If your Valentine’s dinner isn’t slightly on fire, are you even trying?

Roses are predictable. Chocolates are safe. But if your Valentine’s plan this year includes setting your dinner on fire — gently, deliciously — you’re doing it right.

From edible candles that melt into sauce to date-night boards that beg to be dismantled together, this is the year to flirt with your food. Literally.

Here are the quirkiest, most conversation-starting Valentine’s Day treats that are equal parts delicious and dramatic.

1. The butter candle (yes, you light it)

Imagine this: a small candle placed in the centre of the table. You light it. It flickers. It melts. But instead of wax pooling at the base, it’s warm, herby butter ready to be swiped with bread.

The butter candle trend, popularised by chefs and home cooks alike, turns compound butter into theatre. Softened butter is mixed with garlic, rosemary, chilli flakes or even honey, poured into a mould with a food-safe wick, chilled, and then lit briefly before serving.

As it melts, you tear into crusty sourdough and drag it through the molten butter.

Bonus: blowing it out together feels like making a tiny, buttery wish.

2. Dip candles: Dessert that drips

If savoury candles feel too subtle, meet their sweeter cousin: the dip candle.

Here, the “wax” is usually chocolate ganache or caramel encased in a firm shell. Once warmed, it softens into a silky dip for strawberries, marshmallows or biscuit fingers. Some versions are infused with orange zest, espresso or sea salt.

It’s fondue’s edgier sibling. Less formal, more flirtatious, and far more Instagram-friendly.

3. Pasta night, but make it pink

You don’t need novelty pasta. Just add colour. Blend a little cooked beetroot into your tomato sauce for a naturally pink, slightly sweet sauce. Toss with penne or spaghetti, finish with cream or butter, and shower it with parmesan.

It’s subtle, festive, and still tastes like proper comfort food.

4. Chocolate-dipped everything

Instead of making an elaborate dessert, melt chocolate and dip whatever you have:

• Strawberries
• Banana slices
• Orange segments
• Biscuit sticks
• Even salted potato chips (trust us)

Lay them on baking paper and let them set. It’s simple, hands-on, and perfect for sharing.

5. Breakfast-for-dinner date

Sometimes romance is just fluffy pancakes at 9 pm.

Make heart-shaped pancakes using a metal cutter (or freehand it). Serve with maple syrup, berries and whipped cream. Or go savoury with eggs, toast and crispy bacon.

Add fairy lights. Play old songs. Call it a day.

6. DIY mocktails or easy cocktails

Set up a tiny mixing station:

• Lemon juice
• Soda
• A simple sugar syrup
• Fresh mint
• A splash of something sparkling

Let each other invent a drink and give it a dramatic name. Half the fun is tasting and tweaking.

The real secret
Quirky food works for Valentine’s Day because it breaks the script. It invites touch, laughter, curiosity. It turns dinner into an experience rather than just a meal.

So this year, skip the stiff candlelight routine.

Light a butter candle. Melt chocolate on purpose. Make a mess.

Romance, after all, is better when it drips.