Christmas 2017: Five foodie Christmas gifts

From must-have designer homeware to the nation’s favourite spirit, here are our top foodie Christmas gifts for 2017.

Macellaio RC’s Butchery Masterclass

Want to learn all about different cuts of meat and how to prepare them? Well look no further than this Italian smash-hit, which is dishing out all the secrets this Christmas. You can find out more about the unique Fassone beef favoured by the Macellaio RC kitchens, as well as having a behind the scenes look at the in-house dry-ageing process. Once that’s all done, you can put it all into practice as you get hands-on with the meat itself, before finishing with a three course set menu at Macellaio RC Union Street. Best of all is the price: unlike many of the more prohibitively expensive classes, the full experience here costs a very reasonable £90.

Macellaio RC, £90

Maitre Choux’s Christmas Giftbox

Pâtissier Joakim Prat of Maître Choux and All For Love (one of the city’s leading florists) team up to create a truly bespoke gift, which combines a choice of seasonal flowers nestled around a box of éclairs selected by you. It’s visually stunning, combining Prat’s effortlessly photogenic work with some truly special floral touches.

Rêves intenses de chocolat, Hazelnut and Milk Chocolate Treasure (painted in edible gold dust) and the Red Love Éclair are all classic flavours. The Mont Blanc is one to really get excited about though, combining Tahitian vanilla cream, a unsweetened whipped cream and an intense chestnut cream. The festive treat is then topped with freshly candied chestnuts and meringue pieces for a delightfully decadent treat.

Maitre Choux, £125

Sacred Gin

The gin craze has been going on for so long now that it’s caught everyone a little flat footed. We’re all waiting for the next spirit to go through its renaissance and for the juniper-based spirit to fade gently into the background, yet year on year it just seems to get stronger. So much so that the industry is rather running out of ways to reinvent the wheel, resulting in progressively more bizarre flavourings; pink peppercorn, sea water and even ant-flavoured gin have all appeared on the shelves this year.

Now more than ever, a little bit of subtlety is appreciated, and that’s exactly what Sacred brings. Gentle and ethereal enough to comfortably be drunk neat over ice, it eschews the all too popular domination of singular notes and instead prefers a symphony of sweet botanicals. One of the most intriguing gins available today.

Sacred Gin Company, £29.95-£33.95

Smeg X Dolce and Gabbana Homeware

Utterly, utterly ridiculous, yet oddly appealing, this crossover takes designer homewear to a whole new level. Embellished toasters, mixers and kettles from the luxury fashion house make the ideal centrepiece for any stylish kitchen. The toaster in particular is a beautiful piece in its own right.

Smeg London

Bread is Gold by Massimo Bottura 

Honestly, any of Phaidon’s gorgeously shot cookbooks are sure to win you favour with a food lover. Massimo Bottura’s Bread is Gold, though, must surely be the cream of this year’s crop. It’s built on an incredible ethical foundation, turning waste produce into exceptional dishes. Yet it also contains recipes from some of the world’s most acclaimed chefs, offering a rare opportunity to peek into the minds of a plethora of truly special figures in the world of food and drink.

Phaidon, £29.95

Daniel Masters