When gift ideas are lacking, we can turn to anything that can be eaten or drunk. A pretty box of chocolates or a few products that will enhance a dish should always please. Here is a selection of the best gift ideas to give to a gourmet.
Louis Fouquet
Available in 66% dark chocolate or 43% Ghana Grand Cru milk version, this superb pine cone with golden highlights is overlooked by the Fouquet house mascot, the squirrel Ernest. And the inside doesn't sound hollow: there's an old-fashioned praline with caramelized pine nuts.
Fir apple, Louis Fouquet, from €38
iRASSHAi
The specialist in Japanese culture located in the heart of Paris offers a whole series of boxes for the holidays. One of them is dedicated to sake. It contains three varieties of rice alcohol including a sparkling one (Awayuki Sparkling Junmai Sake) as well as two small glasses cut for tasting.
Sake initiation box, iRASSHAi, €45
Betjeman & Barton
It's not just champagne at Christmas. There are also herbal teas. The house renowned for the quality of its teas has designed a special herbal tea for the end of the year. Verbena, rose hips, cinnamon, almond, vanilla and ginger… All in a beautiful setting.
Tisane de Noël, Betjeman & Barton, €34
cadoresto
It's the gift idea that always pleases: a meal in a restaurant. Kadoresto offers a gift card that allows you to reserve a lunch or dinner in more than 80 committed restaurants in France, selected for their ecological and solidarity commitment. It's quite simple: you choose your box (Discovery, Exception, Gastronomic, Gourmet) from €50 to €150, and it's then up to the recipient to choose their date and establishment by going to the site.
Kadoresto box, from €50
Caviar counter
If there's ever an opportunity to learn about caviar or rediscover it, it's Christmas. The sturgeon egg specialist Comptoir du caviar offers boxes with festive packaging. The Christmas treat contains a 30g box and a delicious tarama spread.
Magical Christmas box, Comptoir du caviar, €75
Estoublon
This pretty box representing a starry sky contains three olive oils from the Estoublon estate. Bérguette, Bouteillan, picholine… so many evocative names that will enhance special occasion dishes.
Box 3x20cl Monovarietal Olive Oils, Estoublon, €73.50
The little marshmallow bear
The simplest gifts are often the most effective. This pretty box is filled with delicious, addictive marshmallow bears that take you back to childhood.
Boxes of marshmallow bears, La Grande Epicerie, €16.90
Mionetto
The prosecco specialist called on chocolatier Aurélien Rivoire to design a chocolate Christmas ball which contains surprises prepared with Mionetto Apritivo. This bitter orange liqueur is famous for serving as the base for the essential spritz cocktail. It is part of a special kit which will make a good gift idea.
Miocccolato kit, Mionetto, €69 (available at the Alléno & Rivoire boutique: 9, rue du Champ de Mars, Paris 7th)
