Dorset
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Dorset Dry Gin
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Wonderful White
Chocolate Flapjacks
Christmas
Gift Guide
Thomas J Fudge’s, £3.25
Much nicer than a old tangerine
in your stocking, these small but
deliciously formed flapjacks are
bursting with zesty orange flavours,
flecked with cranberries and then
dipped in white chocolate to firmly
put paid to any notion that an oat
base makes them less indulgent.
You need tea to get you through
Christmas, though, and these will
sit temptingly in the biscuit tin
waiting for the Earl Grey to be
poured. They’re the work of the
estimable Thomas J. Fudges, whose
Dorset ovens have been cooking
such treats since 1916.
www.thomasjfudges.co.uk
Great things to treat
foodie friends to. Leave
mag subtly open on this
page to see if you get
lucky, too...…
20
Conker Spirit – £35.95 for 70cl
Christmas is often a time when
drinks you wouldn’t touch the
rest of the year flow freely.
Eggnog, anyone? Thought
not. Really it should be time
to indulge in a classic like gin.
Regular readers will know we’re
big fans of this small batch,
copper pot distilled number
that’s all the better for being
properly local. It’s beautifully
smooth thanks to British wheat
and New Forest spring water
with a zing from 10 botanicals
including Dorset gorse flowers,
samphire and elderberries. The
best kind of Christmas spirit to
share with foodie friends.
www.shopdorset.co.uk
Night In Gift Box
The Dorset Cheese
Selection
The Cheese Shed, from £28.50
This would make a great gift for
people outside the county just so
they can see – and smell – what
they’re missing. From West
Country artisan cheese specialists,
the Cheese Shed, this is a carefully
balanced selection. You get Cheddar
from Ford Farm. Cosied up next
to it in a wax wrapper will be some
Woolsery goats cheese. There has to
be some Blue Vinney in there – how
could there not be. And then either
Dorset Red, Francis or Cranborne
make up the set. It’s all packed
up neatly and posted to the lucky
recipient along with tasting notes.
You can put it in a hamper and add
chutneys, beers and biscuits.
www.thecheeseshed.com
www.menu-dorset.co.uk
Olives et al, £25
From Olives et al, you get,
unsurprisingly, olives – Sunshine
and Garlic and Very Deli Herbed &
Pitted, a ramekin to put them in
and some Posh Pricks cocktail
sticks to spear them with. Plus some
Ragana savoury biscuits, Rosemary
and Sesame, to munch on. We’re not
coming out this Christmas.
www.shopdorset.co.uk
Scrumple Nutty Truffles
Monty Bojangles, £6 for a box
No need to expend any energy cracking nuts and
suffering the disappointment as they either prove you
have a weak grip and stay uncracked, or shatter into
the sort of fragments that will take out your knees
when you’re playing Trivial Pursuits later on. Instead,
crunch into these hazlenutty truffles from the chocolate
sophisticate Mr Bojangles. They’re coco dusted, creamy
and delicious. Almost sophisticated enough to stop you
troffing them in one sitting. And the packaging wins any
Secret Santa exchange.
montybojangles.com