What to get the foodie who has everything…
From kitchen gadgets to aged ports, when it comes to gifts for gourmand friends, the world’s your oyster
IHAVE been writing my list for Santa and, surprise surprise, it’s all about things to eat and drink or to help in the kitchen. It just struck me that if I shared it with you, in a spirit of generosity, that I might merit a few brownie points from Saint Nicholas. Well, that’s the theory, anyway…
So, if you’re trying to choose something for the sybarite (or the deserving cook) in your life, I think one of these might go down rather well.
CHOCOLATES:
THERE are few of us who don’t enjoy chocolate in some form or other and there’s a lot of it about at Christmas time, much of it sugary rubbish. Instead, why not give someone something special, with a high cocoa content, the sort of chocolates that are meant to be savoured, not scoffed. My suggestion here is a selection from Cocoa Atelier (30 Drury Street, Dublin 2; tel: 01 675 3616). Their little squares are exceptionally pretty, made of the finest chocolate and contain glorious fillings of all sorts, my favourite being Earl Grey. Prices range from €2.50 for a stocking filler box of two, to €32 for a box of 36. Or there’s the lovely and very grown-up selection box of pure chocolate fingers by J.D. Gross from Lidl at €2.49 for 200g.
BOARDS AND BOWLS:
EVERY food lover will be wowed by the beautiful range of wooden boards, right (for chopping, cutting bread, carving meat and more) and bowls (for salads and fruit) made from trees on Lord and Lady Rathdonnell’s Lisnavagh Estate. It’s the brainchild of their son, William Bunbury, and the artefacts are each unique and remarkably good value at between €30 for something very small and lovely and €200 for something seriously impressive. Bunbury Boards, Lisnavagh, Rathvilly, Co. Carlow (tel: 059 916 1784; bunburyboards.com).
GROW YOUR OWN TRUFFLES
TRUFFLES are amongst the most highly prized delicacies in the world of food and they are eye-wateringly expensive (when you can buy them, which is not easy). But, thanks to a bit of clever innovation, you can grow your own. Hazelnut trees, inoculated with truffle spores, will produce up to 1kg of these fabulously rare fungoid tubers on their roots after six years. The first truffles should come after three to four years. Exclusive to Johnstown Garden Centre in Ireland, they need well drained, slightly alkaline soil and you can have one for €30, 3 for €79, or 4 for €99. Further information from Johnstown Garden Centre, Johnstown, Co. Kildare (tel: 045 879138, johnstowngardencentre.ie).
KITCHEN EQUIPMENT:
Every serious cook hankers after a Thermomix, something that is usually found only in professional kitchens and costing the better part of €1,000. Aldi has the Multi Chef right now, a special buy (that will be in stock very briefly) for €199. It does much of what a Thermomix does, including stirring, kneading, mixing, emulsifying, chopping puréeing and cooking. It has a two-litre capacity and temperatures can be adjusted between 30C to 120C. There’s even a steamer attachment and you can choose between ten speeds. Meanwhile, at the budget end there’s the Cookworks 3.5 litres Slow Cooker at €19.99, from Argos, right. It’s great for casseroles that are ready and steaming when the working day is done.
BEAUTIFUL BOOKS
COOKBOOKS come in two forms these days, the practical and personal or the souvenir of a great eating experience. This Christmas there are fine examples of each from Ireland. The first and practical one is Trish Deseine’s stunning Home: Recipes From Ireland (€40, Hachette) with gloriously democratic recipes (including one that calls for Tayto crisps) with some of the best food photographs I’ve seen in ages. The second, containing recipes that will challenge the most competent home cook but is nonetheless fascinating and beautifully presented, bound and illustrated is The K Club Cookbook: Producer To Plate (€39 Cork University Press) by Finbarr Higgins, marking 25 years of fine dining at this opulent Kildare establishment. At the cheaper end, but exceptionally useful and quite fascinating, is The Sheridans’ Counter Culture Guide To Cheese (€19.95, Transworld Ireland).
WHISKEY
IRISH whiskey is on a roll at the moment and the Dingle Distillery in Co. Kerry was in at the start of the renaissance. Indeed, tomorrow they will be opening the second cask ever distilled there (the first will be kept for at least 20 years) and bottling it.
It will be the first single malt whiskey to be distilled in a purpose-built Irish distillery to be commissioned in over a century.
Incredibly rare, a bottle of this piece of irreplaceable history, Dingle Distillery Cask No. 2, can be bought for €350. Most have been pre-sold (presumably by investors) but there are some still available. For further information, see the Dingle Distillery, Dingle, Co. Kerry (tel: 086 829 9944; www.dingledistillery.ie). Or, much cheaper but very lovely and a fine gift for any whiskey lover is Power’s Whiskey Three Swallows Release for €44.99. This is a version of Power’s crafted in the old-fashioned style that obtained when it was distilled in the heart of Dublin. (See celticwhiskeyshop.com).
A VERY SPECIAL GIN
THERE has been a revolution in gin in recent times, too, and the Blackwater Distillery in Co. Waterford has just released a unique offering, Juniper Cask Gin, retailing at €42.99 for 500ml.
It’s the same recipe as that used for their Blackwater No 5 Gin but with some of the botanicals dialled up a little, prior to finishing in small casks made of juniper wood.
Straw coloured with a slightly astringent finish, this is a gin for connoisseurs. (See blackwaterdistillery.ie.)
THE GIFT OF A KITCHEN GARDEN
THERE’S something rather lovely about giving a gift that will remind the recipient of the giver way after Christmas is done and dusted. Vegetable seeds are the obvious way to go for a food lover and Brown Envelope Seeds, below, in West Cork deal exclusively in Irish organically grown seeds, many of which are of heritage or hard-to-find varieties that deliver terrific flavour. There’s the Kitchen Garden Gift Box which contains 20 packets of seeds for €50, or there’s the Four Seasons Salads Box, containing four packets of mixed seeds that will deliver fresh salad crops right through the year for €12.49. Further information at brownenvelopeseeds.com.
A VERY SPECIAL HAM
A FEW weeks ago I cooked a James Whelan Butchers Heritage Cure Whole Ham (very easily, as it’s designed to be baked rather than boiled). The cure is from an old family recipe and I have to say the taste reminded me of childhood.
Sweet, succulent and sufficient to feed a small army, there’s no need for a turkey on top of this delicious piece of our culinary heritage.
Beautifully presented, this would make a very impressive and weighty gift. It costs €49
(See jameswhelanbutchers.com.)
A PORT TO REMEMBER
PORT is big at Christmas but it makes sense to give one that is really special, especially to the wine buff in your life. I have two suggestions. Maynard’s 40 Year Old Tawny Port, right (€49.99, Aldi), is so intense and concentrated that it’s almost more of an essence than a wine. Aged in wood, it doesn’t need decanting. Tesco Finest Vintage Port 1997 (€26.99), even though it’s already 18 years old, is amazingly youthful and will improve for 20 years. It does need decanting, so you could throw in a nice old silver plated decanting funnel if you’re feeling generous.