I tried a frozen lobster from Iceland and was scared when I took it out of the box

I would certainly count lobster as a luxury food and I must admit I was surprised to hear it was a delicacy you can now pick up at your local Iceland store. That is not to dismiss Iceland at all, it has been a beacon of frozen foods since the 70s, but it is just not what springs to my mind. A thought I shared with my sister-in-law, who promptly scolded me telling me how well-regarded Iceland was for all its frozen fish.

And it makes sense, we are always told how freezing food is an excellent way to preserve nutrients and freshness. So what better way to put it to the test than to try the lobster for myself? Iceland's Luxury Canadian Whole Cooked Lobster is priced at £9 and while it comes frozen you have to defrost in the fridge. Now I know what a lobster looks like and I have no idea what I had expected, but when I took it out of the box, I am not going to lie, I was a little scared, because it was a whole lobster.



Claws, antenna, tail, beady eyes - the whole bright red, fascinating exoskeleton was there. This shows my inexperience more than anything else, I have never prepared a lobster before, only seen it on MasterChef. Luckily, Iceland has foreseen this potential issue and has a pictured step-by-step guide for beginners on the box so it is actually easy, once you get over the thought that it may spring to life any minute.

And it is easy enough, if not daunting if it is your first time. But once you are in and removed the meat, you have lobster ready to enjoy. The flesh is lovely and tender.

It is soft with a flavoursome taste of the sea. A little melted butter over it, as it was suggested, is just perfect. You could easily impress your guests this festive season when you serve up fresh lobster - although one lobster says it serves two people so you may need more than one.

My creative husband also used the leftover shell to add depth of flavour to a chowder - making every penny count. At £9 for one lobster, they are £35 on the Ocado website , so this is very competitive. And while I don't really prepare lobster often, I have eaten it and think this was great quality for the price and could add a sprinkle of decadence to your Christmas food plan.

The Luxury Canadian Whole Cooked Lobster is available at Iceland, but as part of Iceland's Christmas food range you can get a Luxury Ultimate Extra Large Whole Cooked Lobster for £15 which is available from today, November 12..