Food glorious food

With the happiness of chocolate day upon us, my mind has turned, as it very (very very) often does, to food. There wasn't much turning involved to be honest. They say men think about sex every 15 seconds - well chubby gingers like my good self are like that with food.

My better half is now used to being asked, as he eats his breakfast, what he fancies for dinner ...next Sunday. I am a planner and I love food, and these attributes collide to form a mega eating schedule. I like to know what I'm having so I can look forward to it and extend the enjoyment with anticipation… mmmmmmmmm.

Obviously I don't know what's on a new restaurant menu in advance, but if it's online I'll take a peep and have my favourite options identified before I get there (this can go horribly wrong if they're out of something - beware the disappointed ginger!) And, just to perpetuate the paddy stereotype, I often make my choice based on the kind of potatoes on offer. God how I love potatoes - nearly as much as I love my man.

Luckily he understands because he's a fellow chowaphile, which also makes him an excellent dinner companion. Together we have developed and perfected the concept of sharey-sharey™. 'What's this?' I hear you ask, intrigued (OK, maybe not, but pretend politely please).

Sharey-sharey is a brilliant (yes, brilliant - even if I do say so myself) system that ensures you get maximum mileage on a menu, while strengthening the cornerstones of a good relationship, be that familial, friendly or loverly. Together we survey the menu, discuss the options and negotiate to agree who's ordering what. We order different starters and mains, then half way through eating, we swap. It's like getting two starters! And two mains! More delicious food to sample, and I love trying new tastes (within reason…)

This is not a sugary hallucination - this is real.

Obviously sharey-sharey is not for everyone. Sadly, not everyone can trust their dinner partner not to be a greedy bugger, others are picky eaters (weirdos!) and some people just did not watch enough care bears when they were little. I feel sorry for these poor individuals - they're missing out big time. As the big JC (the rebel MC) once said: give and you shall receive ...even MORE food!