Fabulous Foodie Gifts - Christmas Wishlist 2013

Christmas is now less than four weeks away and if like me, you would rather eat mince pies and drink hot poitín (check out the Beerhouse!) than shopping, this list of foodie gifts will hopefully make your life a little easier. Also if anyone personally knows my boyfriend maybe you can point him in the direction of this post!  

Cooking Classes

I love attending cookery classes especially if I can get a friend to come along. They are usually a lot of fun to attend and you come away with a lot of useful tips. It's also a wonderful experience to watch a professional show you how they do things. It is usually a lot easier than you think it might be! Check out these classes for more ideas.

Aniar Cooking Class: They do a lot of nose to tail classes where students learn how to use the whole animal in the preparation of a meal. Classes start from €175

Firehouse Bakery: They have two schools one on the beautiful Heir Island and another more manageable location in Delgany, Wicklow if you are on the other side of the country. Full day classes on Heir Island are from €110.

Neven Maguire Cookery School: One of my ultimate wishes is to eat in MacNean House so imagine my excitement when I heard Neven Maguire was opening a cookery school. Half day courses start from €130. Based in Blacklion, Co. Cavan.

Cloughjordan Cookery School: Set in the heart of Tipperary this is one of the prettiest schools I have seen pictures of. They offer a wide range of classes and half day classes start from €85.

Ballymaloe Cookery School: A dream short break would be to stay on site and take part in any number of cookery classes here! Classes range from €50 right on up to €10,695 for their 12 week certificate course. That the ultimate foodie pressie right there!

Fiona's Japanese Cooking: Fiona is an Irish food blogger who recently won the Home Cook Hero Awards. I recently attended one of Fiona's sushi making classes and it was so much fun. Apart from sushi rolling disasters I learned a lot about Japanese culture and discovered that making it at home is not half as complicated as I thought it would be. She is now doing classes in the Miele Gallery so keep a lookout on her Facebook page for updates.

Food Tours

Discovering a city through it's food has to be one of the most enjoyable ways to learn about a place. 

Fab Food Trails: They offer tasting trails in both Dublin and Cork. Prices start at €55. I attended a special one they had organised in Howth a while back. Check out the blog post here. 

French Food Tours: Ketty Elisabeth is the author of the award winning French Foodie in Dublin. She has recently set up French Food and Wine Tours of Dublin which will introduce you to French food culture and customs while you sample some delicious French food and wine. The tours are €35 each and she does delightful looking gift vouchers. If you can't wait until Christmas check out her 12 Treats of Christmas Food Tour. 

Cookbooks

2013 was a wonderful year for cookbooks from both professional chefs and food bloggers. There are loads to choose from and something out there to suit everyone.

The Nation's Favourite Food by Neven Maguire: RRP €22.99

Homecooked by Donal Skeha: RRP €25.00

The Irish Beef Book by Pat Whelan and Kathy McGuinness: RRP €22.99

30 Years of Ballymaloe by Darina Allen & Alice Waters: RRP €42.99

Chapter One: An Irish Food Story by Ross Lewis: RRP €39.99

Weekend Chef | Easy Food For Lazy Days by Catherine Fulvio: RRP €22.99

Apron Strings by Nessa Robins: RRP €22.99

Dream Deli by Lilly Higgins: RRP €22.99

Like Mam Used To Bake by Rosanne Hewitt-Cromwell: RRP €19.99
Breakfast and Brunches by Two Rooms in Dublin: RRP €22.50
Food from an Irish Garden by Fiona Dillon: RRP: €17.95

They are all beautiful cookbooks with stunning imagery and diverse recipes but if I had to pick out one that would make it to my stocking it would have to be Food from an Irish Garden because Fiona Dillon is who I want to be when I grow up and get a house of my own! I love her lifestyle and even attended one of her classes a while back. Check out the blog post here. 

The prices above are all off the publisher's websites so feel free to check around.

 

Quirky Christmas Gifts

On the lookout for a condiment gun, a wine handbag, marmite chocolate or a giant gummy bear? Well check out Firebox.com, a great website for stocking fillers, quirky gifts and funny Kris Kindles. Best of all they deliver to Ireland.

Smorgasboard is a fun foodie filled game where players take on the guise of aspiring chefs as they work their way around the board in search of gastronomic success. The object of the game is to be the first team of chefs to graduate from Rick's Culinary Academy! We have this at home and it's always a great laugh to play. It retails for €28.99.

For a food hamper with a difference check out Wild About. They make delicious chutneys, syrups, and preserves from Ireland's native, seasonal and wild ingredients. They are my foodie find of the year and we are particularly partial to the fennel cider butter in my house! Hampers start from €22. 

Happy shopping and enjoy the festivities in the run up to Christmas. 

This is just a list of products that I either own, would like to or have discovered this year! I have not been asked to promote any of these products on my blog and opinions are my own.