Looking for delicious gift ideas for the foodies in your life? We’ve got you covered
Let’s be honest, Christmas is all about the food. Roasties in dripping… decadent chocolate covered nuts… big glugs of Baileys and wee drams around the fire… It’s flavour, we’d argue, that truly captures the real spirit of the festivities.
With that in mind, we’ve pulled together a gift guide for the foodies amongst you, from a selection of 100% Scottish brands – some independent, others trailblazing industry leaders. The one thing they all have in common is a commitment to culinary excellence. Bon appetit!
The Changing Tides by Roberta Hall-McCarron, £25
For cosy, seasonal dishes, add The Changing Tides to your reading list. It’s a gorgeous new cookbook by acclaimed Edinburgh chef Roberta Hall-McCarron, and draws on her childhood sailing holidays on the west coast of Scotland.
In it, she documents a culinary calendar of Scottish produce, taking in game, seafood, wild mushrooms, berries and much more, all closely following the seasons.
Roberta runs three of the capital’s most exciting eateries – The Little Chartroom, Eleanore and Ardfern – so you can expect impeccable attention to detail and a homage to incredible ingredients. Published on 7 November. £25, kitchenpress.co.uk
Feragaia 70cl, £26.35
Crafted in Fife, Feragaia‘s 0.0% ABV spirit elevates non-alcoholic drinking to new, sophisticated levels with its unique blend of 14 land & sea botanicals, including lemon verbena, blackcurrant leaf, kelp and pink peppercorn.
Gift Voucher for Margo, Glasgow, from £25
Give the gift of a night out in arguably one of Glasgow’s coolest new spots with a Margo gift voucher. From the team behind Ox and Finch and Ka Pao, the bar and restaurant embraces a flavour-led approach with a menu of snacks, small plates and sharing dishes.
Vouchers available from £25 upwards.
Idle Hands 100% Arabica Ground Coffee, £9.95
Make your morning coffee ritual that bit more luxurious with Idle Hands’ house roast, ground and ready for use in cafetières, stove-top Moka pots, pourovers and Aeropress. Perfect for long mornings in bed this Twixmas.
100% single origin Arabica from Brazil, it’s a low acidity coffee with notes of chocolate, caramel and a nuttiness that lingers on the palate.
The Macallan The Harmony Collection Single Malt Whisky, £160
Speyside whisky lovers, this one’s for you. Celebrating The Macallan’s 200 Year Anniversary, Harmony Vibrant Oak and Harmony Guardian Oak reflect the brand’s expertise in whisky making and mastery of wood, coming in beautiful bottles that make for the prettiest festive gift.
Wee Knob of Butter Honey & Cinnamon, £4.25
Dial up your turkey and roasties to decadent new levels with this artisanal butter from Glasgow company Wee Knob of Butter, which combines the natural sweetness of honey with the warm, comforting spice of cinnamon. It adds a luscious touch to baked goods or breakfast delights, too, with rich and creamy butter.
Coco Chocolatier Drinking Chocolate with Mayan Spices, £13.95
The whole family will love cosying up with this drinking chocolate from Scottish ethical chocolate producers COCO. Flavoured with Mayan spices, the single origin Colombian hot choc is delightfully smooth and incredibly moreish.
The Contini Cookbook by Carina Contini, £25
Edinburgh Italian institution Contini celebrated 20 years in business this year, culminating in this beautiful cookbook written by the co-founder, Carina.
At the award-winning restaurant, which Carina runs with her husband, Victor, all the ingredients come direct from Italy or are sourced locally – many even from their own kitchen garden.
This cookbook shares 100 tried-and-tested dishes for sharing with family and friends including small plates, soups, hearty pastas, meat, seafood dishes, salads, drinks, dolci and other treats, all authentically and deliciously Italian. Belissimo.
Angry Kulture Fermented Chrain, £5.95
Hailing from Slavic and Ashkenazi Jewish traditions, chrain is a fragrant and very festive fermented beetroot and horseradish relish with cloves – perfect for roast meats or any kind of fish. It can also be used as base for borscht, cure for gravadlax or marinade, or as an accompaniement to a cheeseboard or salad. We love this one by Angry Kulture – a trader regularly found at Bowhouse Market (more on that below!).
Bowhouse Market Grass to Grill Tours
Foodies who know their grass-fed from their unpasteurised raw milk will love Bowhouse’s Grass to Grill Tours, described as a “unique experience showcasing our organic farming processes and produce.”
Visitors can enjoy an interactive, safari-style tour of Balcaskie Estate’s regenerative farming methods, livestock, crops and wildlife habitats, before enjoying a relaxed, long-table feast featuring the best of local, seasonal produce, including meat from our Butchery, veg from East Neuk Market Garden and flatbreads from Baern Bakery.
Book your foodie friend’s space for the below dates here
- Saturday 3rd May
- Friday 6th June
- Saturday 5th July
- Friday 1st August
- Friday 22nd August
- Saturday 6th September
Bare Bones Chocolate The Award-Winning Collection, £32.50
Any foodie worth their organic salt will know Bare Bones Chocolate. Raved about by fans like Rick Stein (he said it’s the best chocolate he’s ever tried), their ultra smooth, flavoursome chocolate is a crowdpleaser. This Award-Winning Collection features a bar of each of the below to keep foodie friends going for months.
- 1 x 59% Honduras Milk with Coffee
- 1 x 70% Madagascar
- 1 x 55% Honduras Milk
- 1 x 68% Dominican Salted
- 1 x 65% Guatemala
Juno General Store Cherry + Coffee Jam, £5.50, BAM Glasgow
Cherry and coffee, doesn’t that just sound like the most delicious combo? Perfect for lumping into everything from yoghurt to croissants and toast, this jam by Juno General Store, established in 2020, makes for a great stocking filler. Made by small batch in Glasgow, Juno’s seasonal preserves include jam, marmalade and chutney.
SCOTCH: The Balmoral Guide to Scottish Whisky by Cameron Ewen and Moa Reynolds
With a stash of more than 500 single malts in its vaults, Edinburgh’s five-star Balmoral Hotel is the place for whisky connoisseurs who like the finer things in life. And it’s ready to share that knowledge via an impressive new book on the subject. Scotch: The Balmoral Guide to Scottish Whisky, penned by Balmoral bar manager Cameron Ewen and Edinburgh-based expert Moa Reynolds, will appeal to seasoned dram lovers and novices alike.
There are chapters on the basics (‘How best to drink whisky?’, ‘Is older whisky better?’, ‘Does colour matter?’), an in-depth look the country’s distilleries, and a wealth of arcane knowledge from two writers who know their subject inside out. Slainte!
Scotch: The Balmoral Guide to Scottish Whisky (£22, Mitchell Beazley)
Edinburgh Gin Christmas Gin, £32.90
Festive aromatics of cinnamon, clove and orange are classics for a reason, and here they’ve been distilled into a deliciously dry gin by Edinburgh Gin.
The spices form the warm base and it’s all balanced out by gentle citrus, warmth of clementine and mandarin peel. Deglet Nour dates bring sticky-sweet dried fruit notes, perfectly complimenting the spice and citrus, all framed by juniper.
I.J. Mellis Large Christmas Selection, £90
No festive spread is complete without a cheeseboard, and who better to source one from than Scotland’s best cheesemakers, I.J. Mellis. The Edinburgh-based artisan cheese brand have been producing award-winning cheeses since the ’90s, with this Christmas Selection a particular favourite. It has all you need for a crowdpleasing spread; chutney, biscuits and a mix of tangy and creamy cheese.
