We’ve already covered the best Christmas Hampers and 2021's best new cookbooks, but if you’re looking for other Christmas presents for foodies then you've come to the right place.
Harvey Nichols Gift Experiences
Solve all of your gift-giving quandaries with luxury in-store Gift Experiences at Harvey Nichols. From interactive cocktail making classes where their mixologists reveal classic bar techniques to expert wine tasting tutorials discovering wine from across the globe and decadent Afternoon Teas, their tailored experiences are the perfect presents to give this Christmas.
Raising the home bar
1. Guinness home tap - For the beer fan who has - almost - everything comes the brand new Guinness Microdraught. This allows you to serve perfect pints of Guinness Draught at home that would meet the exacting standards of the Beautiful Pints insta account. Certainly at the top of our gift list, if only we could find someone with a spare £750.
2. Hangover cures from St John - Anyone overindulging this season will give thanks for a bottle of Fergus Henderson’s drink which aims to set you right the next day. The D.R. Henderson is made from Fernet Branca and Crème de Menthe, and this is the first time it’s been pre-bottled to have at home (£23).
3. House mezcals from Kol - These beautiful bottles from the Mezcalaria underneath chef Santiago Lastra’s restaurant KOL feature artisanal mezcals from the Puebla and Oaxaca regions. Each one uses a different production method and features its own flavour profile (From £86).
Fridge saviour
OKLAVA x The Estate Dairy Medjool Date Butter - It’s long been a table at her restaurant, OKLAVA, now chef Selin Kiazim has teamed up with The Estate Dairy so you can buy her signature Medjool Date Cultured Butter to have at home. And while it’s great on bread, it’s apparently the perfect condiment to upgrade your bacon sarnies (£4.95).
Handy holdall
Champagne tote bag from Bubbleshop - For the friend whose fridge is always more likely to contain magnums of Champagne rather than bottles of semi-skimmed, Bubbledogs have this heavy-duty canvas to lug all that fizz back from the shops in (£15).
Home cook help
The Dishoom Spice collection - If you’ve bought or been given the Dishoom cookbook before realising that your spice rack just doesn’t pass muster, this is their quick-start collection of all the spices you’ll need. The set contains twelve items in total, including four signature masalas and eight spices (£35).
Year-round treats
1. Provisions cheese subscription - Perfect for cheese fans, this monthly subscription features 1kg of cheese from best-sellers to lesser-known gems. You can choose from one, three, six, nine and twelve months and each delivery comes with handy tasting notes for each cheese (£32).
2. Honey & Co jam club - Of course, you could get in the kit you need to make your own jams but how much easier (and, dare we say it, nicer) to know that Honey & Co’s shop is going to do it all for you. Their seasonal small-batch jams come in two subscription sizes - four seasons (£130) and the annual one with six deliveries (£150).
Upskilling
1. Jamon masterclass from Jose Pizarro - Technically you will learn how to carve amazing 5J jamón Ibérico during this masterclass, but while you wear the chef’s whites you’ll also be tasting Spanish sherries and enjoying a tapas lunch so it’s not exactly hard work (£300 for two).
2. Bentley's oyster masterclass - The classes at Richard Corrigan’s Piccadilly restaurant run for an easy 90 minutes on a Saturday and include champagne on arrival, an oyster master class and tasting with sommelier-matched wine. You will also get to take home your very own oyster passport, Bentley’s T-shirt, limited-edition tote bag and recipe card (£75).
Restaurant merch
1. BAO candle - It’s a candle. Or is it a bao? While this is made from soy wax you definitely don’t want to pop this gua bao shaped candle in your mouth. Made milky white, just like their baos, it’s a foodie take on the usually boring scented candle gift (£22).
2. Big Mamma Crockery - This Christmas will be the first time you can buy the OTT crockery you’ll have seen at Gloria and Circolo Popolare. There are antipasti plates, mugs, small bowls and salt n pepper shakers (From £10).
3. Darjeeling Express chai cups - If you haven't managed to score a table yet at Darjeeling Express, then the next best thing is taking home a bit of the restaurant, courtesy of designer Maham Anjum's gorgeous hand crafted terracotta chai cups (£30 for a set of two). Drop in between 12-4pm and 6-8.30pm on Wednesday to Saturday and get it from the reception.
The personal touch
Personalised Toblerone from Selfridges - To prove you haven’t just picked this up going through Duty-Free, make sure you give a personalised Toblerone this Christmas. Head to Selfridges where they’ll add any name you like to a full-sized bar for you (£14.99).
The Hot Dinners guide to Christmas in London
Hamper guides, cookery book shopping, even foodie tree decorations. Yes, we really do have everything you need for Christmas right here on Hot Dinners.
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