The Skinny Food & Drink Gift Guide 2015
Imagine the food-obsessed person in your life. Now picture them on Christmas day – the third Toblerone; a novelty apron; an elaborate nut-cracking set. Look at their face. It doesn’t have to be this way. The Skinny’s Alternative Foodie Gift Guide is here.
Foodie Christmas Gifts
Chocolate equals life, we all know this. But look beyond the Cadbury's selection box and there's a whole world out there. Take Mast Brothers, for example; award-winning, Brooklyn chocolatiers who put innovation, craftsmanship and an eye for design at the centre of their offering.
Not only do their bars taste amazing, with flavours such as Black Truffle, Goat Milk and Almond, but they look incredible too. Each bar comes in a unique, wallpaper-like wrapper, inspired by everything from The Memphis Group to geology. £7, mastbrothers.co.uk
Have you ever settled down to watch your favourite film and felt that a can of Tango wasn't quite the right match? Enter Cocktails of the Movies by Will Francis; a look into the elaborate world of mixology in film. Featuring clever illustrations from Stacey Marsh, it covers the recipes and back stories behind beverages featured in 64 iconic films, including The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Big Lebowski and A Clockwork Orange. The Moloko Plus is a highlight, minus the added opiates of course. A must for cocktail and film-buffs alike. £14.99, amazon.co.uk
For those who like to get their kicks via more wholesome pursuits, there's always TWIG Teas. This cold-brew tea brand was inspired by a trip to a Japanese teahouse, where leaves are steeped in cold water rather than hot in order to produce a smoother, sweeter brew. The Keemun Brew is the brand's most popular, and is known for its malty, nutty flavour. Every bottle is hand-made in East London and they look pretty neat on your kitchen counter, too. £12 for 4, tastemakr.co
Fun Foodie Gifts
Sometimes a practical gift just won’t cut it, and while some men just want to watch the world burn, others will settle for the world being confused at its Christmas presents. For those people, we recommend the Dream Griddle’s combination alarm clock and hot plate.
Well, recommend may be too strong a word, for the Dream Griddle isn’t a real item. It’s one of a range of prank gift boxes, designed to emulate bizarre gifts while also offering a handy recepticle in which to place a real gift.
Let’s turn to the Amazon reviews for a second: “Completely fooled my aunt into thinking she had gotten a combination clock/griddle; needless to say, she was a bit disappointed…” Imagine that; come Christmas morning that could be you, disappointing your loved ones. Well, more so than usual. £10, amazon.co.uk
Next, Firebox’s Molecular Gastronomy Kit, the food equivalent of a video game cheat code that sends you straight to the final boss.
A set of equipment designed to aid in experimenting with a host of super-modern techniques, it essentially boils down to a series of pipettes, spoons and sachets, an instructional DVD and a firm handshake for good luck (handshake provided separately). Can your siblings bring the world of scientific fine dining into your kitchen on Boxing Day? Probably not, but we may as well watch them try. £49, firebox.co.uk
Or why not try the Bar-ista, a device to clamp a coffee cup to your bicycle. A hot cup of coffee attached to the front of a moving bike – the only way this could go wrong is if the cyclist had to stop suddenly, or go uphill, or downhill, or over a bump. Sounds fine to us.
It’s a great gift for that friend who likes to take slow rides on completely flat roads with no traffic, rather than headcase commuter cyclists who think they’re in the Thunderdome; after all, second-degree burns are for life, not just for Christmas. $20, ridepdw.com
Gifts from Manchester & Liverpool
While we can thank the internet for a lot of things (cats, gifs of Drake dancing, etc), there's something about online shopping that can feel a bit soulless, a bit empty. Shopping IRL can reap many a gift you won't find anywhere else, so it pays to keep things local.
Craft beer fans can head to Manchester brewery Cloudwater Brew Co. for 'Saturdays at Cloudwater' – a tour and tasting at its Piccadilly HQ. Though tucked away under the railway arches, this boutique operation sells its wares in some of the North West's best craft beer venues including Manchester's Port Street and Tall Boys in Leeds, so your foodie pal is probably already a fan. It's free, but it's the thought that counts. cloudwaterbrew.co/events
Shelfie lovers everywhere will do worse than Joseph Hartley's wonderfully minimal ceramics this Christmas. Clean, simple, but always practical; this Manchester maker's goods are the ideal choice for design fans. His latest collection, 'The Makery' is designed to complement making and eating bread at home, and, like a good sourdough, is created using only 3 ingredients: wood, clay and cloth. Available at various stockists including Trove, Manchester and Bluecoat Display Centre, Liverpool.
Now, what's better than cake? That's right, MULTIPLE CAKES. Why not give the gift that keeps on giving, with a regular delivery of your loved one's favourite local pastry? Liverpool legends Baltic Bakehouse offer a bespoke order and pick-up service, while over in Manchester, NQ favourites Common will deliver its now-cult doughnut boxes direct to your desk or office. Hello obesity! balticbakehouse.co.uk; aplacecalledcommon.co.uk
Scottish Food and Drink Gifts
Let's not be local for localism's sake – a hometown Christmas present is great, but it’s important not to lose the sense of novelty that’s key to any good gift.
What you need is a foodie Christmas present that has a local angle, but is also reasonably off-the-wall – such as a bottle of rum endorsed by the lovely lads from Glasgow's very own Mogwai.
The snappily-titled ‘Rockact81r’ is a 12-year-old demerara from Guyana’s award-winning Diamond Distillery, available exclusively through Good Spirits Co. in Glasgow. It also packs a 50% a.b.v., so it’ll definitely encourage some festive jollity. Gift now, prepare for attempted singalongs to vocal-free passages from Mr Beast later. £55, thegoodspiritsco.com
If you’re looking for a quaffable gift without the rock element, you could do worse than heading to Demijohn. The Edinburgh and Glasgow “liquid deli” sell all manner of liquids, from bespoke liqueurs and spirits through to oils, vinegars and jams.
The set-up is straightforward enough; pick your receptacle, have it filled with whatever takes your fancy, drink the contents, then take it back to the shop and decide what to fill it with next. It’s a gift with genuine longevity, and people like those. Victoria St, Edinburgh; Byres Rd, Glasgow; demijohn.co.uk
For a Christmas gift that can be taken into the office without provoking a disciplinary, try the Eteaket tea club. The Edinburgh teamongers send out a bumper package of a different loose leaf tea every month, provide copious notes on what’s in that month’s cuppa, and throw in a snazzy polka dot teapot to make sure friends and colleagues know what’s up. Tea’s up, that’s what. £69 for six months, eteaket.co.uk
And if you’re still stuck for a gift for the sweet-toothed on your Christmas list, Gillian Kyle’s range of Tunnock’s-themed homeware features something for everyone.
Seriously, that’s not just patter – this range is outrageous. Teacake on a tote bag? Check. Apron emblazoned with a Caramel Wafer? There are two to choose from. Two!
Mugs, notepads, biscuit tins, and – brace yourself – a £1500 armchair are all on offer, decked out in the livery of Scotland’s greatest chocolate-based export. Choose wisely. gilliankyle.com, available at various stockists including Papyrus & Felix and Oscar, Glasgow; The Edinburgh Bookshop & Blackwell’s, Edinburgh.