Ready meals from M&S now abysmal quality

RWilsonL

As my wife is currently in the USA and I am an elderly arthritic, who has difficulty standing for more than a few minutes while cooking, I decided to buy two ready meals for one person, while I was in M&S recently. I bought a steak and kidney pie and a Lancashire lamb hot pot. To be blunt, they were disgusting and really should be reported to Trading Standards as contravening the Trade Descriptions Act. There were two small pieces of kidney in the pie but no detectable steak, all in a gluey, tasteless, gritty gravy. The shortcrust pastry (hasn't anyone told M&S that a pie should be in puff pastry) was so dry that it was difficult to swallow. The Hot Pot was no better. The potato slices were undercooked after the recommended heating time, being unpleasant and like discs of leather. Again I could discern no lamb at all in the hot pot, unless it was the gritty granules in the nasty gravy. Even my cat would not eat the gravy and she is not fussy. I don't mind paying premium prices for a good product but for garbage like this - no. Just unacceptable, low quality, cheap, miserly food that M&S should hang their collective heads in shame for selling. 

MrsStepford

We don't have an M&S nearby, just an M&S Simply Food at a BP garage. Did an order with Deliveroo and was appalled by the low quality and high prices. The following week, tried Co-op. Much better quality and prices.