Man buys Fortnum & Mason Valentine’s hamper and is left gobsmacked

A man splashed £120 on a Valentine’s Day hamper from prestigious retailer Fortnum and Mason and was awed by what he discovered inside. The upmarket department store, based in London, originally opened in 1707 as a grocer’s, but before long, gained recognition for its premium produce which fuelled a speedy expansion.

It evolved into a department store and now features a tea salon and several restaurants. Despite diversifying into additional departments, its food hall remains celebrated and cherished thanks to its wide selection of produce, alongside its sought-after and immediately recognisable hampers.

Carmie Sellitto, who shares content online as @touchdalight, visited the renowned store and bought a £120 Valentine’s Day hamper. On Instagram, he unpacked the items and shared his impressions on what was included for the hefty price.

Beginning his video, he lifted the lid and said: “First impressions, it’s got a bunch of hay.”

Carmie cleared away the ornamental shredded paper and retrieved a small box containing a chocolate bar comprising four squares with heart detailing. He opened the packaging and explained: “It’s got a little leaflet that says ‘to and from’, sadly I won’t be sending this to anyone so this is pointless.”

Of the chocolate, he said: “Wait, that actually looks unreal. The detail in this is crazy – they’ve got circles on the back.”

He broke the chocolate in two and displayed the interior to the camera before tasting it. Carmie continued: “It has honeycomb and salt on top of it, the flavours are actually insane. This is getting a 10 out of 10.”

The content creator then proceeded to the next product in the hamper, a “really beautiful” silver container featuring embossed decoration. In the container sat a “decent” assortment of Turkish Delight rose sweets.

Carmie quipped: “It must be real silver considering how much I spent on this.”

He then tried a piece of the rosewater-flavoured jelly and called it “insane”.

He added: “So far, I’m actually really impressed with this hamper.”

Carmie awarded the Turkish Delight nine out of 10.

The content creator then presented a circular, pink box holding “milk and dark chocolate flowers” to the camera, which he opened and then described their elaborate design as “unreal”.

Carmie said: “These genuinely look too beautiful to eat”, before sampling one. He went on: “This chocolate tastes like expensive Advent calendar chocolate – I can’t lie, it’s the best.” The influencer gave them an 8.5 out of 10.

After that, he found a container of fudge, which featured large slabs of the popular sweet treat, garnished with dried raspberries and additional toppings.

Once he tasted of the fudge, Carmie said: “I can’t lie, it tastes absolutely beautiful. That first bite, it was melting in my mouth. I genuinely think if I took a bite and let it sit in my mouth, it would, like, completely dissolve.”

He rummaged in the basket and shared there was “still so much in here”, retrieving a tin of the brand’s sought-after “chocolate pearl biscuits”. On the Fortnum and Mason website, they’re described as “all butter biscuits” that are “choc-full of Valrhona Chocolate Pearls.”

He sampled one of them and said he was “confused why everything was tasting so good”. Carmie compared the biscuits to “shortbread” which he described as his “favourite kind of biscuit.”

The hamper also contained a jar of strawberry and gooseberry conserve and, lastly, a tin of 20 ‘Berry in Love’ strawberry and honeyberry large leaf tea bags.

Carmie asked viewers whether they felt the hamper justified the £120 price tag. In the comments section, fellow Instagram users eagerly shared their opinions.

One person said: “I actually think that’s quite good for £120, out of my price range but the basket is a must.”

Another agreed: “I think that’s pretty good” while a third said: “You’re paying for the basket and the name but I love it.”

Someone else added: “I think that’s quite a good deal for FandM, you get to keep the basket and make use of some of the pretty boxes! I would buy”.