Now that Halloween is over the chances are that your mind has heading straight to Christmas and gift buying. I'm told I'm tricky to buy for and boy do I know more than a few others that seem to remain on the gift list for the longest as I just can't decide what they'd like. Although you think someone interested in food would be an easy buy, I know first hand that you can end up with a glut of fancy chocolates and biscuits and wine. While this is a lovely thing to have a stock of I know that I'd much rather receive something unusual that I'm far less likely to have strive. This is where the website Sous Chef steps in to save the day, with one of the best curated collection of food and drink ingredients and items that I've found online.
They also have a section that solves anyone's foodie gifting issues, an idea that I just adore - Cookbook and Ingredient Sets. This amazing collection consists of a beautiful printed canvas bag with a cookery book and an array of ingredients used in the book to create the recipes within. Lots of different cuisines are catered for including Mexican, Italian, Indian, Middle Easter, Japanese and more but when Sous Chef asked if I'd like to choose a set to review I went for the Authentic Korean Cooking Kit (£37.99*). Korean cuisine is one that I love to eat when I'm out but have never really tried making at home, so when I spotted this and the other items in their Korean collection I knew this was the perfect chance to give it a try.
The kit was beautifully packaged in its canvas bag when it arrived and all the bottles were wrapped in protective padding to keep them safe, it was really like eight presents in one and felt like opening a stocking full of treats - how could anyone dislike that? After checking out all the ingredients I curled up with the cookery book and within a few pages was seeing the items in the bag being used in several of the recipes - in fact they were even the same brands as used in the book in a lot of cases!
I honestly think these sets are the perfect present for anyone who enjoys eating and cooking, and if you're not sure what type of cuisine they would like to try there is even a set called The Edible Atlas featuring ingredients from all over the world and a book of the same name.
While looking through the Sous Chef site I also found myself growing all of the beautiful cookware and tableware on offer and soon spotted the Bento Boxes section. Of all cuisines Japanese food sits right up there in my favourites list - I love the flavours but also the thought given to the aesthetics of the food too and bento boxes are a great representation of this. They're basically the Japanese lunchbox and like the western versions they come in plain varieties or beautifully decorated like the one I picked and was kindly given - the Maruko Black Cat 2 Tier Bento Box (£17.50*). Lucky cats have been a love of mine for years and years and this is a really beautiful example of the traditional icon. The box itself is sturdy and has two levels with an interior lid to the second tier that holds a fork for utmost convenience. It's a very lovely piece and I'm actually going to buy a few more to give as gifts myself. I just think it's a lovely thing to find under the tree that can be used every day but is beautiful enough to make it feel special and gift worthy!
I think you can tell I've fallen in love with Sous Chef who kindly gifted these items to me and I highly recommend you give their site a visit, I know I'll be a regular shopper from now on when I need to find a special piece for my kitchen or as a gift, or if I'm just feeling in a cooking rut!