Christmas Gift Guide Week pt. II: Food and Cooking

With Christmas fast approaching, this week sees Tempus compile the best gifts to grab for a family member, a friend – or even yourself. From Monday to Friday, we will be looking at the best luxury gift items available in categories ranging from indulgent food and drink to stunning design pieces for your house. In this second instalment, we hit the kitchen for a mixture of the best food and cooking items for those of a gastronomic bent.

The kitchen is a sacred place for many. It can be anything from a cosy space within which you bond with friends and family over something cooked up in an hour, to an otherworldly laboratory where gastronomy enters uncharted territory as we channel our inner Heston Blumenthal. 

For those who love to cook – or eat, for that matter – Tempus has compiled a list of the best luxury items available to buy for Christmas 2021, from chocolates to cheese to incredible seafood hampers.

The Festive Feast Christmas Hamper from Hotel Chocolat

The ultimate chocolatey hamper for 2021 comes courtesy of Hotel Chocolat; from caramels and chocolates to tipples to luxury biscuits, there is something for everyone and any time of the day.

Contained within this extraordinary package is everything from decadent Milky Hot Chocolat and rich Chocolate Macarons to the more adult-friendly House Prosecco and Chocolat Cream Liqueur.

HMF01 Hand Mixer by SMEG

The neat, compact design of the new HMF01 Hand Mixer from SMEG is the ultimate model for those with limited kitchen space; whether you’re an aspiring baker or even enjoy cooking up a storm in the kitchen, this small but powerful 250W appliance offers all the features you need to whip cream, mix up batters and small batches of dough.

The Hand Mixer packs a number of exciting features into its sleek design with a focus on function and accessibility so users can whisk away with ease. Included are three attachments: wire whisks, beaters and dough hooks, plus a cloth storage bag for their safe keeping.

Truffle Caviar from Petrossian

Only available from November, this brand-new offering from French luxury food retailer Petrossian is an innovative play on textures; melt in the mouth caviar meets the bite of truffle.

This decadent experiment brings notes of iodine and hazelnut from the Ossetra caviar, followed by the rugged earthiness of truffle. Presented in a sleek black tin, this is one extremely stylish culinary treat.

The Emissary Mince Pies by Signorelli

Created as part of a collaboration with The Emissary Prosecco, these mince pies from Signorelli are made with the family-run Italian bakery’s signature shortcrust pastry and mincemeat infused with The Emissary Asolo Prosecco Superiore DOCG 2020. 

The latest in the line-up of high quality, imaginative, and delicious baked treats from the bakery, each pack of six mince pies comes accompanied by a bottle of The Emissary Prosecco.

Luxury Christmas Cheeseboard from Field & Flower

This incredible Christmas Cheeseboard from Field & and Flower is an excellent choice for cheese connoisseurs and novices alike, with a carefully selected mix of premium British cheese.

The selection picked by the brand include Keens Cheddar, Simon Weaver Blue, Truffle Bomb and Tunworth, among many other indulgent choices for you and your friends and family to share.

Cracking Christmas Seafood Hamper by Wright Bros Ltd.

This superb seafood hamper makes a perfect gift for two, and an ideal treat for friends or family that enjoy their oysters; this selection includes a dozen of Wright Brothers' Jersey oysters as well as a gorgeous wooden handle oyster knife.

Each box also contains two artisan sauces from The Bay Tree: 'Hot Horseradish' and 'Delightful Dill & Mustard' to enjoy with the smoked salmon and gravadlax and blinis to serve. It's a fishy feast!

Selection Box by Eaten Alive Hot Sauce

Eaten Alive is the award-winning fermented foods producer created by two former Michelin starred chefs, and has this year launched its first ‘Hot Sauce Selection Box’ featuring all seven of its best-selling and deliciously addictive fermented hot sauces – all bursting with flavour and the good bacteria that helped create them.

An explosively brilliant gift for fermented food fans and spice lovers, the pack includes the full Eaten Alive hot sauce line up – each has varied heat and all with unique flavours, carefully crafted and fermented with a match for every occasion: Smoked Sriracha, Cacao and Lime, Scotch Bonnet, Preserved Lemon, Lime & Jalapeno, Extra Hot Scotch Bonnet and the Kimchi hot sauce.

Signature Book Oak Chef’s Set with Sharpener from Robert Welch

Every home-cook or professional chef will appreciate a set of knives; choosing the right kitchen knives makes preparing a meal easier, helps food cook evenly and improves the look and texture of a flavoured dish. 

This gorgeous chef’s set includes a Signature Santoku Knife, a Signature Kitchen Knife and a Signature Vegetable/Paring Knife, as well as a hand-held sharpener to keep blades in top condition.

Panettone by Dolce&Gabbana and Fiasconaro

Is this the most luxurious cake out there? Crafted as part of a collaboration between Sicilian dessert dynasty Fiasconaro and iconic fashion house Dolce & Gabbana, this year sees the return of the pair's legendary luxury Panettone.

The cake, which is served in a gorgeous tin as per Italian tradition, comes in three flavours; Sicilian Almond, Agli Agrumi & Zafferano and Vino Perpetuo Samperi.

Cook Expert from Magimix

Ever dreamt of having your very own personal sous-chef to make everyday cooking feel less like a chore? The Magimix Cook Expert provides an extremely versatile helping hand in the kitchen and gets on with the chopping, slicing, stirring and cooking, so you can get on with being the culinary sensation you always wanted to be.

For beginners and aspiring chefs, the Cook Expert is a multifunctional cooking food processor which has been designed to take on numerous tasks in the kitchen effortlessly.

Truly Magnificent Christmas Hamper from Dukeshill

One of the most impressive hampers on the market this Christmas, the Truly Magnificent offering from Dukeshill contains an astonishing 39 luxury items spread across two 20" wicker baskets with fashionable leather straps.

Inside, those lucky enough to get their hands on one of these will be treated to such savoury delights as a St. George's boneless ham, sliced oak smoked salmon side and Colston Bassett Stilton, as well as sweet tidbits including an extra large Christmas pudding, Christmas cake, chocolate selection and 18 mince pies in an array of flavours. And if that wasn't enough, also included is a bottle of Louis Roederer Brut Premier Champagne, Nuit St Georges, Chablis Grand Cru, Barolo and Vintage Port 2004.

DIY Sushi Roll Party Kit from Japan Centre

Bring family and friends together this Christmas with Japan Centre’s Sushi Roll DIY Kit, containing all the ingredients you need to make a stonking sushi dinner at home.

This DIY Party Kit contains enough to feed four, and includes 32 pieces of spicy tuna & avocado norimaki sushi, another 32 pieces of salmon and avocado norimaki, four servings of Sake Flights, four matcha green tea and Belgian white chocolate cookies and four sakura cherry blossom and Belgian white chocolate cookies for dessert.

Thermapen ONE by Thermapen

Thermapen, the UK’s best-selling digital meat thermometer, is back with a new and improved cooking thermometer designed specifically for expert cooks looking to stage the best Christmas dinner their kitchens have ever seen.

With a one second temperature recording and rotating digital display, the Thermapen ONE is a fast and accurate way to create amazing tasting, safe food. It has all the benefits of the Thermapen Classic, including a case with Biomaster Antimicrobial Technology and a battery saving motion sensor, with the addition of a new white backlight to make reading temperature easier than ever.

Large Meat Box from Parson's Nose

For the meat-lover in your life, the Large Meat Box from London butcher Parson's Nose is a mammoth celebration of all things meaty, containing enough ingredients make sure everyone gets a taste.

The meats come straight from the butcher's counter and include one medium Sutton Hoo free range chicken, four Sutton Hoo free range chicken breasts, 12 Parson's Nose pork sausages, 1kg prime Scottish chuck steak mince and much, much more.

Cartografie Christmas Collection

Cartografie’s new limited edition chocolate box contains eight single origin couvetures filled with a bespoke ganache created by our chocolatier just for the festive season. 

But flavour isn't the only thing up Cartografie's sleeve; the brand describes itself as a "chocolate company with a conscience"; not only does it produce Michelin-star quality handmade single origin chocolates, it also cares deeply about sustainability, biodiversity, and ethics.