From the ultimate French comfort food to giving back, these gifts are sure to please the food lovers in your life.
LUXE BONBONS
Classic Collection, Chocolates X Brandon Olsen
With flavours like orange blossom and honey, salted caramel, and sherry and milk chocolate, who could resist Chocolates X Brandon Olsen’s Classic Collection? Choose either 9 or 18 pieces of the Toronto-based chef and chocolatier’s creative confections, which come packaged in a hand-painted box. ($20.25-$40.50, cxbo.ca/shop/)
#MYFOODHERO
Donation to Community Food Centres Canada
Celebrate your food hero by making a donation to Community Food Centres Canada (CFCC) in their honour. The food hero will receive a personalized e-card and downloadable booklet filled with recipes and stories from chefs such as David Rocco, Lora Kirk, and Jamie Oliver. “Everyone has a food hero in their life – someone who shows that they care through food. At CFCC, we also use food to show that we care, and we do that through programs in low-income communities,” says Christina Palassio, Director of Communications. (any amount, myfoodhero.cfccanada.ca)
HAND-FORGED
Carbon Steel Frying Pan, Willow Creek Forge
Master Blacksmith Martin Reinhard’s carbon steel frying pans will last a lifetime. Hand-forged in Nanton, Alta., Reinhard’s pans marry form and function. The braided handle reduces heat transfer, and its hand-hammered floor “readily acquires a truly nonstick surface – a patina of polymerized oil to produce a high caliber cooking surface.” ($150-$220, willowcreekforge.com)
SPICE TREKKERS
The Spice Trekkers Cook at Home, Épices de Cru
Ethné and Philippe de Vienne are the Spice Trekkers. Since 1982, they’ve travelled the world sourcing spices and teas for their Montreal-based company Épices de Cru. Their latest cookbook, The Spice Trekkers Cook at Home, is accompanied by an impressive palette of 28 spices and blends. (US$59.95, spicetrekkers.com)
PICNIC-READY
Pallares Solsona Pocket Knife in Olive Wood, Atelier St. George
Perfect for keeping close by should the mood for snacking strike, the Pallares Solsona Pocket Knife is pleasing to hold. Handmade in Spain and available from Vancouver-based 7e7, it features a smooth, hand-hewn olive wood handle and petal-shaped stainless steel blade. ($95, atelierstgeorge.com)
SWEET STUFF
Preserve Set, Preservation Society
Camilla Wynne’s Preservation Society makes small batch preserves in Montreal. The gift set includes three jars of “surprise seasonal preserves.” With varieties such as white grapefruit with vanilla, and baked apple, it makes for a sweet holiday treat. Pair it with Wynne’s cookbook, Preservation Society Home Preserves: 100 Modern Recipes, for the aspiring home preserver. ($30, foodiepages.ca)
FESTIVE SPIRIT
Pear Eau de Vie, Ironworks Distillery
There’s a pear grown inside every bottle of this limited release Eau de Vie (fruit brandy) from Lunenburg, N.S.’s Ironworks Distillery. “(It’s) meant to be enjoyed at the end of a meal, neat and at room temperature in order to get the full experience of the pear flavour,” co-owner Lynne MacKay says. “This is the beverage you pour into those impossibly small expensive glasses that you got years ago and never use.” ($134.80, ironworksdistillery.com)
CASSOULET COMFORT
Cassoulet Gift Box, Rancho Gordo
The comfort food lovers on your list are sure to appreciate this hearty, humble, slow-cooked Southern French invention. Rancho Gordo’s Cassoulet Gift Box includes two pounds (one kilogram) of Cassoulet Beans, which are grown in California from French Haricots Tarbais seed, and a copy of Cassoulet: A French Obsession by Gascony-based Kate Hill. See ranchogordo.com/pages/shipping-charges for shipping options for Canada. (US$29.95, ranchogordo.com)
HOME-GROUND
KoMo Stone Mills: Fidibus 21, GRAIN
Bakers are increasingly turning to home-ground whole grain flours for freshness, taste, texture, and nutrition. GRAIN founders Shira McDermott and Janna Bishop exclusively use stone-milled flour ground from Canadian grains. “We love the KoMo for its beautiful design, craftsmanship and minimalist footprint on our counters,” they say. “The stones crush the grains gently, keeping them at a cool temperature, preserving the wonderful aromatics and nutrition.” ($499, eatgrain.ca)
FERMENT IT
Vegetable Fermentation Jar, Sarah Kersten Studio
Ceramicist Sarah Kersten specializes in functional pottery. Her fermentation jars “are inspired by ancient Chinese waterlock jars and designed to make vegetable fermentation simple, inspiring, and tidy.” The sculptural pieces are lined with food-safe glaze and are available in several colours: gunmetal, atmospheric white, and classic white. (US$175-$280, sarahkersten.com)
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