Not everyone goes crackers for sugary Christmas goodies – indeed, some would rather their crackers came accompanied by a nice chunk of cheese. This part of our gourmet gift guide is devoted to those devoid of a sweet tooth.

It’s highly likely even the greediest gourmet will have had their fill of festive edibles by the time gift-opening rolls around. So how about presenting them with a bit of kit that’ll help them cook up something special once they get their appetite back?

Bobby Chinn will open his new London restaurant – The House of Ho – on Monday, 6 January 2014 on London’s gayest street, Old Compton Street, in Soho for dinner only and with a preview menu offering a 50% discount on the food, but full price for drinks.

At Christmas, London’s diners and hostelries pull out all the stops and guarantee revelry to rival anything the capital’s seen before. Here’s a selection to start the merriment. But carouse with caution: over-indulge. and you’ll not only have the sort of season you’ve never seen before, but will end up seeing it double. 

Christmas is a time of sublime excess bordering on the ridiculous. No matter how many mince pies you munch, or if you go back for seconds, thirds and fourths of festive fare til you bust your belt, you still end up binning more than you bargained for.

Balthazar has done well in its short existence, despite a bit of sniffiness from some critical quarters. You can’t argue with bums on seats though; ask any restaurant owner –  great reviews or a full restaurant? There’s no prizes for guessing the answer.

Dalston street food venture Night Tales ends on Saturday night, after a successful run. Marcus goes along to see what the fuss is about, and to see whether it’s worth the trip.

Street Feast has been all the rage in trendy Dalston for the past five weekends. With a final weekend of street food left, Marcus checks it out and find out whether it’s worth a visit.

Christmas is heaven for wannabe-GBBO contestants; the time when your kitchen (or at least every in-house supermarket bakery) emits a fug of spicy, buttery, cakey goodness. Stop mainlining mince pies, though – there’s a world of feative bakes beyond. Buy to give, or just to gorge, these are all gorgeous….

Chocoholics, hark! From gin to gingerbread; cocoa craft ale to Creole chutney, the brown stuff’s found it’s way into every food and beverage you could imagine this Christmas.