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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Molly Tait-Hyland

Cheeses, chilli and cookie-cutters: the best Christmas gifts for food lovers

Christmas food gifts 2022
OFM’s Christmas gift selections for 2022 Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose/The Observer

Under £10

Poon’s chilli condiments

Poon’s chilli condiments

Superior sauces for the spice inclined. £6.50-£8, poonslondon.com

Mushroom playing cards

Mushroom playing cards

Fun with fungi. £5.99, shop.plantlife.org.uk

Spanner cookie cutter

Spanner cookie cutter

The baker’s essential tool kit. £3, re-foundobjects.com

Eco dishcloths

Eco dishcloths

Cute cloths for a clean kitchen. £6.95, balticmill.com

Artha soy sauce dish with shiba dog

Artha soy sauce dish with shiba dog

Add soy to reveal a shiba surprise. £5.48, japancentre.com

Rockfish tinned seafood

Rockfish tinned seafood

Tasty tins, mostly sourced from British waters. £4.95-£5.95, therockfish.co.uk

Maki roll bauble

Maki roll bauble

Add a little sushi sparkle to the tree. £5.99, souschef.co.uk

Heston from Waitrose hot chocolate pennies

Heston from Waitrose hot chocolate pennies

Shimmering coins that turn into luxe cocoa. £6 for 4, waitrose.com

Whitebox cocktail cans

Whitebox cocktail cans

Single-serve martini or negroni for Christmas stockings. £5 each, shopcuvee.com

Sunflower seeds from Ukraine

Sunflower seeds from Ukraine

Grow some summer cheer and support a Ukrainian organic producer. From £1, plus delivery, organicseeds.top

Leone gianduioso spread tube

Leone gianduioso spread tube

Chocolate-hazel indulgence to go. £6.50, souschef.co.uk

Striped dinner candles

Striped dinner candles

Cast a soft glow with bold stripes. £5 each, shop.courtauld.ac.uk

Garden Patch mixed herb seed paper

Garden Patch mixed herb seed paper

Grow a kitchen garden the easy way. £6.50 for 5, shop.tate.org.uk

Wooden fish

Wooden fish

A mackerel to hang on your tree – or in your kitchen. £8, shop.balticmill.com

O’boy instant chocolate milk

O’boy instant chocolate milk

A favourite in Scandinavia for more than 60 years, it makes superior hot (or cold) chocolate. £5.99, souschef.co.uk

Chefs’ secret ingredients

Chefs’ secret ingredients

Take inspiration from OFM’s series My secret ingredient and give a keen cook a bundle of essentials our favourite chefs can’t cook without – perhaps Ravinder Bhogal’s tajin spice mix, Asma Khan’s nutmeg, Ainsley Harriott’s allspice, Yotam Ottolenghi’s black garlic, and Andrew Wong’s fermented bean curd. Tajin, £2.99, souschef.co.uk; Laoganma beancurd in chilli oil; £2.49, zing-asia.co.uk

Ottolenghi salt caramel and chocolate brittle

Ottolenghi salt caramel and chocolate brittle

OFM’s favourite sweet and salty snack. £7.90, ottolenghi.co.uk

Rempapa Spice Co pastes

Rempapa Spice Co pastes

A head start on delicious meals – Peranakan turmeric and lemongrass; Balinese spiced tamarind; lime green sambal tumis. £5.50-£6.90, rempapa.com

David Shrigley mug

David Shrigley mug

A reassuring cuppa with the British artist. £9.95, balticmill.com

Aluminium fish mould

Aluminium fish mould

Salmon mousse anyone? Vintage chic for retro dinner parties. £2.50, re-foundobjects.com

St John piggy badge

St John piggy badge

The porky mark of honour. £4.99, stjohnrestaurant.com

Latitude chocolate bars

Latitude chocolate bars

Chocolate made with good conscience in Uganda. £4.95, cocoarunners.com

Orange socks

Orange socks

Zest up your Christmas Day outfit. £9.95, ohhdeer.com

Under £50

The Butterfly Cannon Cristalino tequila

The Butterfly Cannon Cristalino tequila

Mix up some festive margs; proceeds help support butterfly conservation. £28.95, masterofmalt.com

Pâté en croute print

Pâté en croute print

Charcuterie art by Laura Marling. £45, meatfishcheese.com

London Borough of Jam T-shirt

London Borough of Jam T-shirt

Wear your favourite preserve. £22, londonboroughofjam.com

Lakrids By Bülow winter collection

Lakrids By Bülow winter collection

Liquorice bonbons in festive flavours, including golden raspberry, frozen crispy mint and classic salty caramel. £19, lakridsbybulow.co.uk

Planting trees and eating cheese set

Planting trees and eating cheese set

Delicious and feelgood – three classic British cheeses and a planting by Trees for Cities with every box. £45, paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Made in Oldstead sweet treats hamper

Made in Oldstead sweet treats hamper

Christmas baked treats in wild-foraged flavours from the home-delivery sister business of OFM Awards 2022 Best Restaurant, Roots. With kernel marzipan Christmas cake, root vegetable mince pies, Christmas cake cookies, chicory and lovage fudge, sour cherry nougat, woodruff bourbon-infused eggnog and woodruff bourbon hot chocolate. £45, madeinoldstead.co.uk

Lasagne verdi and dessert meal kit

Lasagne verdi and dessert meal kit

DIY lasagne, for when turkey fatigue sets in. £30, linastores.co.uk

A-Z of Pasta cookbook and ingredients set

A-Z of Pasta cookbook and ingredients set

Send someone on a journey of pasta discovery. £42.99, souschef.co.uk

Kol wine

Kol wine

The house wines at acclaimed Mexican restaurant Kol in London are a delicious collaboration between the Slobodne family in Slovakia, chef Santiago Lastra and Modal Wines. £34 each (1lt bottle), kolrestaurant.store

Damson Jelly Academy intermediate cooking bundle

Damson Jelly Academy intermediate cooking bundle

Give the gift of knowledge – learn to cook fish, meat and pasta to perfection at Ravneet Gill’s online cookery school. For every beginner’s course sold, Damson Jelly Academy donates one to a school, to improve food education accessibility. £49.99, damsonjellyacademy.thinkific.com

Marshmallowist teacakes

Marshmallowist teacakes

Move over, Tunnocks – for Christmas, at least. These seasonal flavours are Christmas pudding, black forest gateaux, strawberry trifle and profiterole. £16, themarshmallowist.com

Doreen’s rum cake

Doreen’s rum cake

Dark, rich and heavy with rum, this deeply flavoured 1lb loaf cake has usurped traditional Christmas pudding to be our festive dessert of choice. £23 (vegan option available), doreensjamaicanhomemaderumcakes.co.uk

Pump Street Bakery eccles cakes

Pump Street Bakery eccles cakes

A classic bake from OFM Awards 2022 Best Producer – just add Lancashire cheese. £15, pumpstreetchocolate.com

Lily Vanilli Bakery scented candles

Lily Vanilli Bakery scented candles

Ditch the Christmas spice and opt for the scent of baked goods such as plum and bramble, or English pear and vanilla. £29 each, lilyvanilli.com

Bao Hightide lonely man key ring

Bao x Hightide lonely man key ring

For the fluffy bun devotees. £12, baolondon.com

Beeswax bread bag

Beeswax bread bag

Keep your sourdough fresh. £26, labourandwait.co.uk

Chai by Mira

Chai by Mira

A heady mix of seven spices and coconut sugar. £16.50-£27.50, chaibymira.com

Eaten Alive Extra Special Reserve Champagne Citrus XO

Eaten Alive Extra Special Reserve Champagne Citrus XO

A hot sauce for the festive season – ají limón chillies are fermented then blended with champagne vinegar. £15.99, eatenalive.co.uk


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