Cooks are easy to please with gadgets and food. Hugo Arnoldhas a few suggestions.
Will it be a gadget or something delicious? Will it be useful or frivolous? Will it be sweet or savoury? Does it matter, as long as it is good? The best even. A good grater may sound like a dull gift, but check out the one below. No serious chef is without one of these, a vital tool.
Whether your budget is large or small, there is always something to satisfy the cook. A few years ago, my favourite present was a tiny white butter dish. It has since been broken, so I've asked for a replacement this year. Why so good? Because good butter, cut small and served from the fridge, was just the right temperature by the time my sourdough toast had reached optimal crispness and the coffee was ready.
X6 ESE espresso machine (042-9334862 for stockists, about €300)ESE is a pod system, for which read the coffee equivalent of a tea bag. I have bought three coffee machines over the past 10 years and this really is the best.
Magimix Le Duo juicer (Brown Thomas, Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway, €130)Rugged, robust, and yet the styling is modern and cool. What looks like one solid piece of plastic engineering actually comes apart with a flick of the wrist. You can juice an orange, or a carrot, in fact pretty much anything with a high water content.
Cuprinox copper frying pan by Mauviel (Kitchen Complements, Chatham Street, Dublin 2, €179)If I could have just one present this Christmas, it would be a Mauviel sauce or frying pan. They are a dream to use and a devil to keep, but that is part of their attraction.
Ditty's Irish oatcakes (Superquinn, nationwide, €5)Some of the best ideas really are the simple ones. The packaging is elegant, effective and reinforces the simplicity of what is in the box. The result is a biscuit that is short, slightly sweet and suitable for anything from marmalade, to cheese, to chocolate spread.
Janet's Country Fayre Scrummy Plum Chutney (widely available, €4)This range, made in Co Wicklow, also includes cranberry sauce, which might be useful for the big day. When you eat the inevitable cold turkey, here is something with spice and fruit to lend an extra edge.
Mella's Fudge (Cavistons, Glasthule, Co Dublin, €3.30)Lots of buttery deliciousness, complemented with good chocolate. A decidedly big flavour, and the pretty box adds to the pleasure.
Dark Orange Chocolate fondue from Mazet (Terroirs, Donnybrook, Dublin 4, €15.50)Kids (big or small) will love sitting around a pot of melted chocolate and dipping fruit into it. Particularly when the chocolate is this good.
Cocoabean Christmas chocolate discs (widely available, around €6)Hand-wrapped in tissue paper, and with each disc having a different Christmas-themed flavour, these are decidedly easy to slip into your mouth.
Giraudi chocolate spoons (Cavistons, €7.99)The idea of being able to spoon sugar into your coffee and then eat the spoon is a good one, so this gets top billing for the wittiest present on the list. Just don't hold on to the spoon too long or it will melt.
Antonio Mattei Mattonella biscotti (Fallon & Byrne €5.95)The blue packaging is a dream - old-fashioned and modern at the same time.
Le Petit Duc lavender mini-biscuits (Terroirs, €5.60)These are small nibbles, the size of a €2 piece. So you can indulge without guilt, or at least eat rather a lot before you start to worry. Alternatively, scatter them on ice-cream, or pretty much any dessert, for crunch.
Butler's Pantry Kick Ass Ketchup(available from Butler's Pantries and selected delicatessens, €5.50) Wow, a ketchup with attitude. Before sampling this, I rather thought the big H had this sector covered, but the Butler's Pantry has come up trumps.