In this food and drink Christmas gift guide for 2024, I am absolutely delighted to showcase a range of gorgeous present ideas for the foodie in your life. Are you ready? Mostly independent brands and a huge range of tasty ideas.
A food and drink Christmas gift guide
A bit of blue … cheese hamper!
A bit of blue is a fabulous gift idea. Carefully packaged in beautifully designed, recycled gift boxes, along with sustainable wool packaging, Christmas orders and delivery slots are available to book from 1st November at www.shepherdspurse.co.uk with free delivery on orders over £50.
North Yorkshire based Shepherds Purse have a rich heritage of crafting award-winning, speciality cheeses from sheep, cow and buffalo milk, including their much-loved Yorkshire Blue, Harrogate Blue and Mrs Bells Blue.
This is the perfect luxury gift for an artisan cheese lover and make s a perfect Christmas hamper. I’ve tried it and believe me it is a taste sensation (especially the chutney – yummy!)
The box includes; Yorkshire Blue (350g quarter), Harrogate Blue (350g quarter), Northern Blue (170g), and Bluemin White (170g truckle). Along with a jar of Shaw’s of Huddersfield Fig & Honey Chutney.
A Bit of Blue – £2
The best kind of jam! Fearne & Rosie
Fearne & Rosie, makers of Great Taste Award winning spreads that have 70% more fruit and a whooping 40% less sugar than standard Jams. For Christmas they have a delicious new seasonal spread, Berry Merry Preserve. For every jar sold, they will donate a jar to FareShare, who will ensure they are delivered to families in need of support this Christmas. Honestly my kids declare this to be the best jam ever … and I have to say I think you will agree!
Buy here £2.50 and why not make some homemade scones and pair with some clotted cream for the best ever gift! (and do check out all there other flavours too!)
Non Alcoholic Rhubarb Gin – Clean G
Whether the for religious , health or personal reasons the man you are finding a gift for doesn’t drink alcohol but likes a fancy drink, you can spoil them rotten with this non-alcoholic rhubarb gin.
Sugar free and low calories. It combines Rhubarb, Juniper, Lemon, Orange, Grapefruit, Rosemary and Lavender for a fruity, herbaceous finish. Clean G Rhubarb makes a great gift at just £16.
CleanCo, is the world’s leading independent alcohol-free spirit brand, and provide a range of alcohol-free Gin, Rum, Whiskey, Vodka & Tequila which all come in cool sustainable bottles.
Fatso Chocolate
Fatso chocolate is something special, and the man in your life is going to love it whether 18 or 80! Their dark chocolate bars are made with true single-origin, Fino de Aroma certified cacao at Luker’s Farm in Colombia a family owned business and co-operative, who are 100% ethically driven.
Their flavour combinations are also sensational and unusual – a really unique gift.
Dark choc with cherries and almonds and shortbread. What a combination! many more flavours just as lush are available too. £6.95
Fatso foursome
If you really can’t choose form their range of flavours the fatso foursome is the answer 4 x 40g mini bars in flavours like peanut toffee and digestive biscuit or mint pistachio and cocoa nibs. Oh wow!
White Heather
Matured in Sherry, Bourbon and virgin oak casks, this 15 year old premium small-batch blend contains single malts from Speyside, the Highlands and Islay, alongside specially selected grain whiskies.
It contains notes of juicy oranges, dark chocolate truffles, sticky toffee pudding and a gentle wisp of smoke, this exceptional Scotch whisky is the perfect gift for that special someone. Doesn’t that sound just absolutely delicious!
White Heather is available from The Whisky Exchange at £65.
Opies fruits
Opies popular fruits generously preserved in exceptional Luxardo® liqueur are now available in sleek and stylish kilner jars which are fab to recycle post munching!
Choose from succulent and lavish peaches steeped in a 12-year old Luxardo® brandy 530g, indulgent and luxurious black cherries soaked in Luxardo® Kirsch 520g and rich and opulent baby pears drenched in Luxardo® Amaretto 520g.
This delicious food gift has a RRP of £14.95.
Buy from speciality food shops or online at www.bennettopie.com
Wines of Lisboa
When you don’t know what to gift at Christmas it is hard to go wrong with a great bottle of wine, and these wines are simply fabulous.
Prova Regia is a made from 100% Arinto fermented in stainless steel and unoaked, This is a vibrant white wine boasting precise aromas of ripe lemon, green apple and a marked minerality full of bright fruit flavours. Vintage is 2022 and it retails for around £14.
Buy it here
Adega Belém is a small boutique winery built inside the walls of a former car repair shop in Lisbon’s Belém district. Their passion is to craft organically balanced, vibrant and vivacious high quality wines in relatively small batches. This wine has a complex, rich aroma with a lot more to it than many red wines in Castelão. It has a touch of spice and retails for around £16.50.
Rock Rose Scottish Gin
Rock Rose is from the award winning Dunnet Bay Distillers, a craft distillery based in the far north of Scotland, who create hand-crafted spirits, featuring locally-foraged botanicals.
Want to know what it’s like?
Nose
A delicate bouquet of rose, mixed with deeper cardamom and a touch of citrus.
Palate
Fruity berries merge with a floral nose to give a full-bodied, rounded gin. Bright notes ping as the juniper comes forward.
Finish
The sharpness of the sea buckthorn emerges, but once again is rounded off by berries and a juniper heart. Smooth sherbet lemon notes create a lingering finish.
£36 for a 700ml bottle and it has EXCELLENT reviews – a gorgeous gift idea for a gin lover.
The festive flavour trio from Pembrokeshire Chilli Farm
This flavour trio is the perfect Christmas condiment selection for those who like it hot.
Sage & Cajun Rub A festive fusion of sage and Cajun spices for turkeys, hams, and even vegetarian options, it caters to all with a vegan-friendly, gluten-free recipe.
Rudolph’s Revenge Hot Chilli Sauce A ‘volcanic blizzard’ of flavour, this vegan sauce is perfect for those who enjoy heat!
Smokin’ Santa Medium Chilli Sauce Smokin’ Santa is Infused with Chipotle chillies, honey, and bourbon, this medium heat sauce is a vegetarian-friendly and the versatile star of the Christmas table.
A bargain £16.99 it can be purchased here.
Banhoek Original Chilli Oil and Banhoek Garlic Chilli Oil
As the winners of a coveted Great Taste Award in 2023 and 2024, Banhoek Original Chilli Oil and Banhoek Garlic Chilli Oil is renowned for its clear golden colour, subtle smoky chilli aroma, and consistent level of spiciness. It’s a secret weapon bringing the dips and appetisers to life in your holiday spread and it makes an inexpensive foodie gift.
Crafted in small, artisanal batches in the Banhoek Valley near Stellenbosch, South Africa, they are 100% natural and infused with sun-dried, hand-crushed bird’s eye chillies. This unique blend is perfect for those who love experimenting with smoke-infused creations.
Banhoek Chilli Oil Original (RRP £8.50/250ml) is available on Amazon, Ocado, Selfridges, Harrods, Sainsbury’s, Fortnum & Mason, independent delis, butchers and restaurants throughout the UK. Single gift box (RRP £13.00) is available online or instore at Burford Garden Co. Visit www.burford.co.uk/products/banhoek-chilli-oil-gift-box
Banhoek Chilli Oil Garlic (RRP £12.00) is exclusively available in Harrods online and in-store. Visit: www.harrods.com/shopping/banhoek-banhoek-chilli-oil-garlic
Highland Nectar Scotch Whiskey
Ooh whiskey is a Christmas tipple if ever there was one.
Highland Nectar is a sumptuous Scotch whisky liqueur that celebrates the flavours of drams from the Scottish Highlands. It marries five-year-old Scotch whisky with botanicals including ginger, cinnamon, star anise, nutmeg, vanilla and bitter orange, for a golden liquid that is rich, aromatic and velvety.
Try it neat or over ice as an after-dinner sipper, mix it with soda water for a sweet, refreshing Highball or in a classic cocktail.
Highland Nectar Scotch Whisky Liqueur (50cl, 35% ABV The Whisky Exchange, Master of Malt and Amazon) – RRP: £25.76
Yamas! Cheese
Cheese is universally loved but never more so than at Christmas. Why not delight your cheese loving family member with a range of gorgeous cheeses like these from Yamas!? Their range is stocked in Tesco and lends itself to all kinds of fabulous recipes – like these halloumi pigs in blankets! (I would of course use veggie bacon)
Or they may perhaps even make Cranberry skewers – yum!
You can find a range of their products and recipes here
Cremant Wines
Lacheteau Crémant de Loire (£16, Ocado)
Packed with flavours of lemon, tangerine, exotic fruits this sparkling wine makes a wonderful aperitif for a special occasion and it works well with desserts. It also goes very well with shellfish or grilled fish.
Grapes: 70% Chenin Blanc, 20% Cabernet Franc, 10% Chardonnay
François Martenot Crémant de Bourgogne (£18, Ocado)
Aromatic intense, full-bodied and fresh with great freshness, fruity aromas, and floral notes.Goes beautifully with oysters!
Grapes: 65.41% Chardonnay, 0.59% Pinot noir, 29.74% Gamay, 4.84% Aligoté
Salasar Crémant de Limoux (£13, Ellis Wharton)
With flavours of stone fruits, this wine has a floral toastiness and lots and lots of bubbles!
Grape Varieties: 90% Chardonnay and Chenin, 10% Pinot Noir
François Martenot Crémant de Bourgogne Rosé (£18, Ocado)
This one is my personal favourite! It is both fresh and delicate and a gorgeous pale pink colour full of bubbles, with subtle flavours of redcurrant and raspberry. Fruity and lengthy aromas give a dry and balanced finish.
Grapes: 69.17% Chardonnay, 21.73% Pinot noir, 9.1% Gamay
So there you go. a bumper celebration of fabulous ideas for a food and drink Christmas gift guide this year. Which do you like the look of?
