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.
The Niftiest Gift List – Sweets and confectionary
For the majority of Brits, Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without a bumper bundle of buttered Brazils, Turkish delight, marzipan and other sweet treats. These gift ideas are sweet enough to give you toothache.
Book review – The Vintage Sweets Book – Angel Adoree
Vintage vixen Angel Adoree’s new book is the cookbook equivalent of a selection box as it oughta be;’all killer, no filler’.
What’s on at The Ritz this Christmas
Grab your glitz and head for The Ritz this Christmas – there’s a lot occurin’.
Christmas recipe: Strawberry & Castello Pineapple Halo cheesecake
Cheese and pineapple is practically a British institution. The cheese in this recipe might sound bonkers, but rest assured Hix Restauraurants’ Ronnie Hix doesn’t need to be institutionalised – this cheesecake is a winner.
Christmas recipe: Scallops with bacon and Castello Danish Blue potatoes
Serving scallops in the shell means there’s no need to get out fancy servingware. The salty savour of the bacon and blue cheese works a treat with the sweet seafood, as Hix Restaurants’ chef Ronnie Murray proves in this cracking canapé.
Christmas recipe: Baked leek tart with Castello Blue
Let it (cheese) snow! Yup – Hix Restaurant’s Ronnie Murray has created just that, freezing and grating blue cheese to top off a canapé that’ll go down a storm…
Sweets & Desserts from the Middle East – Arto der Haroutunian
This is the book to get your mitt(en)s on for someone with a similar fondness for Turkish Delight as that boy in’The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe’.
Beetroot Mary cocktail
The perfect start to a hectic day dashing through the snow (or not) to gather elusive gifts that are conveniently stocked exclusively at stores scattered all over town. Better make it a strong one… Merry Christmas.
London restaurant Christmas menus and events
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.