Don we now our elasticated apparel. Yes, it’s time for opulent, goose fat basted, Henry VIII-style feasting. And here’s some last minute gift inspiration to help please those pesky foodies lurking on your to-buy-for list…

Foodie Gift List

Ginger Pig Meat Book, £25
Christmas means carnivore season, and the butchery mavens at The Ginger Pig know a thing or two about meat. Learn from the masters with this kitchen bible, a practical and uniquely beautiful guide to the best breeds, cuts, style of cooking, and what to ask your local butcher for in order to guarantee prime quality.

Fortnum & Mason Christmas Coffee Blend, £12.50
With all those hangovers you’re going to be suffering between now and the New Year, you’ll be needing some high grade coffee. Festive food heavyweights Fortnum & Mason continue to reign supreme among other department store contenders, so choose their Christmas blend from Central America, Asia and Africa. Its spicy, caramelised flavour and fragrant notes of dried fruit and dark chocolate make it the ideal aromatic remedy for frosty mornings.

Coravin Wine System, £349
Attention wine buffs: traditional bottle openers have had their day. The Coravin wine system lets you perforate the cork of your chosen tipple using a thin, hollow needle. The wine then flows through the needle into the glass, and once removed, the cork reseals. It’s basically David Blaine wizardry for booze connoisseurs. No more oxidation, no more changes to taste profile, no more spillage. Time to grab the nearest thing you can find to a prized vintage from the offy or, er, wine cellar.

Smith & Sinclair Cocktail Pastilles Selection, £9.99
Imagine Willy Wonka let loose in a cocktail bar and you’re getting close to Smith & Sinclair’s alcoholic sweet range. Putting a modern spin on retro sweets, this is a brand that has the culinary credentials to back up its vast amounts of novelty value. The intricate flavours of these cocktail pastilles speak for themselves, with sour-sweet Rhuby Mules (vodka, rhubarb and warm ginger, finished with tangy lime sugar) sitting alongside Long Island High Teas (vodka, black tea and rum, coated in raspberry infused sugar). Go steady though – one chewy pastille is the equivalent of knocking back a shot. Lip-smackingly good.

Maison De La Truffe Winter Truffle Shavings, £51.50 
If you’re going to over-indulge, do it right. Even the name Maison De La Truffe oozes luxury, and their black Périgord truffle segments – in season from mid-November to March – are dynamite. Ideal for cooking, the black aromatic fragments have white, spidery veins within that indicate maturity.

Orla Kiely Tea Towel, £13
Everyone knows that pear trees are all the rage at this time of year, and you can never have enough Orla Kiely signature prints in your life, so this tea towel really is a no-brainer. Hang it up by the draining rack in preparation for the post-turkey washing up marathon from hell.

Oliver Bonas Indian Marble Salt & Pepper Shakers, £25
You can’t go wrong with monochrome. Or marble, for that matter. Which makes these handcrafted salt and pepper shakers from Oliver Bonas a fail safe addition to your tableware collection.

Żubrówka Enchanted Forest Limited Edition Sleeve, £20
Spare us the port and whisky. This year we’re lusting after this limited edition bottle from Żubrówka, the original bison grass vodka. Decked out with tiny owls and leafy branches, it scores major points for its packaging as well as its flavour, with each single blade of bison grass hand-picked and dried under natural conditions. For a killer Christmas cocktail, mix 50ml of Żubrówka with 100ml of cloudy apple juice and a squeeze of lime. Stir thoroughly and garnish with slices of apple and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon. Our verdict? Tastes like apple pie, but way better.

Cutipol Duna Copper Cutlery Set, £257
If Kirstie Allsopp and MTV collided for a prime time show called Pimp My Table, this Duna cutlery set would feature heavily. Magpies will adore the sleek, modern lines and striking copper finish. Plus, although it’s crafted from super sturdy 18/10 stainless steel, the handmade nature means sizes vary slightly, adding its quirky charm.

Iris Natura Gourmet Cheese Board With Knives, £19.99
Upgrade your obligatory Yule Tide fromage binge with Iris Natura’s gourmet cheese board. Crafted from wood and stainless steel, its nifty swivel design houses an assortment of miniature cheese knives.

Words: Mary-Jane Wiltsher

 

 

 

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