing messages cost £5.50 per pack from Purves and Purves, 220-224 Tottenham Court Road, W1 (020 7580 8223).

EVERYONE knows the way to a man's heart. So head along to a branch of Maison Blanc and invest in a heart-shaped cake. Le Frasier, £10.95, is made of layers of vanilla genoise soaked in kirsch with layers of vanilla cream and fresh strawberries covered with almond paste. Perfect with champagne.

TRADITIONAL it may be, but no one could turn up their nose at a pink and gold heart-shaped box of handmade chocolates, £20, complete with a set of love poems from royal warrant-holders, Prestat. Available from Selfridges or Prestat, 14 Princes Arcade, SW1 (020 7629 4838 www.prestat.co.uk). Too pricy? Guylian's red heart-shaped box of individuallywrapped heart-shaped Belgian chocolates filled with hazelnut praline costs £3.99 from all major supermarkets.

THORNTONS sells a range of novelty chocolate shapes including lips, 99p, keys, £1.99, Cupid's arrow, £1.99. Or, if you're looking for something more stylish, head to Carluccio's to buy Cuore di Brillianti, £9.95, a bitter-chocolate heart bejewelled with silver sugar-coated chocolate confetti and packed in a shiny scarlet box, Cuori Piccoli, £4.95, tiny gold and silver sugar-coated chocolate hearts in a bag with ribbon and heart tag or Cuoricini, a bag of eight bitter-chocolate hearts with hazelnut praline filling. Carluccio's, 28 Neal Street, WC2 (020 7240 1487).

TOO busy to shop? Click on to www.groovychocolate.com and order a slab of smooth creamy chocolate, £9.95, with your own message inscribed on it. The milk chocolate contains 38 per cent cocoa solids and the plain has 70 per cent, while the white chocolate is made to a delicious Continental recipe. Order by 3pm for next-day delivery.

PICK up some bottled wickedness in the shape of Sin, a sparkling chardonnay, costing £5.99 at Safeway. Or splash out on a bottle of Krug rosé, produced in a limited edition of 3,000, costing £150 from Selfridges or Harrods.

OR order a Love Cocktail box containing two martini glasses, heart-shaped ice-cube holder, fresh blueberries, a bottle of Absolute vodka and a bottle of advocaat. £60 plus £7 next-day delivery charge in central London. Signature Gifts (020 7383 9150).

SPICE up your dinner a deux with Love's Mild Salsa, £2.85, or sauces from the Jump Up and Kiss Me range, £4.50 each. If things get too hot to handle then cool down with the Love Cordial Drink, £1.95. All available from Harvey Nichols Foodmarket.

CAN'T cook? Learn how in romantic Tuscany. Book a four-day cooking class and a personalised valentine card, box of chocolates and bottle of Prosecco will arrive with your tickets. Courses are hosted by Ursula Ferrigno, author of Bringing Italy Home, and take place at Vallicorte, a restored Tuscan farm 15 minutes from Lucca, during April, May and September. Price from £585 per person for two sharing, including full board and all drinks but excluding flights. Details: 020 7680 1377 www.vallicorte.com