It’s that time again: you’re hearing Wham’s ‘Last Christmas’ everywhere and we’ve done the hard work to curate London’s best festive hampers. This year, which one will you give to someone special? (Sorry.)
The one for cookbook & fine food lovers
The Deluxe hamper from Quality Chop House
Capitalising on the November release of their much-anticipated book "The Quality Chop House: Modern Recipes and Stories from a London Classic", the Farringdon restaurant is adding this tome of lovely recipes into two of their three festive tote bags this year, along with a range of top quality nibbles.
You could start from £50 for a tote with just the book, six mince pies and a bottle of Andre Brunel 2016 Grenache. Or go book-less for £75, with the pies plus gourmet essentials for the larder. But we say push the boat out for the full monty: the book, the pies, and all manner of treats from Torres truffle crisps to Marc Peyrey Petales de Tomates Confites.
How much: £150
How to order: Call the shop on 020 3602 8115 or email on qualitychophouseshop@gmail.com
Find out more about Quality Chop House
The one with the clever chocolates
The Regent Hamper from Cakes & Bubbles
The Hotel Café Royal has three hampers on offer, stuffed with goodies from Albert Adrià’s Cakes & Bubbles new gift collection. This, the Regent (£85), contains a selection of his artful chocolates including Mimetics Hazelnuts, an edible postcard, Sable Breton, Toffee C&B Spread and a bottle of Sophie Baron Champagne.
How much: £85
How to order: Order online
The one by artisans
The Artisan Hamper from Melrose and Morgan
Melrose and Morgan have a range of hampers on offer, ranging from £45 to £225 but it's this mid-range artisan hamper that's caught our attention. It features delights like Brandy Butter, Cranberry and Chia Granola, Seeded Spelt Crackers, Christmas Plum Pudding, Mince Pies, Dark Chocolate Florentines, Seville and Whisky Marmalade, Spiced Nuts, a giant gold chocolate coin and more besides.
How much: £125
How to order: Order online
The one for meat lovers
The Pasture-Fed Meat Tin from Cannon and Cannon
Cannon and Cannon already have a cured meat by post service, and they're adding a couple of special Christmas tins for the season. There's the Pasture-fed tin which showcases meats that are entirely grass-fed from around the UK, including Cornish Seaweed & Cider Salami, Scottish Wild Venison Salami, Smoked & air-dried Dorset Mutton,Truffle & Mushroom Salami and more. There's also a Heroes of Craft tin (£60) with Wilde’s cheese, a bagnum of le grappin Burgundy (two magnums), Cornish baked parmesan crackers, truffle & mushroom salami, Willies Cacao craft chocolate, and English bread and butter pickles.
How much: £35
How to order: Order online
The one for vegans
The M&S Vegan Hamper
Marks & Spencer have three indulgent hampers in the £100-plus category for those with unbridled dietary requirements. But if you think vegan offerings might be a little less fun, think again. There’s no need to miss out on Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, mince pies, even salted caramel truffles and red wine with this hamper. Gluten-free? They’ve got a dedicated £40 gift bag for you too.
How much: £40
How to order: Order online
Find out more about M&S Hampers
The one for the overindulgers
St. John Hangover Cure Hamper
It’s tough to pick a favourite from the six somewhat devilish and boozy hampers from St John restaurant. If you’d like one that includes the recently released The Book of St John, then choose from Fergus’ Christmas lunch (£215), Boxing Day Hamper (£145) or Trevor’s Christmas Lunch (£215).
But we like this one with Fergus Henderson’s supposedly ‘fail-safe cure’ passed on from his father: Fernet Branca and Créme de Menthe. If that doesn’t sort you out, there’s Fergus’s ‘LIVER-ISH’ t-shirt, some English breakfast tea and some St John tea towels.
How much: £105
How to order: Order online
The one for cheese lovers
The Whitfield by Paxton and Whitfield
Paxton & Whitfield have some exceptional cheese and wine hampers that make Christmas seem almost too far away. You could go all out with The Mayfair - a picnic basket of dreams, with not just exquisite cheese and wines, but shredded pork, smoked salmon, half a ham, and every kind of cheese accompaniment you could think of (£500) but if you're bearing a budget in mind, then The Whitfield (£68), which is a fine Stilton and vintage Port pairing, along with some Cornish buttermilk biscuits is just the thing.
How much: £68
How to order: Order online
The one for the self-selectors
Mimo London’s Christmas Hamper Tours
If you fancy a guided Borough Market shopping tour (2.5 hours) with your own self-selected hamper at the end, San-Sebastian-born cookery school Mimo London are taking tours from 16 November until 21 December. You get to fill a hand-crafted wooden crate while learning about produce from the market traders. Once back, guests are invited to feast upon the rest of their market haul with more wines. The Mimo team will then help to package up guests’ hampers ready to take home or to be sent to friends and family all in time for Christmas.
How much: £145 per person (includes hamper)
How to order: Book online
The one for Middle Eastern spice fans
Honey & Spice’s Christmas Hamper
Even if you’re not familiar with Honey & Co restaurant in Fitzrovia, news that there’s a Christmas hamper from their little food store across the road is good news for those wanting a touch of festive spice. There’s their mulled wine spice mix to go with a bottle of red, Baharat roasted pistachio and cashew nuts, giant gingerbread cookies and a homemade Christmas loaf among other more-ish nibbles.
How much: £85
How to order: Order online
The one for traditionalists
The Harrods St James
Harrods has 11 festive hampers to choose from this year, ranging in price from £50 (The Christmas Box: Christmas pudding, salted caramel, festive spiced black tea) to £5000 (The Ultimate: 15 kinds of wines and spirits, plus all manner of pantry and fresh items spanning three baskets).
We like the practicality of the St James, which covers all tea and coffee occasions (Christmas Spiced Black Tea, After Dinner Coffee, Christmas Hot Chocolate), the usual mince pies, puddings and confectionary, and a very sensible assortment of accompaniments (Boxing Day Chutney, Cranberry & Port Sauce, Sweet Orange & Pink Gin Marmalade, Brandy Butter, Wholegrain Mustard, Spiced Plum & Berry Jam).
How much: £350
How to order: Order online
The one for extravagant gourmands
Best of Selfridges Hamper
Selfridges are right on trend this year, with a variety of giftboxes made from sustainable materials, including a vegan hamper (£90) and an alcohol-free cocktail box (£175). But if no restraint is your thing and there’s a serious food lover in your life, the Best of Selfridges Hamper has it all: Beluga caviar, truffle honey, Champagne, a whole leg of Jamon Iberico, fresh cheeses. No, you won’t need to leave the house for some time.
How much: £5000
How to order: Order online
The one for early risers
Claridge’s The Breakfast Edition
Of course, Claridge’s have every occasion smartly covered with their classic hampers. From the Christmas Crackers (£80) filled with keepsakes inspired by the hotel’s heritage to the Mayfair Hamper (£795) featuring five fine tipples (including Claridge’s Aged Negroni), the Claridge’s Cookbook, an apron, preserves, Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, and all manner of biscuits and pantry essentials.
For something different, we like The Breakfast Edition, which not only has loose leaf tea and espresso beans, a strainer, marmalade and strawberry preserve, but comes with fine bone china egg cups: handy if you’re a guest in a busy household or just want to impress. And it’s in a black hat box with interior chevron detailing. So Claridge’s.
How much: £150
How to order: Order online
The one for afternoon tea
The Wolseley Champagne Afternoon Tea Hamper
The Wolseley have five festive hampers (from £125 to £495) and two smart totes (around £100) this year. This Champagne Afternoon Tea Hamper is the hamper that keeps on giving, though, as apart from quintessential British afternoon tea essentials, it contains a ‘Champagne Afternoon Tea for Two at the Wolseley’ gift card. If whoever gets this invites you as the plus-one, all the better.
How much: £225
How to order: Order online
The one for royalists
The Highgrove Christmas Basket from Fortnums
Fortnum & Mason are synonymous with traditional Christmas hampers, but even they’ve launched a Vegan Hamper this year (£150) among their 11 new additions in the 67-strong collection. For something different, and somewhat worthy (it raises money for charity), the Highgrove Christmas Basket is inspired by HRH The Prince of Wales and is full of organic goodies, including Christmas shortbread, Prince of Wales tea, marmalade, lemon curd, English damson preserve, chocolates, and a bottle of Côtes du Rhone.
How much: £85
How to order: Order online
The one for drinkers
The Drinks Cabinet from Harvey Nichols
Harvey Nichols is all about the stylish hat boxes and luxurious gifts, but they’ve blatantly announced they have the world’s greatest drinks hamper this year. The Drinks Cabinet certainly will turn a few heads, with its rare winter edition Russian vodka, sherried Islay whisky, everything needed for Negronis and martinis, and much more. You’ve been warned.
How much: £500
How to order: Order online
The Hot Dinners guide to Christmas in London
Hampers, Advent calendars, ideas for Christmas Day, foodie gifts, our guide to Christmas specials as well as Christmas AND New Year party ideas. We have all you need for Christmas.
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