Christmas gifts for food lovers

Christmas Market 2020

Local Food Britain is launching its first virtual Christmas Market, from Saturday December 5 to Friday December 18, in a bid to support independent food and drink producers in the south east of England.

Local foodie flavours

From a slowly matured, free-range turkey to indulgent handmade puddings via a British cheese board selection and English sparkling wine, you can put quite the Christmas dinner spread on using only Local Food Britain members’ delicious produce. Here are a few ideas to help impress your friends and family this festive season. Enjoy!

Drinks cabinet

• At Denbies Wine Estate in Dorking (pictured above), you can take advantage of their Christmas Unwrapped gift pack which features four wines specially selected from their premium wine range to accompany your festive dining. £84.95.
• Or how about speaking to Albury Organic Vineyard near Guildford, where you can pick up a Taste of Surrey gift pack. The box contains a bottle of Albury Estate sparkling wine, a champagne stopper, a bag of locally made Kokoh chocolates, and a jar of Albury Honey made by bees that live on the vineyard. £53.95.
• Greyfriars Vineyard near Guildford have great Surrey Hills gift sets with a bottle of your choice and a couple of their Greyfriars glasses all neatly boxed up. Why not add a gift voucher too? 
• Ambriel Sparkling are set to release their new Blanc de Noirs 2015 in November and then, just in time for Christmas, there will be a limited release of special "Cloud Ten” 2010 magnums, which have been 10 years in the making.
• Know a beer lover who prefers a new experience and flavour with every bottle? Well Hop Stop in Reigate and Oxted is the place to head. Their lovely little shop and bar are stocked with their handpicked beers from around the world, including a number of local offerings too.
• Godstone Brewers famously produce their Santa's Tipple, a festively indulgent ESB, at this time of the year. A potent and tasty stocking filler! 
• With two beers, a branded glass and a pair of tour vouchers included, Dorking Brewery's Gift Pack is perfect for the beer lover in your life at just under £30.
• Crumbs Brewing in Reigate (pictured below) has just relaunched its Coffee Rye Porter, which is made using spent coffee grounds from the Chalk Hills Bakery shop.

Great reads

• Written to assist the Campaign for British Artisan Cheese, Gimblett’s Guide to the Best of British Cheese by Francis Gimblett is a comprehensive account of eighty of Britain’s finest cheesemakers, including cheesemaker biographies and details of over 230 of their cheeses. You may remember that Francis embarked on a ‘100 cheesemakers in 100 days’ adventure last year to research this book.

A winter picnic

• Mandira's Kitchen's winter picnics are a fabulous way to enjoy the Surrey Hills. Each two-person picnic comes with an insulated tiffin box full of piping hot biriyani, a thermos full of freshly brewed chai, coffee or a warming mulled gin and crisp samosas. A perfect foodie adventure gift to treat someone special. Just remember to BYOB (bring your own blanket!).

Gift inspiration

• Sussex Gourmand(pictured above) is a great place to start if you're looking to put together something delicious for a foodie loved one. Their hampers are carefully curated to make the most of Sussex grass-fed beef bresaola and wild venison bresaola. Their Taste of Sussex hamper included cured meats; responsibly farmed smoked salmon; two bottles of outstanding wine (international medal-winners); three cheeses; fresh pesto (perfect with the venison); and a pack of gourmet thins made with organic flours and butter.
• Charlie’s Trout in Sussex has an Ultimate Collection hamper featuring a 500g pack of Charlie’s Cold Oak Smoked Trout, a bottle of Wiston Estate Cuvée 2015, two tubs of handmade Smoked Trout Paté, mouth-watering handmade Trout Fishcakes and more for £94.75.
• High Weald Dairy’s Christmas Deluxe selection box includes a minimum of 700g of cheeses presented in a festive gift box. It typically contains the likes of Brighton Blue, Cranberry Marble, Smoked Ashdown Forester’s, Truffle Ewe and Tremains Cheddar, but they have plenty of options. £28. 
• As well as their delicious preserves and honey, Epsom's Jam Packed Preserves do a great line in limited edition Christmas crackers. 

• As most people have been less able to travel this year, Margot & Montañez have decided to bring South America to Surrey with their Escape to South-America Christmas Hampers. Curated by Jen, the hampers contain a selection of authentic, tasty and unique South-American products made by her and fellow UK-based  Latin entrepreneurs.
• Buy the coffee lover in your life a subscription or experience with Chimney Fire Coffee at Ranmore Common. They've even got a Christmas Discovery Coffee this year with hints of brandy, ginger and baking spices. 
• McLaren Fine Foods in Weybridge have a wide selection of hampers available packed with artisanal products, including their own delicious homemade offerings. 
• Rowdy and Fancy’s(pictured below) has teamed up with Sussex artist Louise Mulgrew to create a new Christmas range of chocolates and cards. 50p from each bar goes to Sussex Homeless Support.

Become a masterchef

• The only thing better than freshly baked bread is bread freshly baked by you - that's what Jack Sturgess, the dynamic young baker behind Bake With Jack, wants to show you. While his workshops and courses are on hold for the time being, Jack has bread making equipment bundles and digital gift cards available on his website.  
• Quince House Cookery School in Limpsfield Chart is owned and run by Katharine Eldridge, who trained at Woking’s Tante Marie School of Cookery. You can purchase her gift vouchers or a Quince House Cookery Book to send to your foodie friends who are always eager to learn.
• As well as making award-winning real bread, Ruth of Ruth's Little Kitchen enjoys welcoming guests to workshops in her little kitchen (or online!) including food styling courses, introductions to afternoon tea, pasta making and artisan bread showcases.
• Born out of a passion for local produce and seasonal ingredients, The Salt Box has set out on an adventure to bring people together through food and fire from their home at Priory Farm in Surrey. Just in time for Christmas, they have launched a brand new online shop full of signature seasonings, t-shirts and mugs and gift vouchers for their supper clubs and woodland cookery courses.