Food News

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CHOCOLATE HEAVEN

Belgium is the home of dangerously good chocolate, but you can save yourself the Eurostar fare and snap up a box or two of Galler luxury chocolates online.

These are serious chocolates – with everything from classic 100g bars to deluxe hampers, you’re bound to find something for your favourite chocoholic.

The Kaori Gift Box (£14.50) has the real wow factor; it’s based on the traditional ink sticks and stones used in Japanese calligraphy.

Visit www.gallerchocolates.co.uk to place an order. Delivery takes two to three working days.

The party season is probably one of the hardest times of the year for those who are counting calories, particularly when getting together with friends and colleagues in the pub.

However, this Christmas, there’s a fantastic new option – Magners Light, offering the same great taste and alcohol content as Magners Original (4.5%), but with only 92 calories per 330ml bottle.

Crafted in the same time-honoured tradition as Magners Original, Magners Light offers the same crisp, refreshing taste and natural character as the Original product. Like Magners Original, Light is also manufactured in Clonmel, Ireland, using 17 different varieties of apples. The only real difference is the calorie count.

Magners Light is priced around £3 per bottle and is widely available across Scotland at all good supermarkets and off-licences.

CHEESE WITH A KICK

Can’t decide whether to have dessert or cheese?

Now you can have both with a Caws Cenarth mature cheese with cranberries that thinks it’s a Christmas pudding.

The award-winning organic Caerffili (Caerphilly) miniature Christmas pudding cheese has a fresh lemony flavour with a delightfully creamy aftertaste.

Caws Cenarth organic Caerffili miniature Christmas pudding cheese costs £3.95 for 350g, visit www.cawscenarth.co.uk/ mailorder.htm for stockists.

SWEET DELIGHTS

If you fancy trying a new biscuit with your tea, then Paul’s Extraordinary Biscuits are worth buying.

Their creator, Paul Tidmarsh, spent seven years perfecting the rich, buttery, crumbly recipe, using the finest ingredients.

They come in a range of flavours; a favourite is the oat, apple chunks and cinnamon version, or perhaps the jumbo raisin and milk chocolate chunk.

Paul’s Extraordinary Biscuits come in gorgeous gift boxes or glass jars, making them a great present for that hard-to-buy-for family. Boxes start from £10. Visit www.ptbakery.com to order yours.

THE PERFECT ENDING

The Co-operative has introduced four new delicious Port products into its own-brand range, just in time for Christmas.

Currently undergoing a renaissance, Port is becoming more and more popular in the UK, and The Co-operative’s new products are a great choice for the festive season. The Fladgate Partnership who own the Port houses of Taylor’s and Fonseca, two of the oldest and finest Port houses in the country, makes all of the new Ports for The Co-operative.

The four new warming Ports, all of which are perfect to serve at the end of any festive dinner, are The Co-operative 10-Year-Old Tawny Port 75cl £10.99; The Co-operative LBV Port 75cl £8.49; The Co-operative Special Reserve Port 75cl £7.49, and The Co-operative Ruby Port 75cl - £5.99

The four new products are available in selected Co-operative stores throughout the UK. For stockists, customers can call The Co-operative Customer Careline on (freephone) 0800 0686 727.

IN THE PINK

Ladies will love Pinky vodka in their cocktails this Christmas.

The first and only vodka to be created especially for women, Pinky adds a sophisticated flavour twist.

The unusual vodka is lovingly crafted by champion wine tasters in Scandinavia and distilled five times from pure glacial water and Swedish winter wheat.

The chic spirit is hand blended with violets, rose petals and wild strawberries, giving it a soft pink hue and resulting in a delicate but flavoursome drink.

Hailed as “the world’s most beautiful vodka”, Pinky is as attractive to the eye as it is to the taste buds. Encased in a slender glass bottle, reminiscent of a vintage perfume decanter, Pinky will effortlessly add a touch of timeless elegance to the Christmas drinks cabinet and makes a perfect gift – if you can bear to part with it.

Pinky is available online at www.thedrinkshop.com.