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I’ve written quite a few posts on the Christmas gifts on offer from some of the High Street, so I think it’s time to have a look at a source for more unusual and unique gift options. Not On the High Street was a welcome addition to the online shopping world a couple of years ago, and it’s one of my regular and favourite shopping haunts online. Here’s my roundup of my favourites in the foodie department this year:

Perfect baubles for the foodie Christmas tree

1. For those who enjoy their wine, and have a bit of wall space, and also because it’s the last variation I want to see on this theme, then I would choose the “Save Water, Drink Wine” framed print. Like the sentiment, and I think it would be an attractive addition to any kitchen, or wine cellar, wall.

2. For the foodie Christmas tree, how about some foodie baubles? Choose from a mince pie, a Christmas pudding or a slice of Christmas cake. Look beautiful, and not a single calorie between them!

3. For those who want to rustle up a little Venetian glamour on Christmas morning, how about the Bellini Box Hamper?Beautifully presented, they’ll get a bottle of Prosecco and one of peach nectar, all ready to whip up a perfect Bellini before the last present is unwrapped.

4. For the slackers who might need a hint around all the post Christmas lunch washing up, then I love this teatowel. Truly a gift that does keep nagging! A great stocking filler for anyone.

5. For those dreaming of a gourmet life in France, or at least a day trip, then I would treat them to A Day in Provence . A delightful mix of terrines, olive pastes, chocolate and nougat, this will really summon up the tastes of the region, although sadly not eaten in the region. Unless you want to be really generous and send them there as a really big gift.

The gift that keeps on nagging

Hamper

6. Perhaps their gourmet dreams lie slightly further South, in which case you need to buy them the Artisan Selection from Nudo. A fabulous selection of first cold press extra virgin olive oil, plus two flavoured oils, artichoke hearts and capers, all of which will allow you to summon up some great Italian dishes. If you want to go the whole hog, you can even adopt one of the olive trees.

7. For the grow-their-own, green fingered type, then how about a personalised allotment notebook. Cute illustration on the front, this will be good for them to work out what they have got planted where, when it will be ready for harvest and when they might need to call on the local veg box delivery to supplement things!

8. For newly wed foodies spending their first married Christmas together, then I love the very sweet aprons from Alice Palace. The Mr & Mrs Apron can be personalised with any surname, and can be Mr and Mr, or Mrs and Mrs, depending on your friends really.

9. Have a little chocolate fun with a solitaire dish with a difference. You can use Maltesers or olives if you’re feeling healthy, but it certainly beats marbles!

So, you’ll definitely find some gifts with a difference here, and also know that you’re supporting small businesses and artists around the UK. That’s a gift worth giving!

Having written about a whole load of tomatoes providing a whole heap of fun, I thought this week’s cook books should be about a single ingredient. And you’d be amazed what’s out there! So, if the foodie you’re shopping for has an ingredient they adore, there’ll probably be a book about it! Here’s a few to set you off.

101 uses of a tomato

1. The Heirloom Tomato: From Garden to Table: Recipes, Portraits and History of the World’s Most Beautiful Fruit - one heck of a title, and this takes single ingredient to a bit of an extreme, as it’s not just any tomato, this is a heirloom tomato. There are 56 recipes to work your way through, as well as some great stories and history of the plant. A very unusual cook book, but if they love tomatoes, this could be one for them!

2. Sausage by A D Livingston – 100 different ways to use sausages, although I am not sure it has the recipe for the perfect sausage sandwich (in my view, the only permissible use of cheap white bread, and definitely needs brown sauce). Perfect for the sausage loving meat eater.

3. Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient – this is a really great book, being both an interesting read and having wonderful recipes. It’s a real foodie book and certainly an unusual one, but quite inspiring. It covers all kinds of animal fats, so some sectors of the health police may fall over when they spot it on your bookshelf, but you should get them to read some of the details.

4. The Dolce Vita Diaries – part travel book, part business book and part cook book, all about the story behind Nudo olive oil. A great read, some great simple recipes, which is what you’d expect from a great olive oil company.

5. Best 50 Banana Recipes by David Woods – probably the most common fruit in the average fruitbowl, and the one that’s always going to be heading towards going off. So here are 50 different suggestions of what you could be doing with them, other than mushing them up and making banana bread!

Researching these just showed me that there are books about pretty much any ingredient you care to choose, so even if they have a real foodie passion for something unusual, you’re bound to be able to find a great book to make the perfect gift for them.

It’s difficult enough to get a gift for one foodie, but what do you do when one marries another? I did read a piece encouraging local delis and food shops to start wedding lists, which I’m all for. Until then, then these are my suggestions.

From tree to can with Nudo

1. Buy something they wouldn’t buy themselves. I adopted an olive tree with Nudo for two foodie friend’s (it was more interesting than buying towels), and they really enjoyed both the bragging rights of their tree, but also the produce that arrived. Think about a particular food they love, and then look for the best, the newest, the most unusual and treat them to that.

2. If the honeymoon is not top secret, then perhaps see what the foodie options are. Many top hotels offer food courses with their chefs, so it’s worth getting in touch to find out the options. Or try Isango, they offer options all around the world for experiences and trips, and there are good foodie ones. How about private cookery lessons in Rome, or shopping at Parisian markets and then making lunch? A sunrise tour of Hanoi followed by a class in Vietnamese cooking? Any of these will make a real treat, and certainly be a few hours to remember.

3. If hampers conjours up visions of things in leaflets that the milkman leaves on the doorstep, then think again. There are so many wonderful options, and would make something nice to come back to post honeymoon. I like FoodFullStop, for everything from cheese to meat, cakes to bread. NotontheHighStreet always has some interesting options, like the Touch of Provence hamper or the appropriately named To Have & To Hold. This is lovely, but a touch on the expensive side, but you could steal the idea and put your own together for less. To be honest, nice glasses and cava and a homemade cake would be just as well received!

4. Whilst they might not have thought to have put it on their wedding gift list, then check out if they have wishlists on Amazon, which is bound to have a stack of food titles in it. If they don’t have a list, then either give them book tokens, do a bit of espionage on what titles are on their shelves and buy around that, or check out the lists and recommendations that get generated.

5. You could go kitsch, and get them Mr & Mrs aprons, perfect for side by side cooking!

6. If you spend time having a small glass or two of wine together, then you might know what their favourites are. This is a good chance to buy around their fave: same grape, different country; same country, different region; new maker; old maker. You name it, there are plenty of choices for you to put together an interesting half or full case. I like Adnams for something a bit different, or Weavers if I am in Nottingham. If you’re feeling very generous, then you could get them a wine subscription with someone like Laithwaites or Virgin Wines.

7. You could perhaps see if you can score them a table at somewhere they’ve been longing to eat, sort of date night for some time in the future. Depending on your budget, you could put money towards the meal, the wine, whatever you can afford. To be honest, with some places, just having the patience to keep on to get the table will be gift in it’s own right! You could present them with the time and the date within the cookery book of the restaurant (come on, name me a hard to get into restuarant that doesn’t have a cook book!).

So, there’s my lucky seven to start with! If in doubt, I would still go with the make them a big cake option!