Gifts of food, drink & foodie buys
For fine foodies, greedy gobblers, gin-drinkers and sugar-heads alike, this is the ultimate 2023 gift guide. The turkey isn’t the only thing that’ll be stuffed this Christmas.
FAB FIZZ
English sparkling wine continues to go from strength to strength and this world-beating Première Cuvée is a great example. Produced in the historic Hampshire village of Hambledon, its elegant fine bubbles and sweet, ripe, fruit notes helped it earn Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards 2023.
£60
FEAST FOR TWO
Treat your favourite couple to this swanky Christmas dinner à deux – or one to keep on standby for when the turkey leftovers lose their appeal. Japanese Wagyu Beef Wellington is the star of this frozen feast from the skilful chefs at Norwich’s Farmyard restaurant. It also includes twice-baked Binham Blue soufflé to start, three tasty side dishes, and praline profiteroles for pud. Snatch 15% off everything with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£150
Home sweet home
Biscuiteers have nailed the DIY gingerbread house with this whimsical Hansel and Gretel style. All the bits come in a beautiful tin, six pre-baked gingerbread house pieces, royal icing, piping bags, a set of sweet decorations and a step-by-step guide. There won’t be a crumb left.
£38
GIN-GLE BELLS
London Dry botanicals, Norwegian Spruce (grown locally in Cornwall), orange, cinnamon, cranberries, raspberries, lime and vanilla – the result is a distilled Gin that smells and tastes like Christmas itself, evoking memories of mulled wines by the fire, mince pies baking in the oven and fresh clementines after dinner. Grab 15% off with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£38
TWIST AND SHOUT
Functional and fabulous, Addison Ross’s Twister salt and pepper grinders add a fun dash of design to mealtimes. Available in a range of colours, they’re the kind of levelling up luxury we love.
£58
WIRE WORK(S) OF ART
Tricky to buy for father/partner/colleague? You can’t go wrong with this beaut’ of a bottle of award-winning Wire Works Whisky Caduro from hip Derbyshire craft distillery White Peak. Once they’ve drained the good stuff, that design-led bottle is a work of art, even empty. Bag free shipping on spirits, Wire Works Whisky, Shining Cliff Gin and White Peak Rum, with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£60
DELI DELIGHTS
Pluck this Grazing box for a picky bits enthusiast. Working with British and European farmers and artisans to source the cream of the cheese and wine crop, Boxed Deli has been in the biz since the 60s, so who better to pull together a box of goodies than the experts? This box (one of many) features a delectable selection of cheeses, including the handmade and matured Clemency Hall Lincolnshire Poacher – plus salami with red wine & peppercorns, mixed olives, buttermilk wafers, and a sweet closing touch, hazelnut chocolates.
£34.99
LOOK SHARP
Chop chop! Ask any great chef and they’ll tell you only need one great knife. Katto’s chef knife is made in Sheffield using Japanese AUS-10 steel and sustainable woods. Personalise it for extra swag.
From £95
SWEET FINISH
Stuck on gift ideas? Chocolate is always the answer. Arguably the best brownies in the world, these Epic Oreo Brownies are freshly baked in Berkshire and overflowing with Oreo chunks, white chocolate, and biscuits. They’ll get six in a box which will last all but 5 mins.
£25
GLASS ACT
Glassware so glam, drinks o’clock will have an air of sophistication. Hoft’s pair of 7oz Old Fashioned gold rim glasses are a timeless gift that’ll leave them stirred not shaken.
£16 for two
WINE NOT?
Friends with a wine lover? Like Muddy needs to ask.Treat them to this gorgeous gourmet gift from Bolney Wine Estate in Sussex. The Estate’s hamper is bursting full of goodies: a selection of their award-winning wines, including English sparkling. Plus sweet and savoury treats with special attention going to the Bolney chutneys and truffles. Yum. Snatch 15% off using the code MUDDYXMAS23. Valid until 31 Dec 23 (cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers or sale items).
£165
FLASH IN THE PAN
Space saving, stylish and is a multi-tasking kitchen workhorse. Streamline your kit with the Always Pan from cult cookware brand Our Place. This lightweight pan can be used to fry, sauté, steam, strain, boil, bake and more. This design also includes an improved handle and spatula design.
£85 (was £130)
NO TROUT ABOUT IT
Give the gift of shameless indulgence with Berkshire Trout’s Heritage Hamper bursting to the brim with an assortment of their famous Hot Smoked Trout Pâté, delicious Cold Smoked Trout, Heritage Honey Roasted trout, and Heritage Gin and Beetroot Cured Trout. You also get all the savoury bits to go with it, a splash of Kew Gardens Blanc de Cabernet Brut sparkling wine and an Ellis Howell designed apron. Pucker up, it’s delish.
£85
PLUM JOB
If you’re going to wrap up Christmas in a drink and put a bow on it, Plum Brandy is it! This tasty tipple from Kent-based Greensand Ridge – a carbon-neutral micro-distillery – is an English version of a traditional Central European Slivovitz. It’s super smooth, plummy and double matured in Marsala and Bourbon casks.
£44 for 50cl
SAY CHEESE
A taste of West Country cheeses curated by the award-winning Sharpham Dairy and delivered to their door by chilled courier. The Essential Devon Cheese Board comprises buttercup-yellow Sharpham brie, crumbly Sharpham Rustic, pasteurised goat’s cheese, Quicke’s cheddar, and Ticklemore Blue which won a Super Gold at the World Cheese Awards. Just add artisan crackers – no, they’re already in..
£30
HAPPY HOUR
Give someone you love the gift of a fridge stocked full of top quality pre-mixed cocktails for 3 or 6 months with Niche Cocktail’s subscription box, which contains six mixes ranging from Mocha Martinis to Brazilian Lime Margaritas. The masters of mixology at this Suffolk-based brand have managed to squeeze all the flavour and elegance of a top London bar cocktail into the humble aluminium can. Grab 20% off with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£75 for three months, £150 for six months.
CHOC IT TO ME
Life is like a box of chocolates and having won champion chocolate in the Taste of the West awards, you know these are going to be fab-u-lous. Pick up a nine-piece selection of Hollychoc’s best luxury creations – each handmade in micro-batches in their Wiltshire chocolate studio. So good, you won’t want to share.
£17.95
SUGAR & SPICE
You can’t go wrong with a box of posh treats at Christmas. And the ones carefully selected for Muddy Award-winning lifestyle shop Design44’s Christmas treats gift box are divine. Mulled wine humbugs (made with real brandy), gingery artisan jinglebreads, honeycomb and chocolate gourmet marshmallows – are we drooling yet? Grab 15% off with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£36
COFFEE TO GO
Know someone who cannot function with their Nespresso hit? Coffee addicts rejoice the Minipresso from WACACO allows them to pop a pod and enjoy a fresh espresso anytime anywhere.
£46.90
DRINK TO YOUR HEALTH
Based on the Herts/ Bucks border, this herbal tea brand was created with women’s health in mind – from stabilising hormones and combating energy crashes to reducing inflammation and aiding relaxation. The Wellness Collection includes 42 tea bags in the Energise, Hydrate and Relax infusions – made using natural ingredients, and no caffeine or calories. Enjoy 15% off the whole site with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£26.97
DISH OF THE DAY
Chef Jeremy Lee finally brings his unique voice and liberal cooking style to a cookbook. Lee is one of London’s much-loved chefs and his larger than life character are legendary at Soho stalwart Quo Vadis. His debut book is home cooking at its best – Comforting, seasonal and reliably good. Give mealtimes a Soho boost.
£30
TRUFFLE TROUBLE
The Cornish Food Box has been specialising in Cornish hampers since 2010 and this one has the Royal seal of approval, as Camel Valley was the first English wine producer to be granted a royal warrant. Paired with Chocolarder’s truffles, made in Cornwall from sustainably-produced cocoa beans, this hamper is a proper Christmas sparkler.
£59
SHAKEN, NOT STIRRED
Inspired by the wild beaches on Cornwall’s north coast, this vodka is super smooth thanks to it’s sand filtration, and just the thing for a Cornish martini. 1% of all sales of Connie Glaze Vodka is given to the Cornish Beach Guardians to support their work cleaning the beaches and golden sand. Bag your bottle for 15% off with code MUDDYXMAS23.
£30
are you being served?
If you’re trying to remember the 12 Days Of Christmas song, after a few glasses of bubbles, look to these stunning dessert plates. Perfect for festive hosts with the most who appreciate the art of tablescaping.
£240
HOPPY CHRISTMAS
Just like the man in red, S.O.S Spicy Old Santa from Norfolk’s Barsham Brewery is ruby-coloured and will put a smile on your face (a case of 12 bottles might not fit down the chimney though). Gluten free and vegan, it has notes of spicy berry and a hint of sweetness.
£39 for 12 x 500ml
GIN-SPIRATION
Looking for gin tipple for the gin-lover who’s already tried them all? The exclusive Silent Pool Black Juniper Gin distilled at the Silent Pool in Surrey should nail it. Crafted with the rarest juniper – found in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan – along with the most exotic botanicals including oud and cloud tea, it’s billed as the most luxurious gin in the world.
£295 / 100cl
PUB IN A BOX
Bring the pub vibe to them with a box of bar snacks, beer mats, a glass, a can of Devon Red and a bottle opener to crack open three bottles of Sandford Orchards cider. Crafted in the UK’s oldest working cider mill, this West Country brewery is a locals’ favourite for cider-making in time-honoured fashion; harvesting cider apples from local orchards and pressing them over time to amber perfection.
£22.50
Carve it up
Know someone who loves the theatre of the carve? Give them the do the job with flair and panache. The Sabre Carving set is composed of a large knife with a sharpened blade and a large fork – and come in two elegant styles the Gustave pinched look and the smooth Tortoise.
£58
