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Save your pennies

I came across an article about budget Christmas gifts for chefs for under $30 which I thought was interesting, and wondered if you could convert this to the UK. And also if we would think they were great gifts.

1. A set of ramekins. Well, I would guess these rank good on the useful scale, as you can cook in them, you can use them to store ingredients in, to mix stuff up in. Not exciting but definitely useful. John Lewis have a big variety of ramekins at different prices, you could definitely get a couple of nice ones for £10. Or I think you could buy 4 Gu puddings and then regift the ramekins! Cleaned first of course!

2. A set of wooden spoons. Now, I don’t think you can have too many wooden spoons so this is a highly useful gift. Pop into any of the supermarkets and you can definitely pick up several for under £2. So this wouldn’t break the bank, so you could tie the bundle up maybe with some cinnamon sticks, or something like a nutmeg grater or a whisk. Or a bottle of wine.

3. A beautiful corkscrew. Lets face it, not having a corkscrew if you drink wine is a disaster, so having another one is no bad thing! If you put corkscrew into Amazon then there are options starting at under £1.50, so definitely a budget option. Just slightly breaking the $30 barrier, there is a very nice looking Decanter Wing Corkscrew on Drinkstuff.

4. Gourmet ingredients. Definitely one of my favourite options. You can get out locally and pull together local specialities, or get it delivered to you. I’ve got Adnams Beer Chutney and Seville Orange Marmalade put aside ready for one set of gifts, Lakeland is a fabulous source, and I also love Natoora for some Italian and French flair. If you need spicy stuff, then I really like Spices of India, for everything from Indian through to Thai cookery.

5. A cupcake carrier. I wasn’t sure what this was, other than the obvious. Which is what it is. An oblong container that will hold one or two cupcake trays. I can find boxes with inserts, which certainly meet the budget criteria, but don’t look very festive. And then I found the real deal: the cupcake courier. In pink. But, sadly, well over the budget at £34.99. But you’d surely only need to buy one in a lifetime!

6. A cast iron skillet – useful, but to me one of those things you shouldn’t skimp on. It needs to be a good heavyweight version in my book, and whilst I can find several versions for under £20, I think I can think of better things to get for the money.

7. An immersion hand blender – I take it from the description it means a hand blender, and I agree a superbly useful piece of kit. A Kenwood hand blender is just under £20 at John Lewis, perfect for soups and other useful tasks around the kitchen.

So, some good choices without spending a fortune, and I will come back to this theme again, looking at great Christmas foodie gifts for under £10. Happy saving!

Cute photo by voobie on Flickr.