Rodney Macuja
Between finishing up at work, planning your holidays and soaking your fruit, the Christmas food shopping is often left to the last minute. This year, though, when the doorbell rings, we have your back. With the help of our friends at Snowgoose, the GT team has put together a hamper filled with festive snacks and tipples, just in time for the silly season.
1 Will Studd Lincet Brillat Savarin
Gourmet‘s resident cheese expert, Will Studd, knows his stuff. For Christmas this year, he’s hand-picked this rich and velvety Brillat Savarin from Didier Lincet, a producer in Champagne. While the cheese has a beautiful sweetness that will only get better with time, trust us when we say it won’t last long.
2 Le Roi Roquefort
This Le Roi Roquefort, also chosen by Studd, has been ripened slowly, resulting in a rich and creamy texture and a salty-sweet finish. If you’re expecting a bigger party, add a one-kilo hexagon of ultra-creamy Le Dauphin brie to the mix.
3 Sheridan’s Irish brown-bread crackers
All that cheese is going to need somewhere to call home. Our pick? Sheridan’s buttery Irish brown-bread crackers made from stone-ground wholemeal flour, buttermilk and sea salt.
4 Mason Clarke Preserving Co spiced cranberry jelly
Mason Clarke’s all-natural chutneys, jellies, jams and preserves are handmade in small batches in Dimboola in country Victoria. For Christmas, we’ve chosen their spiced cranberry jelly – best teamed with ham or turkey on baguettes.
5 Mason Clarke Preserving Co cumquat & native pepperberry preserve
Why stop at one? When it comes to a true Christmas spread, you can never have enough condiments. Mason Clarke’s cumquat and native pepperberry preserve will make a sweet addition to your cheeseboard, and works just as well served with cooked meats.
6 St Ronan’s pear cider
Our wine editor, Max Allen, is partial to a cider or two. He loves St Ronan’s for its “gorgeous rich, complex pear aromas and a lovely soft, creamy texture”. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the Brillat Savarin.
7 Baker D Chirico gingerbread stars
Gingerbread is a must for Christmas, and those coming out of the oven by Baker D Chirico – using a traditional recipe that includes butter, eggs, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon – are among the country’s finest. Plus, the Melbourne baker promises plenty of ginger-punch with these beautifully wrapped sugar-dusted stars.
8 Dessertmakers sour cherry pudding
Dessertmakers chef Merna Taouk makes all-local, all-natural desserts for everyone from Qantas to Sydney restaurant Billy Kwong. For GT she has designed this sour-cherry pud, spiced with nutmeg, cinnamon and orange peel. Better yet, it comes pre-steamed and ready to go.
9 Dessertmakers butterscotch sauce
You can’t have Christmas pudding without a delicious sauce. Dessertmakers have chosen a rich butterscotch recipe to match our sour-cherry pudding. Thickened with cream straight from Country Valley farm in Picton, New South Wales, it’s sticky and sweet in all the best ways.
10 Snowgoose cherries, 1kg
It’s not an Aussie summer without stone fruit. These sweet, plump red cherries are grown on orchards in Young and hand-picked just 48 hours before delivery. (They’re so fresh they were still on the tree when the rest of the hamper was photographed.)
THE GOURMET TRAVELLER HAMPER
In collaboration with fine-food hamper specialist Snowgoose, we have designed the perfect gift (or treat for yourself), delivered to your door for $195 (including delivery). For an extra-luxe option, add the 1kg Le Dauphin – an extra $75. To order, go to gourmettraveller.com.au/snowgoose. While stocks last.
