From its beginnings as a fertility festival in ancient Rome, the concept of Valentines Day has been celebrated with food and feasting.
In more recent times many different kinds of food have been said to have aphrodisiac qualities - often meaning that they encouraged wellness and vitality in the eater. Examples of this are pepper, star anise and nettles - spicy herbal ingredients that have been used historically to treat sickness.
The menu I have chosen tonight has incorporated some of these foodie traditions, with warm spices in the lamb, romantic roses and violets in the dessert and grapes and cheese that remind me of Roman feasting. We also start with spicy tabasco to provide a little bit of heat alongside one of the most well recognised aphrodisiacs - oysters.
