Miriam Phillips
Writer and editor
Robin Goodlad
Photographer and writer
Tom East
Writer and cook
Conker Spirit Gin
Potato Ricer
Twisted Nose Gin
In the last 12 months every bar that knows its
spirits wants to stock award-winning Conker
Gin. It tastes delicious and it’s my personal
favourite with ice-cold elderflower tonic.
Conker Spirit's Dorset Dry Gin is distilled
using British wheat spirit, New Forest spring
water and 10 botanicals, including some
rather distinctively Dorset-inspired botanicals
- gorse flowers, samphire and elderberries.
£35.95 www.masterofmalt.com
Something I discovered a few years ago
which I have no idea how I ever lived without
– perfect lump free creamy mash in one
effortless squeeze! You can also use it for fruit
purées as well.
www.potatoricer.org.uk (or Salamander
Cookshop in Wimborne)
Having a party this Christmas? Ignore the
booze aisle in your local supermarket and
order a bottle of Twisted Nose Gin instead.
This is gin with a true flavour of Hampshire as
one of its botanicals is local watercress.
£35 www.twistednose.co.uk
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One Day Cooking Session at
WhitePepper Chef Academy
& Cookery School
Courses are very hands on and you leave
feeling like you’ve mastered a new skill. I’d
love to try the Beside The Sea one day course
where you can try your hand at filleting,
scoring and cooking freshly caught seafood
and master dishes such as scallops with
lemon beurre noisette.
£165 www.white-pepper.co.uk
Somerset
Cider Brandy
Company –
Kingston Black
Apple Aperitif
A beautiful warming and
smooth tipple perfect for
Christmas, handcrafted in
the orchards of Somerset
and a celebration of the
season’s apples. My
personal choice for a
Christmas morning.
£8.60 a bottle
www.ciderbrandy.co.uk
Chocolate Robots
Never mind the Quality Street – not only do
these chocolate robots look fun, they also
taste better than pretty much all of the other
chocolate you'll eat this Christmas. Made in
Dorset from 43% Venezuelan milk chocolate.
£7.50 www.chococo.co.uk
Loose Leaf Persian Earl Grey
Gather by Gill Meller
Eat 17 Bacon Jam
Inside the charismatic Gilded Teapot in
Dorchester, owner Jo Davies works her magic
sourcing and blending teas from all over the
globe. This is the finest black Sri Lankan tea
blended with bergamot oil, cornflowers, and
red rose petals – soft and delicately sweet
with deep amber notes and a beautiful aroma.
£4.50 www.thegildedteapot.com
The perfect book for Christmas by Dorset
born and bred chef, Gill Meller. So much
more than a collection of recipes, it is a
beautiful book to sit down with and absorb
over the festive period, and also to fill the
new year with exciting ideas for food to find
through the seasons.
£17.00 www.amazon.co.uk
Have a very different kind of jam sandwich
with this smoky, sticky r elish. It's perfect with
cheese and crackers, too.
£3.99 www.eat17baconjam.co.uk
www.menu-dorset.co.uk