Okay so who doesn’t receiving edible treats as gifts? You don’t? Please leave now. For those of you who are still with me, let’ get to the good stuff. Whether as a gift on it’s own or as part of a hamper, food and booze is always a winner in my eyes, although I’m usually full of regret by January when I struggle to do my trousers up.
I struggled to decide where to begin with this guide as there are too many options to choose from but I’m just going to start with a family favourite and that is cheese! I love cheese…soft cheese, hard cheese, blue cheese, stinky cheese…I’ll eat it all! When I came back from France last year, I brought home a cheese so mouldy that you could barely even recognise what it was, and it was delicious. Although my OH didn’t think so, he was pretty horrified by the grey, furry lump in the fridge…but that just meant more for me! Anyway, one of my favourite places to buy cheese gifts at the moment is the Northumberland Cheese Company. I’ve bought a couple of different cheese hampers as gifts from here and they have all been fab and very well received! There are lots of options and you can also buy individual cheeses as well as bundles. My personal favourite is the Nettle Cheese which is £4 for a 200g wedge. I also thoroughly enjoyed the Oak Smoked Cheese which came as part of a hamper I bought for someone but obviously had to have a wee taste myself! As for the hampers and bundles? They currently range £10 – £50
Another brand which I only discovered recently but haven’t been able to try yet is Blackwoods Cheese Company. I have been drooling over the Graceburn – Truffle , Holy Cheesus it looks AMAZING (see what I did there?) This is priced at £8.50 for the jar but you can also get the One of Each where for £18 you get the Original, Chipotle and Lemon & Truffle…get in my belly right now! The last couple I’ll mention are the Edmund Tew (£7.50) which sounds right up my street, and, if like me you love mouldy cheese, The Dorston Whole (£13.10) looks like a winner! I cannot wait to give this lot a try!
Okay, I’ll move away from cheese now and on to another firm favourite…chocolate! I’m very picky with my chocolate, and before you think it, I’m not a chocolate snob…I’m all about the Cadbury’s and Galaxy rather than those expensive dark chocolates that are all the rage (bleugh). One brand that I only came across a few months ago (thanks to my Craft Gin Club) is Tony Chocoloney. Now, I’ve only tried one flavour which was the Milk Caramel Sea Salt but it was soooo good! This is what is called a proper slab of chocolate, it was so thick I nearly struggled to get my teeth through it, but definitely in a good way. It also tasted amazing with a nice little salty kick at the end. One word…YUM! There’s a good choice of flavours too, but up next on my list are the Milk Hazelnut and White Raspberry and Popping Candy…currently trying really hard not to drool over my laptop. Admittedly, these are pricey compared to what I would usually pay for a chocolate bar at £3.98 for a 180g bar, but damn they will make an amazing treat! If you want to try multiple flavours, you can always go for the Rainbow 6 Pack which, you guessed it, contains 6 different flavoured bars for £25.99.
Another new find (again thanks to Craft Gin Club) is Lily O’Briens chocolates. Admittedly the only ones I have tried are the Desserts Collection (£7) but they were sooo good! I have been on their website trying to decide what to buy next more times than I care to admit but have so far, failed to make a decision. However, if I’m buying for others it means that surely they will allow me a taster…it’s only polite. I think I’ll be going for the Ultimate Chocolate Collection (£13.20) and/ or the Exquisite Edition (£14).
One of my favourite places to shop for chocolate, which I feel is very underrated is good old Thorntons. I used to shop there fairly regularly for the strawberry fondant filled chocolate mice and I was pretty heartbroken when they discontinued them (sob), however, I have managed to get over the grief and often look here for a present or two. I’m a big fan of the Classic and Continental Collections…sometimes it’s the simple things that are the best! I When buying gifts from Thorntons I always buy a box or two of Special Toffee to give as a gift and I struggle with what flavours to buy every. single.time. Assorted? Brazil Nut? Original? Chocolate covered? Argh so many yummy options!
I can’t write a section about chocolate and not mention Hotel Chocolat…This is not somewhere I have ever shopped for myself but I think is great for gifts! It is a bit more expensive, but also very much looks the part. I wouldn’t ever buy a full hamper, but much prefer buying a box of chocolates to add to a self made hamper, and from here I would go for the Everything Sleekster Chocolate Gift Box and/ or the The Patisserie Sleekster, both £22.95. Both of these boxes have a great sounding selection of chocolates as well a mixture of dark, milk and white chocolate. Nomnomnom.
Okay, I’ll move on from chocolate now and onto another sweet treat – popcorn! I need to add this as I love popcorn and have been lusting over Joe & Seph’s website…another one where I can’t make a decision because there are too many yummy options! It doesn’t matter if you prefer your popcorn sweet or savoury, there will be an option for you. Personally, I like both and want the best of both worlds! I literally can’t say which I will be choosing to buy as I still don’t know but here are just some of the flavour options on offer – White Chocolate & Raspberry, Salted Caramel Cheesecake, Chilli Chocolate Caramel, Blue Cheese with Walnut & Celery, Goats Cheese & Black Pepper and Cheddar & Smoked Paprika…tell me they don’t sound out of this world! These start at £4 per bag or you can go for a bundle (I’d probably go for this option and eat them all myself…no shame) and get 6 different pouches.
Biscuits are another treat which go down well, and seeing as I’m from Scotland, it’s only right that I mention shortbread. However, the brand I want to tell you about is not from Scotland but from Yorkshire and the brand in question is Sawley Kitchen which I first came across at a local food festival. Here, I found the yummiest shortbread in some amazing flavours and I bought lots of packets then and there to give as gifts (as well as for myself obvs)…all were very well received! I loved all the flavours – I literally tried them all – but if I had to choose just a couple, I’d go for the salted caramel, cranberry & orange and white chocolate & lemon. These are £2.50 a bag and there are also some fabulous hampers to choose from!
Another amazing brand is Biscuiteers, who make the most unbelievable decorated biscuits…you will literally just want to use these as decorations because they look far too good to eat…well, almost! I have been onsessing over this new Monopoly Biscuit Tin, they look incredible and I’m quite sure anyone, whether they like Monopoly or not (I’m a serial board flipper), would absolutely love to receive these! At £48 it may seem pricey, but seriously, go and have a look at them…fun, photogenic and tasty? Well worth it in my opinion. There are also plenty of other designs and biscuits for pretty much any occasion you can think of, as well as a range of subscription options. Biscuits through the letterbox each month? Sign me up!
Moving on, I’d like to add in some condiments and my go to favourite brand, which is Mrs Bridges. I always give little condiment sets or add jars to a hamper, especially at Christmas and I love browsing all the different flavoured jams, chutneys, relishes and everything else. If buying for myself, I always make sure I get a jar of mayo and it’s always a toss up between Garlic and Sweet Chilli. As for Jam, I’m a big fan on the Blueberry but am also loving the look of the Blueberry and Pomegrante. Or if you fancy something a little different you could go for the Peach and Prosecco! I’ll not go through everything, as there is so much choice but I also want to give a quick mention to the chutneys as these are perfect if giving a gift that includes cheese. There are so many flavours but I’d go for something a bit different to the usual and head for the Beetroot and Red Onion or Onion Marmalade with Black Olives & Balsamic Vinegar. There are also a huge variety of gift sets to choose from.
Another brand that sells lovely condiments is a relatively new business called From The Farm at Pilsley and I was lucky enough to win a small hamper from them earlier in the year so I can confirm their products are delightful! My favourite item was the Strawberry Vinegar which I used on my salads over the summer and it was absolutely delicious! I am absolutely going to stock up on some more and will be trying the other fruity flavours on offer! This little business also sells jams, chutneys, jellies, and ketchups, and you can get some lovely little hampers which would be perfect to give as a gift (to someone else or yourself, who’s judging?)
Moving on from food and on to drinks, and I will start with my tipple of choice which is gin. I can quite safely say that my favourite brand of gin is Whitley Neill who do the tastiest flavoured gins around (in my opinion). If you don’t like sweet, then these will not be for you, but I love them and they are far too easy to drink. My favourite flavours so far are the Rhubarb & Ginger, Blood Orange and Raspberry but there are still a number of flavours that I haven’t tried yet that sound delicious such as the Quince, Pink Grapefruit and Blackberry.
Another brand who do some nice flavoured gins which aren’t quite as sweet is Malfy Gin who do a lovely Pink Grapefruit gin and a Sicilian Blood Orange (both £28 but offers often found).
There are lots of wonderful gins made in Scotland which I need to mention. First of all, a distillery that is local to me is The Kelso Gin Company and I absolutely recommend trying the Kelso Elephant Gin (£43) and the Raspberry Gin Liqueur (£32).
If flavoured gin isn’t your thing I would definitely recommend another couple gins from bonnie Scotland. The first of which not only tastes great but which has such a pretty bottle you will definitely want to keep it for decoration, and that is Isle of Harris Gin (£37). The second and another of my favourite gins is Hendrick’s Gin (£29).
There is one other brand I want to mention. I haven’t tried it before but have seen it around and want to give it a try. The brand in question is GlasWegin (I don’t even know how it’s supposed to be written)…if you haven’t already guessed this is distilled in Glasgow and comes in a rather fabulous white and black bottle!
The last item I want to mention in my gin category is Craft Gin Club, which is a monthly gin subscription box. I know what you’re thinking…what could be better than a bottle of gin being posted to the door? Well I’ll tell you what’s better…not just a bottle of gin but also sweet and savoury snacks, ingredients to make the cocktail of the month and a magazine. If like me you can’t get through a full bottle of gin every month there are also bi-monthly and quarterly options. As a member, you will also get access to lots of offers in the online shop. If you fancy signing up you can get £16 off your first box with this code https://prz.io/LpkkJvSN and if you like gin, I can’t recommend this enough!
I’ll move away from gin now but there aren’t actually that many other drinks I can recommend as I can’t stand beer and am definitely no wine expert! However, if you are a fan of the cider, I will divert your attention to Thistly Cross Cider who are based in East Lothian. I’m a fan of the Original but there are also fun sounding flavours such as Strawberry, Elderflower and Ginger. They also offer cider liqueurs which I haven’t tried before but sound very interesting and I definitely want to try. These come in Traditional and Scottish Fruits…personally I would love to try the fruity flavour.
I’m not totally reliant on booze though, I drink a hella lot of tea and love a hot chocolate in the winter…I can’t stand coffee though so can’t provide any recommendations in that department. As much as I love a cup of tea, I wouldn’t fancy receiving teabags as a gift so I’m going to focus on the Hot Choc. My favourite place to buy these is from Whittards as they do an amazing selection of fun flavours which, of the ones I’ve tried, all taste amazing. Personally, I wouldn’t even bother with the regular hot chocolate, I’d head straight for the Rocky Road, Orange, Mint or Salted Caramel, or, if you like it super sweet, the Luxury White Hot Chocolate. I like to go for the gift sets so you get a few smaller tubs but can try the different flavours before committing to a big one. I went for the Cocoa Creations Hot Chocolate Gift Set which houses 6 tubs and is currently £20 rather than full RRP £25, and I am not ashamed to say I bought this for myself. I also fully intend to treat myself to the Limited Edition Creative Hot Chocolate Selection (hello Raspberry Ripple and Sticky Toffee Pudding) which has 3 limited edition flavours and is £18 but currently on offer for £14.40.
I also need to mention Hotel Chocolat again, who always make an amazingly creamy hot choc. If you are buying for someone who is a hot chocolate fanatic, I’d absolutely recommend The Velvetiser which makes the best home made hot chocolates I have ever had…it literally makes them so smooth and creamy! It’s £99.95 which is a lot but if I drank a lot of these, I definitely think it would be worth the investment. Hotel Chocolat also sell some nice sounding flavours, I haven’t tried any of them but I like the sound of the Salted Caramel and Clementine (£13) and The Vanilla White Hot Chocolate (£9).
And that’s it for my food and drink gift guide for now, although no doubt I will update this again soon. I hope this provides some inspiration for some gifts but if I were you, I’d be snaffling all of these goodies for myself 🙂 let me know if there is anything else you would like to see that I may have missed.
Until next time,
Kirsty x
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