Having gone a little overboard with the drinks guide, trying to keep this food one a little shorter. Sweeter. Snappier. I’ll no doubt fail, but that’s the plan.
Cheese
If there’s a cheeselover in your life (or, you know, writing this), the Neal’s Yard Dairy cheese subscription is a blooming amazing gift. There are various levels of Cheese of the Month subscription offers, ranging from £47 for one month to £530 for 12. Cannily, they even do an every-other-month option, which might save your cholesterol levels…
I also have a soft spot for Snowdonia Cheese Co. and, particularly, the waxed-wrapped beauty that is Black Bomber. You’ve seen the little one, I’m sure, but did you know it’s also available in a 2kg version for £45?!
Gadget
Some years ago, after endless disappointing salt and pepper grinders, I bit the bullet and bought Peugeot ones because they just get it done. This year, I’ve discovered the Maestro, which gives you the ability to easily chop and change the main container to different peppers, salts, spice blends, whatever. Over the years, I’ve collected a load of different peppers and salts, and finally, I’m getting to use them. It’s a great piece of kit. Buy the Peugeot Duo Maestro Pepper Bar & Salt Bar online.
Ingredients
Got a baker in your life? Artisan Vanilla extract brand, Potion De V, will make their day with either Potion De V Artisanal Pure Vanilla Extract in Bourbon or the Artisanal Pure Vanilla Extract in Caribbean Rum. Utterly delicious, beautifully packaged, they’ll bring something different to next year’s cakes, biscuits and custards. It’s organic, small batch, and aged in different casks for over 12 months to impart those extra flavour notes. (Potion De V Artisanal Pure Vanilla Extract RSP £40 for 150ml bottle, Potion De V Artisanal Pure Vanilla Extract in Bourbon RSP £50, Potion De V Artisanal Pure Vanilla Extract in Caribbean Rum RSP £45, from www.potiondev.co.uk).
Cocktail Bits
For names synonymous with luxury, it’s hard to beat Claridge’s. They have an impressive range of gifts available at the website – shop.claridges.co.uk – and I’dbe very happy if someone chose to gift wrap one of their pre-bottled cocktails – the Claridge’s Bar Old Fashioned or the Fumoir Negroni, both £22 – but then a copy of Claridge’s The Cocktail Book (£26) and a jar of their olives (£12) also wouldn’t go amiss.
Knife
One day, I will treat myself to a proper Japanese knife. Until then, I’m very happy with my Global Vegetable Chopper, which copes with everything and, thanks to the chunky blade, makes it really easy to use. The shape, then, could be why I find myself coveting the Chinese Chef’s Knife from Fragrant Knives (RRP £88), a passion project from chef and food anthropologist Sean Warmington-Wan, and a modernised version of the classic Chinese Knife, that do-it-all blade that chops, slices, and smashes with ease.
Honey
Can you ever have too much good honey? It’s a hugely versatile product, and one of those things that’s really worth spending a little extra on. I’ve been impressed by the range at honeyheaven.co.uk, such as this Royal Duo Honey Gift Set, containing Organic Honey with Bee Pollen, Propolis and Royal Jelly, plus Organic Acacia Honey with a lump of honeycomb.
Liquorice
Every year, I drop hugely heavy hints about needing a selection of LAKRIDS BY BÜLOW’s gourmet liquorice. And every year, I end up having to buy it myself. It’s stupidly, stupidly addictive and, even if Brexit has made it substantially more expensive (like I needed more reasons to loathe that toad-faced fascist), it’s worth every penny.
Condiments
Always practice safe snacks: use condiments. The sauces from English Spirit – created by Master Distiller Dr John Walters – are decadent little numbers. The Boozy Brown Sauce (£24) is a rich treat, the Boozy Ketchup (£24) – laced with spiced rum – is unlike anything else on the market. The Garlic Vinegar is a bit special, too.
There’s an air of selfishness, well, delicious selfishness, in this suggestion. As you may have noticed in certain supermarkets, you can now buy sauces (and marinades and chutneys) created by justifiably acclaimed restaurant Gymkhana. And hey, that’s not just my opinion, or me recycling marketing blurb, Michelin thinks they’re worthy of two of their stars.
The thing is, as I’ve got older, I appreciate a practical present, particularly one that’s edible, because: a) I like to eat; and b) I also don’t have a whole lot of shelf space left for something more permanent. But I also figure there’s a c) here, because if you’re staying somewhere for Christmas and there’s going to be a load of leftovers, do you want to chance a curry made from spices that have been in their cupboard since c. 2013, or have one where the important bit has been made by people who know what they’re doing? There are various gift boxes available (and all vegetarian friendly), such as the All Star Sauce Gift Box (RRP: £35.00), which gives you four Gymkhana sauces – Butter Masala, Rogan Josh, Goan Curry, and Vindaloo – The Ultimate Gift Box (RRP: £60) which adds a couple of marinades (Classic Tandoori, and Roasted Garlic & Chilli) and two chutneys (Tandoori Onion, and Peanut & Sesame) to the mix. Your Twixtmas never tasted so good.
Chocolate
I am, it must be said, a bit of a chocolate snob, and should anyone feel like buying me a chocolate subscription, the Cocoa Runners one, £28.95 a month, for four bars of great chocolate from around the globe, is a good all-purpose one. Mind you, if Dormouse, my favourite bean-to-bar producer in the UK, open up slots in their Bean-to-Door club, that would be glorious…
Saying that, for all my snobbery, I also have a soft spot for Lindor (who offer a dangerous pick and mix service at lindt.co.uk, and if you haven’t had the Popcorn or Shortbread ones yet…) and you can’t beat a chocolate coin or two at Christmas, and Divine (divinechocolate.com), with their Fairtrade principles, make some good ones.
Fish
That man Rick Stein is offering a fine selection of Christmas gifts this year, but I’m particularly taken by the Christmas Seafood Platter (£95), a generous collection of Stein’s smoked salmon, hand-prepared white crabmeat, whole cooked prawns and smoked mackerel pâté that would liven up any Christmas Eve or Boxing Day.
Panettone
Is it really Christmas unless there’s a panettone in the house? I know some people don’t appreciate the big bun nature of these things, but I love ‘em, be it fresh, toasted/fried or turned into a decadent bread and butter pudding sometime around New Year. Inevitably, Carluccio’s has a fine, good value selection, from the Tradizionale (1kg – £28.95) to the Panettone con Crema Zabaione, with a filling of Marsala-infused custard (£950g, £29.95).
Pickles
Good pickles are always a welcome addition to the fridge, and East London’s Shedletsky’s Deli have a great selection online. But, as the saying almost has it, buy a man some pickles, and he’ll enjoy a sandwich. Teach a man to pickle, and he’ll enjoy, er, many more sandwiches… which is where their debut cookbook, Tickle Your Pickle, comes in, with 65 recipes for pickles and ferments from around the globe (£16.99).
Wine Preservation
Has anyone else noticed themselves slowing down on the drinking front? For me, it’s coincided – frustratingly – with being of an age where I’ve been buying better wine. As such, a good wine storage system never goes amiss. I can’t quite justify a Coravin (also, I drink a lot of New World wines, which don’t have corks), but the ETO looks to be something that might just tick my boxes. It’s a good-looking decanter that also preserves wine for, they say, up to two weeks after opening.
The latest version can hold a full bottle, aerate it, make pouring easier… and then seal it completely, protecting any remaining liquid from oxygen, light and heat. The name, by the way, is Welsh for “again”. Which is nice. Anyway, depending on the finish, the ETO ranges in price from £139 (for the Stainless Satin or Mirror version) up to £159 for the dramatic sounding Graphic Satin, and they’re available at www.ETOwine.com
The Hot Things
I have a ridiculous collection of hot sauces: they’ve become my go-to souvenir from world travels, but then once people realise you like them, they start buying you more. While I’ve probably got enough to last me the rest of my life – and there’s enough vinegar in most of them to probably make that a possibility – the Sriracha from London’s Fallow restaurant is terrific. It’s made with fermented English chillies, garlic, soy sauce and Chardonnay vinegar, and it’s a complex, deeply flavoured thing. (£8, from shop.fallowrestaurant.com).
Also fun, particularly if you’re looking for alternatives to the Christmas leftovers, is Payst by Farang. North London’s acclaimed Thai restaurant are offering a number of gift packs via payst.co.uk, such as “The Spicy One’ (£23.75), containing their hottest curry pastes, stir-fry and dipping sauces – and ‘The Ultimate One’ (£80), with six fresh Thai curry pastes, four dipping sauces, three stir fry sauces and a copy of ‘Cook Thai’ by Sebby Holmes.
River Café Olive Oil
Good olive oil is always a welcome addition to the kitchen – for finishing dishes rather than cooking – and you could do a lot worse than enjoying this range from the famous, and famously expensive, The River Cafe. They’re small-batch oils sourced directly from the best artisan growers across Italy, such as the Fèlsina Classico 2024 (£62) from Chianti – herbaceous and peppery finish – or the Fattoria I Bonsi 2024 (£55) from Tuscany, with its subtle fruity notes (shoptherivercafe.co.uk)
The Christmas Pudding
There’s a reason Vivek Singh is the most popular regular guest chef on Saturday Kitchen: the man can cook. While his skills with Indian food will come as no surprise, he also knows his way around a Christmas pudding, and his Garam Masala Christmas Pudding (£30 for 1lb/ £50 for 2lb) is a beauty.
And if you remember the clamour some 15 years ago over Heston Blumenthal’s Hidden Orange Christmas Pudding for Waitrose, you might be pleased to know that he’s doing something similar via The Fat Duck, a Candied Clementine pudding available for £40 from thefatduck.giftpro.co.uk.
