Holiday Gift Guide: For The Total Foodie

Finally it is time for my fourth and final instalment of my Holiday Gift Guides this year, this time for The Total Foodie. I’m glad that so many of you have found them helpful! If you’ve still got a fair bit of Christmas shopping to do, you can click through to browse my guides For The Total Bookworm, For Him and For The Londoner. Happy shopping! (Oh, I’ve written another foodie gift guide this year elsewhere that should be published soon, I’ll be sure to link you in when it does go live, though I’m sorry to say it is behind a paywall.)

Star Shaped Cookie Cutter: £1 / $3.35 | Vintage Ball Mason Jar: £9.95 / $18.99 (for 6) | Top With Cinnamon by Izy Hossack: £16.10 / $22.29 | Sohocello: £27 | Ottolenghi Nougat: £6.75 | Set of 4 Metal Measuring Cups: £14 | Pinot Noir Flake Salt: £4.95 | Small Wooden Neon Chopping Board: £17.47

While this years foodie gift guide seems to be a bit kitchen equipment heavy, I have taken the time to include a few treats. Everything from Ottolenghi is always fantastic, so their nougat would make a great stocking filler. A bit more of a main gift, I’m head over heels this year for the Sohocello that came about through a chance collaboration (it was forged at a festival) between William Chase and the boys over at Pizza Pilgrims. I can tell you it is pretty unique and delicious, because both Pizza Pilgrims brothers seem intent on getting me a little tipsy on it (both in chilled shot glasses and by way of the granita from their Carnaby Street branch) every time I pop in to say hi! 

Not pictured above, if you want to do something a little bit different this year by way of a Christmas hamper, the wonderful Selina who runs the Taste Mauritius supper clubs and cooking classes has put together a great Mauritian number this year that includes a Mauritian toasted curry powder mix, pink peppercorns, fresh Mauritian vanilla, homemade infused rum, some delicious sounding fresh coconut sweets, and lots of other delicious sounding goodies. You can check out the hampers and order here. Also, a few months ago I discovered a monthly brownie subscription club. Need I say more? You can get one month for £9.97, 3 months for £24.99 and 6 months for £43.99.

Now, my favourite thing about receiving Christmas gifts, is getting lots of new cookbooks to read. This year I wholeheartedly want to recommend my friend Izy’s brilliant book Top With Cinnamon.  Not only is is beautifully photographed, but here recipes are good for everyday treats, something I think a lot of books are lacking. So far my favourite recipes from it include her famous Swedish Chocolate Cake (both made to her recipe and made gluten free with ground almonds in place of the flour), her Tuna Salad with Blackened Tomatoes and her dangerously more-ish Sweet + Spicy Roasted Chickpeas. 

Also on the cookbook recommendations from this year we have Joy The Baker’s new book Homemade Decadence from which I’m already a big fan of the Lemon Bars and the  Brown Sugar-Cream Cheese Ice Cream, but so it does not look like I’m just recommending books written by my friends, I also really want to tell you about another new favourite book of mine from this year, Honey & Co. You can read my review of it here, but I still stand by everything I said that this is a good Middle Eastern foundations cooking book with lots of exciting, bright, vibrant and really accessible projects in. 

I’ve been pretty obsessed with everything in mason jars since I started collecting them from my favourite juice bar in Los Angeles. These vintage ones would make a great gift for any cook or baker, but if your friend is more of a cocktail person, have you seen that mason jar cocktail shaker yet? Also from across the pond, if you have any keen bakers among your friends who may want to try their hand at some American recipes you might want to get them this good, practical set of cup measures which will be so much better to bake with than all of those novelty ones you can usually find here in the UK. 

I hope you’ve found my gift guides helpful, and that shopping for your friends and loved ones is going well. Stay tuned for some more Christmas content this month (did you see my Christmas Granola?) as I have some really exciting things planned, including a showstopper, alternative Christmas cake that will make a fantastic centrepiece to any festive tea! 

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