Gift Guide: Fathers Day 2015

If, like me, you still have not managed to pick up a Fathers Day present yet (I have the card though, I did that ages ago!) I’ve put together a few picks of things that I have tried out recently, given as gifts to my Dad for Christmas and his birthday that he has enjoyed, and that I have found online from brands that I absolutely adore and trust implicitly. I hope some of this is helpful – I’m hopefully off to Canterbury to pick something out this afternoon, fingers crossed I’ll be able to find something fun for someone who already has everything!

Chinatown Kitchen: £10 | Mrs. Middleton’s Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil 250ml: £7 | Oakley Sunglasses: £110 | Chase English Potato Gin & Vodka Trio: £19.99 | Emma Bridgewater ‘Dad is the Best’ Mug: £19.95 | Charbonnel et Walker Dark Chocolate Enrobed Ginger Sticks: £12.50 | Dualit Barista Coffee Kit: £22.50

In the kitchen (this is a food blog after all!) something that has been trialled over the past week by both myself and my own Father (as this is a Fathers Day Gift Guide!) are the cold pressed rapeseed oils made by Mrs. Middleton in Bedfordshire. They were kind enough to send us a few to try, and while I will admit to not having opened their standard oil yet, this is only because I’ve become slightly obsessed with the flavoured oils, which are some of the best I’ve ever tried. Daddy loved the garlic infused oil (it has such a great strong flavour) with his mushrooms, and I’ve used it in both salad dressings to add a garlicky flavour and to make some homemade garlic croutons out of leftover bread. I’ve also been enjoying their quite spicy chilli oil in pasta salads, and when I run out and re-order, I’m going to be sure to try their lemon oil as well. You can buy all of their oils on their website, or you can check out their list of stockists here. It includes a lot of great places to buy in London, and for those of you local to me here in Kent, my beloved local brunch spot KITCH in Canterbury. 

On the hot drinks side of things, I gave both of my parents personalised Emma Bridgewater mugs for Christmas and they have become firm family favourites. They have some great Fathers Day designs, but personally if I were buying another I’d go for this ‘Dad is the Best’ number. To go in the mug, when I was in Los Angeles I’d sometimes take my laptop and work out of Intelligentsia in Venice. There, I was fascinated watching the barista’s make the pretty drinks with all their different equipment (I’m not a coffee drinker), so I think having a kit at home would be the perfect gift if your Father is a coffee person. 

Another gift Daddy had this year (for his birthday) was the newly released cookbook Chinatown Kitchen by Lizzie Mabbott. I’d actually planned to buy the book for myself (I’d heard a lot about the book prior to publication as Lizzie and I share the same literary agent) but while I was looking for something for him in Waterstones (in this house all three of us can cook very well, but my Father is the undisputed king of both the wok and the barbecue) and I flipped through the book, I knew it would be perfect for him. It would fulfil his curiosity about all sorts of Asian ingredients, but also provide something a little different from all the other oriental cookbooks he has. With recipes like Chinese Fried Chicken, Caramel Pork Belly, Udon Carbonara and Cola Chicken Wings (the recipe that made me buy the book) I think it is the perfect gift for Dad cooking. Also, Lizzie’s recipe for Beef in Black Bean Sauce from the book has already become a firm family favourite.

On a final note, I’ve known about Beer 52 for a while now but I don’t think I’ve got around to telling you about it yet! It is a craft beer discovery club that brings you a selection of exclusive, small batch craft beers to sample each month which frankly sounds ideal for anyone who likes to try out various different brews rather than just sticking to a tried and tested favourite. They work with other 12,000 different micro breweries, and you can give a gift delivery for either 1, 3, 6 or 12 months, with the prices starting at £24, going up to £252 for the whole year. You can click through to their website for more information. 

I hope some of you have managed to find this guide useful, and it helps you get a few of your last minute gift dilemmas sorted before it becomes too late to even get next day delivery! Alternatively, if you really do leave it too late and you either still live at home or you’re visiting your Father for Fathers Day, perhaps making him breakfast would be a lovely touch? Can I recommend my Dippy Eggs with Anchovy Butter Soldiers? 

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