With the spread of the virus-who-must-not-be-named and the seemingly lack of places to go for Valentine’s Day, if you have a boyfriend or girlfriend, you’re probably starting to ask yourself:
”What can I do for Valentine’s date at home this year?”
You’re not alone, my friend.
Cris and I both caught the Omnicrom variant this year. This meant that Cris had to spend his birthday on the 9th of January isolated at home, and mine (coming up the 14th) doesn’t seem too promising either.
Due to all this world craziness, we decided to recommend you our best at-home Valentine’s Day date idea for 2022.
This way, you will never be caught off guarded by You-Know-Who ruining your plans.
Plan in advance and order the Valentine’s Day baskets (recommended down below), so that you are sure they will not run out and that you’ll snatch the BEST products.
I for one am a huge lover of experimenting gourmet food and that is why I am a strong believer in having gourmet picnics.
In this post, get inspired in how to set up the best Valentine’s Day date in lockdown with a delicious gourmet picnic (and what are our top recommendations for the most delicious gourmet snack ideas).
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At-Home Valentine’s Day Date Idea, A Perfect Gourmet Picnic for Adults
Hi girls, how are you today?
With curfews and social distancing keeping us away from our favorite restaurants, why not ‘’create your own pop up outside gourmet experience’ as an at home-Valentine’s Day date”?
Honestly, this is one of the best things to do at home for Valentine’s Day.
Hear us out.
If you want to learn how to make your at-home Valentine’s Day date special, upgrade the traditional picnic concept to a gourmet experience with snacks fit for the fantastic couple you guys make.
And if you’ve never had a gourmet picnic experience before, I urge you to try it out.
You’ll immediately see how delicious it is to snack fancy treats with your favourite person in this planet.
Add some good quality wine and watch as a seemingly innocent meal unravels into a fun Valentine’s Day date for couples.
First things first, what’s gourmet food?
Gourmet is a cultural ideal associated with the culinary arts of a fine section of food and drink, (or haute cuisine). This is characterized by refined preparations and elaborate presentations of aesthetically balanced meals, often quite rich in taste.
In other words, gourmet food is that of exceptional quality, prepared accurately, and skillfully using the artistic presentation.
The term ‘gourmet food’ refers to fine food and drink.
How to Set Up A Perfect Romantic Picnic at Home for Valentine’s Day
Next, let’s make your at-home Valentine’s Day date PERFECT.
For that, let’s go over the stay at home gourmet picnic setup. This includes where to buy ingredients for a gourmet picnic, our best Valentine’s Day gift baskets filled with gourmet goodies, and what are the most delicious gourmet foods.
Where Do You Buy Gourmet Food?
To me, shopping for gourmet food is sometimes even nicer than actually eating it.
I can spend hours upon hours inside any gourmet shop. I LOVE observing their different types of olive oils, Himalayan pink salts, foie gras, and even gourmet cookies of coffee (yes, these are a thing).
There are many gourmet shops spread out around cities.
Simply Google the one closest to your home and quickly select what calls your attention more.
Alternatively, you can always shop on Amazon for gourmet food.
The Best Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets (Filled with the Highest-Quality Gourmet Food)
Below I have included a selection of gift baskets that would be a great fit for your at-home Valentine’s Day date from iGourmet.
iGourmet Snacking Classic Gift Box ($74.99)
Here is a perfect gift to set up a stay-at-home date for Valentine’s Day.
You can also show your appreciation or love to others with this gourmet gift basket. Send this bountiful snacker to someone in the office or far away.
This basket is JAM-PACKED with delicious, fresh, savory foods, this crate of snacks is guaranteed to please even the most discerning palates.
This Valentine’s Day Gift Basket Includes:
- Dairy Vale Cheddar
- French Camembert
- Cranberry Chevre with Cinnamon
- Virginia Peanuts
- Milano Salami by Beretta-Sliced
- Sliced Italian Prosciutto
- Mini Toasts
- O’Neill’s Shortbread
- French Butter Cookies
- Gift Presentation
iGourmet Deluxe French Cheese Tasting Gift Collection ($139.99)
This transportive gift box packed with the finest cheeses from France will take you on a tasting journey around the finest cheese-making regions of the country.
In this gift basket you’ll find three of the finest French cheese along with next-level accompaniments that’ll have your tastebuds packing their bags and ready for their next big trip.
This Valentine’s Day Gift Basket Includes:
- D’Affinois with Truffle Cheese by D’Affinois
- Fourme D’Ambert Raw Milk Blue Cheese by Dischamp
- Tour De France Baby Brie Cheese by Henri Hutin
- Fruit Spread for Blue Cheese Les Folies Fromages
- Morello Cherry Jam by Alain Milliat
- Sea Salt Crispy French Waffle Crackers – Tresors Gourmands
iGourmet European Cookie Gift Box ($49.99)
This tray contains enough cookies to keep your favorite “cookie monster” satisfied.
Here, iGourmet offers a sampling of some of our favorites from Europe.
This Valentine’s Day Gift Basket Includes:
- Shortbread Petticoat Tails,
- Carr’s Ginger Lemon Creme English Tea Cookies
- Trouvillais by Biscuiterie de l’Abbaye
- Swedish Gingersnaps, German Spekulatius
- Jules Destrooper Belgian Butter Thins
- Canestrelli Italian Cookies
- Maison Bruyere Croquants de Cordes
- Gift presentation
Top Gourmet Food Categories
Below I will give a curated selection of gourmet food ideas to bring with you on your next picnic.
Cheese Selection
Nothing like an epicurean cheese selection to start a your at-home Valentine’s Day date picnic.
Gourmet Cheese is cheese made from high-quality ingredients that are aged to perfection using time-honored methods and traditions.
This special type of Cheese has unique and complex flavors and aromas. Special care is taken to nurture and age the cheese to obtain the perfect level of ripeness.
Some of our favorite cheese are: Chèvre (goat cheese), Brie, Gruyère, Feta, Gouda, Parmigiano-Reggiano.
If you wish to know more about cheese, I found this great article that might help you.
Pro Tip: Be sure to bring around 2-3 different jams to pair with the cheese.
My favorite jams for cheese pairing are apricot, raspberry, and peach jam. Don’t forget a selection of delicious crackers.
They can be simple, or more special crackers, such as these ones with raisins or these with.
Cold Cuts
Cold cut are slices of cold cooked meats and they can be eaten either alone or with some fresh, crispy bread of vegetables.
Some of my favorite gourmet cold cuts are:
- Soppressata (a type of Italian salami)
- Bresaola (instead of roast beef)
- Capocollo
- Meat Carpaccio
- Iberian Jam
- Chorizo, Salami
- And, of course, good ol’ Mortadela with pieces of Pistachio.
Caviar
Many people say they don’t like caviar, but have you ever tasted good-quality caviar?
Caviar is salt-cured fish eggs traditionally from the Black and Caspian Seas, though due to regulations most Caviar today is farmed.
Beluga, Ossetra, and Sevruga are the three main varieties of Caviar, and are considered a delicacy throughout the world and due to their rarity (and of course for their rich creamy flavor and delicate texture).
Foie Gras
I acknowledge that Foie Gras, just as Caviar, is an acquired taste.
This means that most people don’t necessarily love it when they experiment with it for the first time.
However, with some persistence and pairing it with the right wine or food, you will soon see that you will be craving for foie gras on a more regular basis.
If you don’t know it, foie gras is fatty duck liver (from French, ‘foie’ means ‘liver’ and gras’ translates into ‘fat’).
Prized for its butter and meaty flavor, this delicious French delicacy may be prepared in the whole form, or as a mousse, pate, or even terrine and is cooked prior to being served (either hot or chilled).
The foie gras meat is finely chopped and mixed with fat, then formed into a spread to create a delicate and rich taste experience.
Quality Olive Oil (or truffle oil)
The moment you try quality olive oil from someone like Gundry MD (you could check out these Gundry MD Olive Oil reviews to see what others have to say about this particular product) for the first time, you know you are forever doomed. Now you know what quality tastes like and, let me tell you my friend, it tastes good!
In fact, quality olive oil and bread are sometimes all you need to have a delicious snack.
When I was still in my hospitality university in Switzerland, my roommate and I would occasionally run to the food court during class breaks where Chefs would always leave fresh baguettes, olive oil and balsamic oil available.
My roommate and I would mix the oils in a small bowl, add a pinch of salt, take a piece of the baguette and then we would enjoy our class breaks while eating and admiring the Swiss mountain views.
Pro Tip: Go a step further and buy truffle oil and get ready to be mind-blown.
Gourmet Coffee
Yep, this is actually a thing, girl! And a super nice touch for your at-home Valentine’s Day date.
Gourmet coffee is made from high-quality beans produced in certain regions and under very specific growing conditions, creating a coffee with exceptional flavor, texture, aroma, acidity, and a scrumptious after-taste.
Pro Tip: Starbucks is a great place to find gourmet coffee beans.
In fact, thanks to upscale coffee chains such as Starbucks, the growth of this type of coffee has exploded in recent years.
Pâté
Pâté is a spread made from meat and/or vegetables, along with other base ingredients such as herbs, spices, or even alcohol. Normally, pates are baked in a crust or molded in a terrine, and it may be served hot or cold (in fact, pate tends to develop its best flavor when chilled).
My favorite pâtés, besides Foie Gras are: Foie Gras, Pate Lorraine and Pâté en Croute.
Find out more about the different types of pates in this post from Home Atmosphere.
Truffles
Truffles are a rare delicacy made form of fungus similar to mushrooms.
Their rich and pungent flavor is unlike any other food in the world, and many times they are considered the diamond of a fine-dining kitchen.
Truffles are both available in white and black varieties and are high demand for gourmet food due to their relative scarcity, labor-intensive harvest process, resistance to cultivation, and short growing season.
Fun Fact: Truffles are harvested in Europe with the aid of female pigs or truffle dogs, which are able to detect the strong smell of mature truffles underneath the surface of the ground.
The female pig becomes excited when she sniffs a chemical that is similar to the male swine sex attractant.
Check out this super cute video I found of a truffle pig. I don’t know what is cuter in this video: the pig or the adorable old man walking it on a leash.
EXTRA
Since we are talking about at-home Valentine’s Day date and gourmet food, keep in mind that gourmet basket is also an amazing gift.
I gave Cris’s father a beautiful basket for Christmas, complete with my favorite bottle of red wine (Grenache Syrah).
Not only he loved the beautiful basket, but we all had a chance to taste the delicious delicacies the next day.
This Amazon gourmet basket is a perfect gift for men, and this gourmet basket is ideal for a lady friend or girlfriend.
Elegant Picnic Menu for Your At-home Valentine’s Day date: A Top Selection of Gourmet Snack Ideas
Below, find some further hedonistic gourmet snack ideas to add to your gourmet picnic menu. I have inserted some hyperlinks of gourmet food suggestions that you can easily find on Amazon.
- Almond Oil, Avocado Oil, or Truffle Oil
- Anchovies
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Blue Cheese
- Brie Cheese
- British Cheese
- Burrata Cheese
- Camembert
- Caramels
- Caviar
- Cerignola Olives
- Cheese Accompaniments
- Cheesecake
- Chevre (goat cheese)
- Chocolate Truffles
- Chorizo
- Chutney
- Gourmet Chocolate
- Gourmet Coffee
- Grana Padano
- Herbal Tea
- Honey
- Italian Meats
- Jerky
- Lavender Honey
- Manchego Cheese
- Maple Syrup
- Marzipan
- Matcha Tea
- Mustard
- Organic Dried Fruit
- Panettone
- Pesto Sauce
- Pickles
- Pine Nuts
- Salami
- Sardines
- Serrano Ham
- Smoked Ham
- Smoked Salmon
- Tomato Jam
- Tupelo Honey
Gourmet Snack Ideas – Activity for Adults
I hope you’ve enjoyed these gourmet snack ideas for you at-home Valentine’s Day date this year.
Are you considering a classy picnic, or just looking for gourmet food inspiration? If wherever you are located is still in intense lockdown (such as Spain), know that you can also have a a romantic indoors picnic.
Create a nice ambiance, put down a cute picnic towel and put up some Fairy lights to pretend they are stars.
Alternatively, if you have some sort of way of stepping into the outside world, picnics are also a great way to maintain social distancing (fro strangers, that is).
It is an easy and fun activity to be done outdoors. Just pick a park that has a lot of open areas, or a sunset at an empty beach or lake.
Don’t forget the bottle of rosé wine to complement your at-home Valentine’s Day date.
As they say, it doesn’t matter where you are, as long as you are in good company.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed this post and that it has inspired to revamp your picnic experiences into something more fit for a lady. Being an adult is fun when we know how to do it right.
Wising you a beautiful day full with a stomach full of foie gras!
And stay safe!
Shop the Post
Find below some creative items for picnics that you will fall in love with. Simply click the item to be redirected to their online stores.
Other fun women’s lifestyle posts that might interest you:
- How to Make Authentic Parmigiana de Melanzane (Italian Recipe)
- Fun & Unique Date Night Ideas at Home
- What We’ve Been Watching During the Quarantine (Top Recommendations)
- Self-Care Tips for A positive Mindset When Things Get Tough
- A Morning Routine to Transform Your Life
- Healthy Substitutes for Unhealthy Snack Perfect for a Movie Night
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