07 Oct Top Foodie Gifts For 2014
My top five foodie picks for Christmas – It seems to be becoming more and more difficult to find interesting presents for foodies these days. A self-confessed foodie cannot wait till their birthday or Christmas to get the latest gadget. Essentials for their drive to improve their skills triggered by the many cookery and baking programmes and visits to mind-blowing top notch and off the beaten track restaurants. They’re keen to sample the latest food, delve into the latest cookery book and visit the destinations seen on TV.
So what is hot this year? What are the Top Foodie Gifts for 2014? I came across a very interesting list on the Telegraph’s website the other day. So what are my top five picks of the Telegraph’s 30 gifts for foodies?
1. Rent a row of grapes of St. Emilion Grand Cru vines
For the lover of wine, who secretly is daydreaming of having his own vineyard? Buying one of those prestigious pieces of land with these vine beauties probably would push the boat a bit too far, but for £159.97 you can surprise a foodie with a row of vines in the Bordeaux wine-growing region. Included in the package are bottles from vintage years, a wine thermometer and a personalised tour of the vineyard. Find out more here
2. A work in Progress by René Redzepi from Noma
For the aspiring chef, who likes to experiment and is secretly trying to compete with the big names. Give your foodie an insight into creations of one of the top chefs in the world come together from his journal, the recipes and snapshots. For £39,95 they will get an insight in a year in the life of René’s famous restaurant Noma. Find out more here
3. Linen Me Red Striped Linen Cotton Basket Jazz
This Scandinavian inspired basket should be in every Foodies house. I have had one for many years and it is perfect to keep your bread warm. It’s lovely to watch your guests opening up the basket and checking out which surprises lie ahead of them. Perfect to stack lots of baguettes in there too as it can hold quite a few. For £6.49 you can get a lovely bright ‘Linen Me Red Striped Linen Cotton Basket Jazz’. Find out more here
4. Sous Vide Water Oven
For the Foodie, who likes to preserve flavours. Sous vide cooking seems to be one of the newest trends at the moment. Less is truer though. It became very popular in the 80tish as part of the Nouvelle Cuisine movement. I was fortunate enough to be introduced to this during this time. Surprisingly it has taken almost 30 years to enter the domestic market too. The advantage of Sous Vide cooking is preserving flavours and easier cooking. All food is cooked to low temperature in a bag so flavours are preserved and meat and fish only have to be seared once cooked. Also very good for ‘Au Bain Marie’ cooking. For £359.95 you will get the Sous Vide Water Oven, but you will need to spend another approx. £135 on a vacuum sealer and vacuum bags. Find out more here
5. Chocolate Ecstasy Tour
I was very pleased to spot a food tour on the Telegraph’s 30 gifts for foodies. Food Tours are the new way of exploring destinations for foodies. Getting under the skin of a city is exploring the local food scene too. Most Food Tours have in common, that they will share areas with you where locals like to hang out. You can look forward to good food, interesting areas and less touristy areas. More and more you see ‘locals and semi-locals’ exploring their nearby cities and towns. Vouchers for our Cambridge Food Tours are very popular as birthday gifts and Christmas presents. Many will come away afterwards finally having been introduced to the amazing offering of Cambridge.
We always include some sweet fixes too. One of them is a chocolate one. If you are looking for the ultimate Chocolate fix, then the Chocolate Ecstasy Tour for £45 in London is what you are looking for. The three-hour tours for chocoholics are run by Jennifer Earle and her team since 2005. They will introduce you to some of the finest chocolate shops in London’s Mayfair and Chelsea. Find out more
Eat Your Way Through Cambridge
A perfect gift for local or semi-local foodies and for visitors to Cambridge. A voucher for the Cambridge Food Tour is ‘One Of The Best Foodie Gifts In Cambridge’ or as people say on Tripadvisor ‘Must do for a Foodie!’. Many visitors or locals don’t get beyond the colleges, but there is so much more than just Kings Parade and the Grand Arcade. We’ll make our way from the Historic centre of Cambridge to the lesser known parts and introduce you to an array of interesting local and international food and on our Classic Food Tour to interesting English tipples too. Vouchers are available from £ 10.
Gerla
We are the local experts in creating unique food tours and events with an in-depth knowledge of the local Cambridge food scene and close partnerships with local businesses.
