Welcome to Experience Gifts' Christmas Gift Guide for Foodies!
We all know a self-proclaimed ‘foodie’: The people who live to eat, rather than eat to live. In their spare time you’ll find them out at the latest exciting restaurant or cooking up a feast in the kitchen.
Yes, we know that everyone likes food. Obviously, we need it to survive, and we’ve also been eating it our whole lives (groundbreaking stuff.)
But for some, food can take on a different level of passion. I once spent a good five minutes describing the particular complex, earthy, yet citrus-y taste of a certain verity of lettuce, while my friend looked at me with a blank, uninterested stare.
I understand that purchasing gifts for someone with different interests to you isn’t always the easiest task. If you don’t know your Bourdain from your Batali, or your Yakitori from your Asado, then this is the guide for you.
With a wide selection, we’ll be telling you the hottest foodie books, the most revolutionary kitchen gadgets, the best novelty gifts and of course, the best experience gifts that any foodie will look forward to receiving this Christmas.
Books for Foodies:
Cooking at Home - David Chang & Priya Krishna - From £8.30
David Chang is quite a big name in food, with four award winning restaurants, several TV series, and multiple features in big YouTube videos such as Buzzfeed’s Worth It, we can only assume that he knows his stuff when it comes to cooking.
His previous cookbooks have focused mainly on his Korean American background, with meticulous recipes, utilizing the best ingredients available. However, Cooking at Home takes a bit of a turn, instead the tagline for this book is ‘learn how to think like a chef, who’s learnt to stop thinking like a chef’.
This collab book with Priya Krishna, based on both their mum’s style of home cooking, is perfect for anyone who wants to cut some corners for their midweek meals, without having to sacrifice on flavour. Learn how to adapt, substitute and shortcut like a chef!
The Female Chef: 30 Women Redefining Food by Clare Finney & Liz Sea Brook - From £22.75
Not all food focused literature has to be about cooking! When you’re obsessed with every aspect of the restaurant scene, keeping up to date with the chefs behind the food is a great past time.
As food enthusiasts, we tend to admire chefs like popstars. Sometimes we’ve been hooked on an inspirational journey the chef took to get where they are now; other times it’s simply their unique and exciting cooking style.
The Female Chef tells the story of 30 different women in food who are redefining the British food scene. With a quick glance at the Michelin chef list, you’ll be able to quickly see that this is typically a male-dominated profession, but this book pays respect to the women who have managed to break through.
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love - From £20.89
A safe cookbook choice for any food lover is always going to be the latest addition to Ottolenghi’s top tier range. I’m yet to find an Ottolenghi book that hasn’t impressed me. Like the previously mentioned David Chang cookbook, Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Shelf Love aims to get you using more basic, at home ingredients that you’ll have to hand in your cupboard for an extra special midweek meal.
With a strong focus on what you can substitute for what, this book aims to not only teach you great recipes, but the right way to go about creating your own, and how to test different ingredients - whether it’s subbing a new cheese or a new spice in place of what the recipe originally calls for, this book is sure to excite anyone with a love of experimenting in the kitchen.
Experience Gifts:
Roast Dinner Canal Cruise in Skipton - From £64.00 (for 2)
Roast dinner on a canal cruise? What's not to love!
Britain's favourite meal has been given an upgrade on this scenic sightseeing experience in Skipton, inviting guests onto a quaint canal boat for a gourmet cruise through the North Yorkshire countryside.
The tour lasts three hours, during which time guests are served a roast lunch of beef, potatoes, veg, Yorkshire puddings, and lashings of gravy, plus dessert to finish!
Comforting food with a beautiful view - you’ll be hard pushed to find someone that wouldn’t love to receive this for Christmas!
There's also a cash bar on board so you can dine in style with a great selection of wine, draught beers, and soft drinks. If you want to treat someone to a next level roast for the new year, the Skipton Roast Dinner Cruise is the perfect experience gift!
Glenkinchie Distillery Tour with Lunch & Whisky Pairing - From £75.00
When it comes to famous distilleries in Scotland, this Glenkinchie Distillery Tour is up there with the best! It’s also one of the oldest, making it a fantastic place to visit for anyone interested in the history of whisky and the distilling processes of yesteryear.
A guided tour is the safest way to make the most of your time, joining a knowledgeable guide who will regale you with fascinating stories and entertaining information – plus you’ll be treated to a traditional Scottish three-course lunch with whisky pairings (the literal dream for any food and whisky lover)!
Scottish cuisine, history and culture is all on the menu during this tour, and Glenkinchie Distillery is the perfect place to enjoy it all.
East End London Food & Drink Tour - £65.00
Food tours are hands-down my favourite way to explore a city, regardless of whether it's your first time visiting, or you've lived there your entire life!
On this tasty three-hour London's East End Tour, an expert local guide will take you on a journey through six establishments for food and beverages that represent the best of London’s diverse culinary scene. Think giant Yorkshire puddings, Spanish pintxos, Indian pakoras, craft beer, and lots more.
This is the perfect gift for anyone travelling distance from London. It gives them an excuse to explore the city without the fear of making a bad food choice (always a constant worry in my mind).
Chocolate Lollipop Making Experience In York - From £5.00
This inexpensive stocking-filler experience gift is a great option for any chocoholic in your life, or perhaps the ever-confounding Secret Santa.
This thirty minute Chocolate Lollipop Making Workshop will show your giftee how to craft their own artisinal chocolate lolly-pop from scratch, applying classic chocolate making techniques to this cute and whimsical treat! Once they have dressed their lolly in sprinkles and other treats, it will go into the fridge to harden.
When their creation has set and is ready to go, they can pick up their personalised packaged treat to take home and enjoy! What's not to love?
Haggis Taster Session In Glasgow - From £19.00
This is definitely a gift for adventurous eaters - but, if you're buying for a foodie we're willing to bet they fit the bill.
This 75 minute haggis taster session will show your giftee how this authentic Scottish delicacy is made, and give them the knowledge they need to recreate their own version at home.
Revered by the national Scots poet, Rabbie Burns, the haggis, or the 'Chieftain o' the pudding race', is the most iconic Scottish dish. This inside look at the humble haggis kicks off with a demonstration of haggis making, and a talk about the history and significance of the dish in Scottish culture.
While your giftee learns more, the master haggis maker will show them how to dish up the ultimate haggis with the traditional accompaniments of neeps and tatties (that's turnips and potatoes to non-Scots).
Their experience ends with a chance to have a taste of fresh haggis, cooked to perfection and served with its classic side dishes.
Oxford River Picnic Cruise - From £69.00
If they're a foodie, the chances are your giftee has impeccable taste when it comes to where they choose to dine. That's where this Oxford River Picnic Cruise comes in.
There's no better setting for a delicious picnic than on the Thames in Oxford. During their three hour culinary excursion, they'll cruise past university boat houses and idyllic meadows while they tuck into a freshly prepared feast of sandwiches, quiches, scones and sweet treats served in a traditional picnic basket.
This Oxford picnic cruise is led by an expert skipper, so all they need to do is sit back, relax and tuck in.
Solent River Half Day Sailing Trip In The New Forest - From £149.00
Speaking of food in magnificent settings...
This Solent yacht trip is a cut above your average excursion, with sparkling wine on arrival and unparalleled views of the South coast.
Your giftee will feel the sea breeze in their hair as the captain takes them along the Solent and around the Isle of Wight. The incredibly impressive 'foodie' element of this gift comes in the form of a freshly prepared two course meal served on deck while anchored on the Isle of Wight.
They can tuck in to the chef-made meal while they look out on the gentle waves. This is a foodie Christmas gift that they'll be talking about for years to come!
Higher Quality Kitchen Gifts:
WiFi iVide: Sous Vide Cooker - From £107.50
Sous vide machines use expert technology to keep water at a consistent temperature, to cook meat slow and low, resulting in a tender cut, that still holds its structure.
This nifty sous vide cooker is adapted to not take up too much space in the kitchen (always a plus for anyone who has more gadgets than they do space), allowing your giftee to use the temperature stick in any of their preexisting pans.
Santo Ku Knife Collection - From £249.99
Yeah, those are some expensive knives… I understand that this one may be a little out of budget for most, but if you have the money then this set of Santo Ku Knives are sure to excite anyone who loves cooking!
Some of the sharpest knives around, these are made for professional chefs, so you can bet that the quality will stand up to the price. This specific set has a unique design that I personally love, but there’s a few different styles if you want to match them to your giftee’s personality!
Food & Drink Gifts:
Pong Cheese Gift Box - From £4.95 - £49.95
I’d be quite surprised if your giftee is a self-proclaimed foodie and they don’t like cheese.
For me, there is nothing better on Christmas day than an indulgent cheeseboard, brimming with new and exciting cheeses, sprinkled with a few classic flavours.
Pong cheese deliver the best quality cheeses money can buy and put them together in an attractive box delivered in the post. We’ll admit this one might be a hard one to hide if you live in the same house. The smell might be a bit of a giveaway without the fridge!
TruffleHunter: Truffle Oil Selection - From £24.95
This makes a nice little gift or stocking filler for any truffle fan, with delicious oils that can be used in all manners of cooking, drizzling and dipping. With all three oils having a different flavour profile, from the earthy black truffle to the garlicky white truffle, this Truffle Oil Selection is a great gift for anyone who can’t get enough of the current truffle fad reaping the nation.
A great one to get vegan and vegetarians too!
Thank you for reading!
We hope you found something from our newly updated list that your food loving giftee is going to love, or at least got you in the mindset of what a food enthusiast might like to receive for Christmas.
If you’re still looking for a foodie gift, you can browse through all our Food and Drink related experiences here.
