Top 10 Christmas Gifts
for Lovers of English Food

More food? I hear you groan. As if there wasn't enough of it around already during December.

Don't grumble, this is special, the real deal, real classics. Food that's been around for ages. Food that has been rediscovered or re-created by people who are nuts about English food. And not just food ... there's kitchen gear, too. Eccentric, slightly loopy, but so what? It's Christmas.

So if you love English food - or cooking for that matter - then you won't mind these top 10 Christmas gifts with a distinctly English feel.

This Essentially English Hamper could have been put together just for us. It has all the traditional stuff you expect from a good hamper of English food: Cheese, chutney and biscuits, tea and fruitcake, fudge and sweets. Plus a bottle of tasty apple juice, most of it from Prince Charles' Duchy Originals brand. So go on, treat the England lover in your life!
	Very Victorian, these Rose and Violet Creams. Delicate rose and violet petals dipped in sugar and turned into fondant-centred chocolates. One for mum or grandma, I think. Also good if you're all thumbs with the wrapping paper. The box looks good enough to eat...
I have a thing for biscuit and cake tins. Endlessly useful around the house. But they have to look the part. And this bus-load of Walkers Biscuits really fits the bill here. The contents are seriously tasty, too.
	A real classic beloved of hikers, this Kendal Mint Cake But it can be much more than that. Dipped in dark bitter chocolate it's excellent as an after-dinner treat.
	Have you noticed that old-fashioned sweet shops are making a comeback? If you wonder why, look no further than these very traditional Rhubarb and Custard Sweets. If the taste doesn't take you back a few years then I really can't explain it to you!
My discovery of the year and definitely on my list of top 10 Christmas gifts. A must-have item for serious pudding fanatics: The Pudding Sleeve from Lakeland. I've no idea where they've found this thing, but it's just great. Spotted Dick or Jam Roll just as grandma used to make. No more fiddly muslin for me...