Food & Drink – Page 8 – The Review Studio

NOMO Chocolate Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

If you’ve never heard of NOMO, then this Christmas you will certainly see the brand in the shops and especially on the advent calendar section of supermarkets. NOMO stands for No Missing Out and relates to the fact that their chocolate is vegan and free from dairy, gluten egg and nuts. So no one who has any of those major intolerances will miss out on chocolate this Christmas.

The same size as most advent calendars, the NOMO chocolate advent calendar has 24 windows to cover the whole of advent. Behind each windows is a scrumptious creamy chocolate drop made with Rainforest Alliance cocoa and is entirely plant based, hence there aren’t the allergens that other chocolates contain. The chocolate instead contains rice powder, shea oil, sea salt and flavourings with a dash of sugar too.

You really can’t taste that the NOMO chocolate is any different to traditional chocolate. It’s still smooth and creamy, still has the milk chocolate taste and no after taste.

At £5 for the calendar it compares to other brands too. If you’re giving this as a gift to someone you don’t know very well, it works perfectly because anyone can eat it no matter their intolerances or allergies! Children will love the chocolate behind each window but adults will love it just as much as the packaging isn’t just for children. Father Christmas is dressed in blue though – like the NOMO logo colours!

You can find not just advent calendars by NOMO this Christmas but lots of other chocolate sweets which we’ll be reviewing later this week. You can find NOMO in supermarkets such as Waitrose, Co-Op, Morrison, Holland & Barratt, Nisa, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Available from £5 at: https://nomochoc.com/products/advent-calendar-2

Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Christmas, eco friendly, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Plastic free

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

One of the more brilliant ideas for discovering new foods, flavours or in this case teas is to ask for an advent calendar before Christmas. Bird & Blend Tea have created 24 days of different tea flavours for you to try, which circumnavigates having to spend money on a box of teabags you might not like. This is becoming an increasingly clever way of trying new products without having to spend the time choosing something new, and is often much cheaper too.

Celebrating Christmas and perhaps helping you buy the gift for the person who has everything (including excellent taste in tea!) the Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar also acts as a tasting menu. Not really designed for children, although older teenagers who love tea will probably appreciate this, it’s decorated in yellow and blue with two teabags behind each of the 24 windows. The size of the calendar is bigger than the usual chocolate calendars, so taller than A4 and about letterbox side in width. As you’d imagine with teabags though, it’s pretty light and can be posted easily and not get ruined in the post.

Inside there’s instructions on how to read the teabags. Each bag has a key of how much caffeine they contain, how many minutes they should be brewed for and whether you should add milk. If you’re a real tea expert, it will also tell you the correct temperature to brew at, as apparently some need more heat and therefore 80 degrees centigrade is needed. Within the doors, there’s even a scoreboard for the top 5 blends you enjoy so you know what to buy later.

When you open the windows, there are two identically flavoured teabags behind them. They’re not individually wrapped and each of them are plastic free so they’re compostable too. Some of the flavours include Chocolate Digestive, Treacle Sponge, Apple Strudel, Banana Bread Chai and of course, the Great British Cuppa! My personal favourite (although I do appreciate a good British Cuppa) was Gingerbread Chai. You can tell that a lot of thought has gone into this selection with the mix of winter, Christmas and classic flavours. I don’t think any of the flavours are repeated and some of them I’ve never seen before.

Whether you’re just a big fan of tea, or looking for something different to try during the winter, the Bird & Blend Tea Advent Calendar is a great choice and sure to make anyone smile this Christmas!

Available for £38 at: https://www.birdandblendtea.com/products/tea-advent-calendar

Joe & Seph’s Popcorn Bites – Chocolate Orange

Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Lunchbox Fillers, Stocking Fillers, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Just in time for Christmas, Joe & Seph have launched their delicious Chocolate Orange Popcorn Bites. That’s right, not just popcorn, not just chocolate but Chocolate Orange flavoured chocolate!

If you’ve never had Popcorn Bites from Joe & Seph’s before, I’ll try and explain what they are. Perfectly popped pieced of popcorn are encased in cups of rich chocolate. They look like popcorn pieces set in thimbles of chocolate and turned out to create each little bite which you can pop into your mouth easily. The popcorn and chocolate melt at different rates so as you chew, you get a hit of chocolate, then the texture of popcorn and then the richness of the chocolate again.

Joe & Seph’s are famous for their gourmet popcorn with over 80 flavours and more being added all the time. The popcorn is cooked to the highest standard with no ‘crunchy bits’ at the bottom of the bag and no unpopped kernels. The milk chocolate meets the same exacting qualities as the popcorn, with it’s melt-in-the-mouth smoothness and no fake sugary taste. You can taste both the chocolate and the orange in each Popcorn Bite, and the popcorn itself is velvety caramel, but not too sweet.

The Popcorn Bite grab bag is 63 grams, vegetarian friendly and gluten free. There’s no artificial colours, flavours or preservatives either. It’s the perfect size for sharing or an afternoon snack and a great treat for children to share after school. You can see that it’s great for the cinema, or would be perfect as a stocking filler too!

Available at £3.50: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/gifts/chocolate-orange-popcorn-bites

Lo Bros Kombucha Drinks

Drinks and Mixers, eco friendly, Family Life, Food & Drink, health, Lunchbox Fillers, Plastic free

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

There’s two new flavours of Lo Bros’ Kombucha in town, and just in time for the Christmas festivities too! Lo Bros sent us some samples to try, along with some of their famous cans. Just as the summer is ending (can you tell I’m working from my outdoor office this weekend?) we think about going into Christmas and how it probably isn’t great for our overall health. Kombucha is your friend this time of year; let me explain why.

What is kombucha?

Kombucha is a fermented drink, which by the nature of how it’s made is filled with live, good bacteria. This good bacteria is great for your tummy and balances out the bad bacteria that can make us feel sluggish, but also causes lots of health problems. The good bacteria is an antidote to our lifestyles as well, where we probably don’t eat as wholefully and healthily as we should. The fermentation happens with very low sugar in the juices which are used so there’s not a lot of glucose in the drinks, and kombucha is naturally fizzy. The end products is an effervescent fruit flavoured drink which also contains live culture.

Lo Bros have several flavours, some of which we’ve reviewed before: https://thereviewstudio.co.uk/2023/07/26/lo-bros-kombucha-cola/ but this week we were sent two new flavours: Raspberry & Blackcurrant and the limited edition Fruit Crush. Fruit Crush is made with black tea, mango, orange, passion fruit, apple and raspberry, all fermented together to make the fizzy kombucha. The Raspberry & Blackcurrant flavour is made the same way, with a slightly sweeter flavour to it and the hints of raspberry and blackcurrant coming through. The Ginger & Lemon and Raspberry & Lemon flavours are just as delicious, with the subtleties of each fruit coming through and the sparkling texture plays on your tongue. You can almost imagine it is like an alcoholic drink – but healthier!

The bottles are eco-friendly as they’re not made of plastic, they’re all glass and the cans are recyclable too. In fact, Lo Bros are a Net Plastic Brand, meaning they don’t put any plastic into the environment.

Lo Bros was born in Byron Bay, Australia 20 years ago and has since transported to the UK.

Fruit Crush and Raspberry & Blackcurrant will be available in Sainsburys soon for £2. Here’s the link to Lo Bros’ Cola: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/lo-bros-organic-kombucha-cola-330ml

Maxtris Chocolate Advent Calendar from Sacla

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Everyone knows European chocolate is the best there is. It’s the ingredients, the way it’s made and a centuries old history that elevates it above all else out there. The Maxtris Chocolate Advent Calendar from Sacla is Italy’s finest confectionary, all bundled up in Christmas in the form of 24 drawers each filled with chocolate.

The A4 sized boxed chocolates are extremely pretty, with doors that open up to reveal the 24 windows for each day of advent. Behind each drawer there is a chocolate from a range that includes Extra Dark 70%, Milk, Pistachio and Noisette. Each of the chocolates are reminiscent of another brand of round, individually wrapped European chocolates, with a coating of chocolate around a filling of softer fondant chocolate which melts at a lower temperature. After having tried several of the chocolates for this review (yes, I know it’s not Advent yet but I am testing them after all!) I can confidently confirm that these chocolates are actually much nicer. Maxitris chocolates don’t have the processed taste to them, they feel more natural and have the sweetness of the chocolate coming through instead of the added sugar that other brands have. They taste more authentic.

The advent calendar itself is gorgeous. The bright red packaging, which is very sturdy and suitable for posting, is well made and recyclable. The little drawers behind the doors are individually numbered save for a few which you can work out as you hunt for numbers. There’s cartoons of Santa, elves and a reindeer plus a shiny gold metallic finish to each of the illustrations. Once you get to drawer 24, Christmas Eve, there isn’t an extra special prize unfortunately, but if you felt like it, you could always add something yourself as the drawers aren’t fixed and can be opened and closed without ruining them.

This is a lovely calendar for adults or children. Children will like the bright colours and discovering what’s inside each drawer whereas adults will appreciate the exquisite chocolates. The whole calendar can be re-purposed as well, either adding something different or extra to the drawers, or keep the whole calendar for next year when you put something different in it, even if it’s not chocolate or sweets. It’s not gender specific nor does it have any year assigned to it so this could be used again and again!

A perfect gift for chocolate lovers, anyone who loves Christmas or anything to do with Italy. Looks very pretty on the mantel piece too!

Available from £25.00 at: https://www.sacla.co.uk/products/advent-calendar-by-maxtris?variant=43821577175270

Flapjackery Advent Calendar Box

advent calendar, Christmas, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gluten Free

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

I know we’re still in September but we’re already thinking about the countdown to Christmas and the traditional way to do that is with an Advent calendar. Retailers have really upped their game when it comes to advent calendars, these days you can buy Advent calendars containing a plethora of treats including toys, beauty products, alcohol and my favourite of all – food!

Flapjacks are one of my favourite treats so the Flapjackery advent calendar box is top of my Advent Calendar list this year – as well as counting down the days to Christmas it gives me the perfect excuse to indulge in a piece of delicious flapjack every day.

Flapjackery’s luxurious and decadent Advent Calendar Box contains 24 individually wrapped delicious gluten free flapjacks so you will discover a new flavour every day. There’s Chrismassy flapjacks, chocolate topped flapjacks as well as some more unusual versions and is a great way to sample a selection of Flapjackery flapjacks. The flapjacks in the Advent Calendar box aren’t numbered but for an additional £13 you can have velvet or jute numbered pouches to put your flapjacks in which makes it feel more like a traditional advent calendar.

I’m looking forward to trying the Mince Pie Flapjack and the Dark Chocolate Orange Flapjack whilst my husband likes the sound of the Creamy Hazelnut Chocolate Flapjack with Caramel drizzle and the Florentine Flapjack.

The other flavours are Golden Caramel Flapjack, Caramel Latte Flapjack, Chocolate Fudge Flapjack, Granola Flapjack, Clotted Cream Fudge Flapjack, Ginger & Dark Chocolate Flapjack, Millionaires Flapjack, Christmas Millionaires Flapjack, with white choc drizzle, Salted Caramel Fudge Flapjack, Traditional Flapjack, Raspberry Millionaire’s Flapjack, Rocky Road Flapjack, Burnt Caramel & Sea Salt Flapjack, Mint Fudge Flapjack, Milk Chocolate Orange Flapjack, Rum & Raisin flapjack, Peanut Butter Fudge, Billionaires Flapjack, Christmas Orange Flapjack and Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel.

The flapjacks are handmade in Devon on the edge of Dartmoor using only British oats, locally-sourced West Country ingredients, fair-trade brown sugar and real butter.

The advent calendar box can be ordered for delivery from the middle of October and unless an earlier date is specified will be dispatched the week commencing November 1 so will be with you in plenty of time for the start of Advent. The flapjacks are packaged in recyclable cardboard boxes and have a shelf life of three months – although I would be very surprised if there were any left by Christmas!

Advent Calendar Box £52

Advent Calendar with Velvet Advent Pouch £65.00

Advent Calendar with Jute Advent Pouch £65.00

Lola’s Cupcakes Halloween Naked Nationwide Cake

Autumn, Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Halloween

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review but all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It’s almost October and the shops are pulling out all the stops with an incredible array of Halloween themed products. As well as the traditional costumes, decorations and accessories there is a huge selection of Halloween themed food and drink available which is perfect for parties. Obviously, you can’t have a party without cake (well not in our house) so our little witches and ghouls have been testing some terrifyingly tasty Halloween treats (with a little help from us of course!!)

We’ve decided that the Halloween Naked Nationwide Cake from Lola’s Cupcakes will make a fantastic centrepiece at any Halloween party and if you don’t live near one of their London stores don’t worry, as they can be posted anywhere in the UK. The delicious vanilla sponge with orange and mauve buttercream icing is topped with bright orange pumpkins, spooky sprinkles, sugarpaste ghosts and bats with “Happy Halloween” piped on the top. The moist sponge cake has a nice thick layer of mauve buttercream and the sponge is really light and fluffy. The cake is tastefully decorated so it is appealing to children yet sophisticated enough for adults too!

It’s always a worry ordering cakes online, but this cake was incredibly well packaged in a cardboard box with cool blocks and a thermal liner to ensure it arrived in perfect condition. Once opened the cake should be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container and whilst it is best eaten within 48 hours if but you do have any left it can be kept in the fridge for another 2 days – although I can guarantee there wasn’t much chance of that happening in our house!!! I was also pleased to discover that the thermal liner and ice pack can be returned to Lola’s Cupcakes for them to clean and reuse, they even include a prepaid label so this doesn’t cost you anything.

Overall, I was really impressed with this cake, it not only looks impressive it tastes amazing too, the sponge is nice and light which makes it rather moreish, and the combination of the buttercream filling and the sponge was absolutely delicious.

Lola’s Cupcakes make all their cakes fresh by hand each day from scratch, using only high quality ingredients so if you want to treat your ghosts, ghouls and witches this Halloween I would take a look now! The first day of delivery for this cake is the 24^th October and the last is just in time for Halloween on the 31^st October.

The company has a variety of delicious treats on their website and after with a few celebrations coming up it won’t be long before I’m ordering some more….

RRP £42.50

Pact Coffee Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Christmas, coffee, Family Life, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Coffee makes a lot of people happy. I have an office which runs on either coffee, chocolate (or both) and the discussions around the finer points of both food stuffs are both daily and endless. Which is better, filtered or cafetiere coffee? South American or Kenyan? Dark roasted or lightly roasted? (apparently that’s a thing) and more importantly, where do you buy your coffee from?

Pact Coffee, the British coffee roasters have brought out their most extravagant coffee advent calendar to date. Packed with 25 different coffee roasts, I wondered how it was going to arrive with enough coffee included in each day to allow at least one cup of coffee to be made. Surely they weren’t little windows like the chocolate calendars have? Well, last week a box arrived and my questions were answered. Inside the slightly bigger than shoebox sized calendar were 25 filed packets of individually sourced coffees from around the world. If you can’t get your head around how they’re presented, have a look at the photo and it makes sense!

Now you might be wondering why there are 25 packets and not the usual 24? Well Pact Coffee have decided to include their Special Christmas Blend so that you can sit back on Christmas Day and enjoy a coffee, in the knowledge that you have spent the whole of December sampling everything from specialty coffees to luxury and rare coffees. Sourced from 8 countries and all carefully selected, the coffees showcase the best of stock that Pact have to offer. On the inside of the lid is a QR code so that you can access the menu online and choose to buy the coffee at a later date. There’s up to 200 different roasts to choose from online at any time and the menu changes over the year too.

For example, Day 1 is the Kiri coffee. The card has the packet attached, clearly stating that it’s Day 1 (so if they become slightly dislodged in the box, you can still match them up). The card explains that Kiri is grown by a collective of smallholder farmers in Kenya and on the back it gives more of a background – hints of blackcurrant jam, light roast and even the variety. It’s grown in the high altitudes and the cooperative who grow it operates with a luxuriously lengthy washing process.

I tried several of the coffees over the weekend, but there are so many, it’s best to follow them in order and one a day if you want to get the full benefit! The best one out of the handful I tried was Kibirizi Washed. The Rwandan coffee has a hint of orange marmalade and is only lightly roasted with a silky mouthfeel. Divine!

If you’re not into advent calendars then this would make a lovely gift for a family or to create conversation in the office before you purchase a Pact Coffee subscription. It’s really easy to find the roasts online to be able to pick out anything you want from their menu, and the variety of coffees is a great way to sample something other than your usual. Coffee lovers will adore it!

Currently available for £29.95 at: https://www.pactcoffee.com/christmas/ground-pact-coffee-advent-calendar-23

HaPPi Oat Mil Chocolate Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, eco friendly, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gluten Free, Plastic free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer : We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review but all words and opinions are our own

A fun way to count down the days to Christmas is with an advent calendar and these days there so many different ones to choose from. When you have food allergies and intolerances though, the choice of chocolate calendars is very restricted, so I was really pleased to be able to try an oat milk chocolate advent calendar from HaPPi Choc.

The calendar has a fun Christmas bauble design on the front with 24 numbered doors to help you count down to the big day. Behind each door you will find a delicious Salted Caramel, Plain Milk or Orange oat milk chocolate wrapped chocolate. The chocolate is suitable for Vegans and is also gluten, soya & palm oil free, as well as dairy, egg & nut free so it is the perfect choice for anyone with a food intolerance or who eats a plant based diet.

Lower in sugar than other chocolate brands HaPPi chocolate is sustainably sourced with their cacao purchased directly from Luker, a Columbian family owned business and co-operative. HaPPi are 100% ethically driven and work closely with a network of farmers, alliances and communities to improve social welfare, biodiversity and farming practices and their oat milk chocolate is made using single origin 47% Colombian cacao and oat milk.

In line with HaPPi’s sustainable ethos all the packaging is recyclable with the calendar containing no plastic at all. The inner tray that contains the chocolates is made from cardboard rather than plastic which is fantastic, I’ve been trying to reduce my plastic use this year so it’s great to have an eco-friendly advent calendar this year. HaPPi also give 1% of their annual net sales revenue to good causes and mental health organisations so buying a HaPPi advent calendar helps lots of other people too.

With smooth creamy chocolates no one needs to miss out on a chocolate advent calendar this year.

Divine Deliciously Smooth 70% Dark Chocolate Advent Calendar and Joyful Caramel, Hazelnut and Candied Orange Chocolate Bar

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, Christmas, eco friendly, Family Life, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

The world is divided into those who love dark chocolate and those who detest it. I am definitely a lover of dark chocolate, and the higher cocoa content the better so this 70% advent calendar from Divine was mine for the taking. Plus, I’m never one to pass up the opportunity to try chocolate, so when it came with Divine’s Joyful Christmas chocolate in caramel, hazelnut and candied orange flavour, there was no stopping me!

The advent calendar is packed with 24 windowed chocolate pieces, one for every day of advent up until Christmas Eve. The calendar itself is beautiful, in black packaging to illustrate the dark chocolate and brightly coloured with decorations and figures of the farmers who product the cocoa. Unlike other calendars, this one is vegan too.

Every bar of Divine Chocolate helps to directly change the lives of cocoa farmers around the world. Divine Chocolates are made with only Fairtrade cocoa and sugar, so the majority of the ingredients are sourced from the right farmers who are given the right compensation. That alone should make you feel good about buying Divine Chocolate but it doesn’t stop there. All of the flavours and ingredients are natural, and they use only 100% pure cocoa butter. Additionally, Divine are helping to save the environment and habitations too by using NO palm oil.

This is an advent calendar clearly children will enjoy but adults will too, and anyone with a conscience will appreciate that somewhere in Ghana, there is a farmer and his family whose life will be improved by you supporting Divine Chocolate.

What is the Joyful chocolate like though? As a special edition for Christmas, this chocolate is 45% cocoa so a higher amount than typical milk chocolate without being bitter. You can feel the texture of the hazelnut filling and there are lovely pieces of caramel to give it the slightly sticky, sweet taste too. I can’t say that the orange flavour is very strong, so if you’re a fan of citrus or candied orange then this isn’t overpowering. The whole bar is a grown-up way of celebrating Christmas though, and very moreish. I would suggest this is a good treat for when you’re Christmas shopping, or to have one dark evening after dinner. If you give chocolate and money as gifts to adults, I would recommend the Divine Joyful Christmas Chocolate every time, but don’t expect it to last past Boxing Day!

Advent calendar available for £5 from Ocado, Whole Foods, Oxfam and online at: https://www.divinechocolate.com/product/divine-dark-70-chocolate-advent-calendar

Joyful Christmas Chocolate bar available for £4.50: https://www.divinechocolate.com/product/divine-joyful-christmas-bar-180g

Divine Seriously Smooth Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, chocolate, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Chocolate is no longer just for children, nor is it the over-farmed, unfair trade that it used to be, or at least it doesn’t have to be if you choose the right retailer. Divine Chocolate is co-owned by cocoa farmers to give them a better deal on their wares plus improves the standard of the chocolate. It’s a win/win for everyone and their 2023 advent calendars are no exception!

We were sent two to try, the first one being the Seriously Smooth Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar. With 24 days (or nights if you’re being pedantic) of chocolate to taste, it’s the usual size and structure of an advent calendar. Slightly larger than A4 size, it can be posted and most of it is recyclable due to the cardboard involved. The windows open to reveal a Christmas-themed chocolate which appeals to both children and adults. Nothing complicated about that? Well there isn’t anything complicated, it’s just that the chocolate has secret powers… Secret powers to change lives. Let me explain more.

What is the chocolate like though? Well as you would imagine, it’s smooth milk chocolate, and it has a more authentic chocolate taste because it has pure cocoa butter and contains no palm oil. No substitutions mean that it’s a richer, smoother chocolate both in texture and taste.

Available for £5 from Ocado, Whole Foods, Oxfam and online at: https://www.divinechocolate.com/product/divine-milk-chocolate-advent-calendar

Wavey Ice SIPS Cocktails and Ice Pops

alcoholic drinks, Autumn, Days Out, Drinks and Mixers, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Before the very end of summer looms, and Christmas celebrations start we are in that autumn phase where some of the days are hot and humid and sometimes, like today, it is pouring with rain and you don’t want to leave the house. The evenings are getting darker quicker but with brilliant sunshine and unseasonal heat it’s difficult to say goodbye to summer for good.

Wavey Ice produce these gorgeous alcoholic frozen ice pops aimed solely at adults. With flavours such as Kola & Spiced Rum, Black Grape & White Rum and Watermelon and Vodka (All at 6.25% ABV) then there’s no excuse to not get the party started, no matter the weather! This array of flavours is enough to keep anyone happy and the fact that they’re alcoholic too makes them all the more delicious. You can eat them on their own or add them to a mixer as a coolant, just keep them away from the kids!

Wavey Ice have also launched their own range of refrigerated cocktails. This includes two flavours of mocktails; Virgin Mango & Pineapple Mojito and Virgin Sex on the Beach. The mojito flavours are obvious but if you’re not familiar with Sex on the Beach as a cocktail, it is peach, orange and cranberry. Each 200ml pouch is enough for a tumbler sized glass and the pliable pouches fit nicely into any fridge. You can either drink them straight from the pouch for a picnic, add them to alcohol as a mixer or even make up a bigger bowl with them to create a punch. I had them one afternoon to rehydrate after a day out and they’re very refreshing; a nice alternative to fruit juice and as they’re made with real fruit juice. Even better, there’s no hangover because they’re alcohol free and the Mango and Pineapple Mojito has just won Silver in the Irish Quality Food and Drink Awards!

As Wavey SIPS are freshly made with fresh fruit juice and ingredients, there is a limited shelf life to them. Pop them in the fridge and drink them as soon as possible, or they can also go in the freezer for later.Wavey Ice SIPS and Ice Pops are available from £16.99 per box at: https://waveyice.com/collections/sips

Opies Christmas Fruit in Alcohol

Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Home, secret santa, Stocking Fillers, Winter

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Opies Christmas fruits will surprise you. Not just because of how tasty they are but because of how versatile the fruits are, especially at Christmas. We were sent 4 different fruits in their iconic round glass jars to try as part of the Christmas 2024 range, including the exclusive Fruits of the Forest which is out now. Baby Pears, Black Cherries and lastly Peaches were also sent to us. The uses for them are endless, but have you thought about giving them as gifts too?

Great for Secret Santa, or as part of a Christmas hamper, the fruits are preserved in juice and alcohol and already stoned ready to eat. There’s a minimum of 460 grams net in each jar too, which is plenty for cooking or baking with. The suggestions on the website are endless and include using them in cocktails and punches at Christmas, but I prefer eating them just as a dessert with cream or ice cream, or baking with them!

In the photos, I’ve used the Black Cherries in some homemade almond cookies. Made with butter and almond flour, the cookies are flavoured with the cherry pieces and I added some of the juice from the jar to give the deep purple colour. Once cooked, there isn’t the alcohol taste at all but instead it left the cookies soft and with the cherry fruit as the main ingredient.

Taking each of the baby pears, I wrapped them in pastry and added sugar and cinnamon to create these little desserts. They only took 20 minutes in the oven and I actually cheated and used ready-made pastry so that I could concentrate on the flavour. These freeze really nicely so that you can bring them out at Christmas or as a dessert one evening with a little ice cream, especially if they’re warmed slightly. I also used the pastry to make these gorgeous little Fruits of the Forest tarts. Some of them had pastry crust and some of them I left open to bake but they were all so colourful and so delicious that they looked fantastic for snacks or dessert!

Other uses for the fruits include making a tart with the peaches, creating a flan with gelatine using all the different fruits and my favourite way of using them is to add them as a filling to croissants, especially useful if you’re making the croissants out of a ready-made tin. Opies Fruits are great to use with kids as they’re nice and sweet and easy to handle, and if you are baking them then the alcohol burns off. The juices from each of the jars can be added to alcoholic drinks or jelly mixture too. Ever thought about Opies Fruit juice and gin lollies?

Each of the jars is packed to the brim with real fruits and Opies make sure they’re the best quality and well preserved. There’s so much in each jar that I had to put them in the fridge each time I opened them in order to use them again and again. They’re handy to keep in the cupboard too, unopened so that you can have a dessert on hand or add the juice and fruit to something you’re baking. If you’re a real Christmas food connessuier though, Opies Fruits are delicious this time of year and a gorgeous reminder of summer fruits as we go into winter.

Available from most supermarkets and online from £7.50 at: https://www.bennettopie.com

Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, Stocking Fillers, Winter

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Are you the type of family who open advent calendars in the morning before school? When coming in after school? Or do you wait until after dinner to indulge in the daily Christmas chocolate? In our house, we always had chocolate after dinner but now that I’m an adult I have to remind myself that I can have chocolate any time of the day, even when it’s not Christmas!

Cadbury make a whole range of different chocolates and this Cadbury Heroes Share Good Times is an ideal adult or teenage gift. The Heroes range of chocolates include Eclairs, Fudge, Wispa, Dairy Milk, Crunchie, Twirl, Dairy Milk Caramel, Double Decker and Crème Egg Twist. These are all the miniature varieties of the bigger bars but just as delicious and probably better for your health overall! They’re individually wrapped behind 24 windows and make up 230 grams in total of chocolate inside.

Probably aimed at older children, teenagers and adults, the variety of chocolate bars appeals to anyone who loves chocolate. Even if there’s one or two you don’t like, there are 9 different bars to choose from so you can guarantee there’ll be another one the next day that you will. If like me you don’t usually buy chocolate bars throughout the year, you’ll be surprised what’s on the market now. I’d never seen Crème Egg Twisted before, and it’s been a long time since I had a Double Decker so these brought back memories!

I really like the idea of having so many different bars in one calendar, and yes, they are much smaller than the full sized bars but they’re just the same taste, and give the same chocolate hit I’m always looking for mid afternoon. It’s reminded me how much I love a Fudge bar or Twirl and made me look forward to opening the next window in the Cadbury Heroes Advent Calendar throughout Christmas.

Available from £7.19 at: https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/cadbury-heroes-advent-calendar.html

Cadbury Snowballs Chocolate and Chocolate Coins

Children, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, secret santa, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Who here DIDN’T have chocolate coins for Christmas as a child? Were they part of your stocking? Perhaps Gran gave you some chocolate as part of your Christmas present along with a few notes when you were a teenager? I know I used to get a bar of chocolate at Christmas with something monetary sellotaped to it because that’s all I wanted by the time I was that age!

Cadbury have a range of chocolate gifts for every occasion and you’ll be pleased to know that their famous chocolate coins are still going strong. Available everywhere for the festive season, there’s something nostalgic about getting the coins, then trying to prise open that plastic netting that I swear is stronger than steel… only to have to spend the next half hour delicately peeling off the foil from each of the coins before devour them. I’m not sure they were ever meant to be an exercise in dexterity, but the satisfaction of getting the foil off of a chocolate coin on one go without bending or tearing it is something every child should experience.

The Cadbury Snowballs Chocolate bar and grab bag are relatively new to the range. Slightly crunchy shells are covered in a light dusting of sugar and filled with milk chocolate to give a contradictory crunch and smooth chocolate sensation. Deliciously more-ish, they’re perfect for stockings, Secret Santa or as a part present for either adults or children. Whichever Cadbury chocolates you choose, don’t forget they won’t be around for the rest of the year, so snap them up when you can!

https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/cadbury-mini-snow-balls-bar-110g.html

https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/cadbury-mini-snow-balls-chocolate-family-sharing-bag-296g.html

https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/cadbury-dairy-milk-chocolate-christmas-coins-bag-70g.html

Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special

advent calendar, Children, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Advent calendars aren’t just for children anymore. They mostly are, but now we have these bigger, more sophisticated marketing calendars that cater for all kinds of whims and fancies. Adults who love chocolate are spoiled for choice though. Cadbury have an extra special Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special which contains squares of Dairy Milk chocolate chunks which are individually wrapped. There’s caramel, Dairy Milk or wholenut contained in random behind the 24 windows.

This advent calendar is aimed at chocolate lovers but not necessarily children, so it’s great for teenagers, adult children or even partners. There’s no gimmicky marketing with this calendar, just the 24 windows with little individual bars behind each of them. The packaging is largely recyclable, apart from the wrappers and the cocoa is 100% sustainably sourced.

If you love milk chocolate and especially for adults who love chocolate, this is a great gift! There’s a whopping 259 grams of chocolate in this calendar, which is more than 2 bars worth. The individual chunks of chocolate make it easy to share this calendar too, and if you don’t want to eat the pieces, you can save them for later. The individually wrapped chunks are the same Dairy Milk chocolate and quality you’d expect from Cadbury, and I, as a chocolate lover, especially love the fact that there is this variety of flavours to look forward to each day too. It also helps that the Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for Someone Special also has the proper 24 windows, not the new trendy 12 days of advent!

For chocolate lovers, adults, teenagers and anyone whom you’d want to treat, the Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar For Someone Special is a must this Christmas. Available online for £7.19 at: https://www.cadburygiftsdirect.co.uk/cadbury-dairy-milk-chunk-advent-calendar-258g.html

Clean Co Non-Alcoholic Rum Alternative

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Vegan, Vegetarian

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Clean Co are the specialists in creating non-alcoholic spirits, starting with their famous Clean Gin and Clean Rhubarb Gin. Now, they have ventured into other spirits including this Clean Co Rum – a spiced spirit which is also non-alcoholic but with the Caribbean flavour of rum.

Clean Co Rum Alternative has won the International Wine and Spirits Competition (IWSC) bronze award in 2021 for its vanilla on the palate and pineapple and raisin on the tastebuds. It’s certainly a welcome alternative to the other non-alcoholic spirits that don’t have much depth, taste or mix very well with other drinks to make cocktails.

Clean Co Rum Alternative has a dry, vanilla taste with smokey fruitiness that’s. typical of rum. There’s a slight sugar taste in there too which gives it the fuller flavour of a spirit and it’s delicious with a cola drink or mixed into a cocktail thanks to the added Jamaican spices. You can also try it with ginger ale and lime to give a different skew on its tropical flavours.

The good news is that Clean Co Rum Alternative is also vegan, has no sugar at all and is only 12 calories per 50ml serving. It has less than 0.5% ABV which classifies as non-alcoholic and is lactose free too.

This is a great gift for anyone who is into spirits but doesn’t necessarily like rum yet, so that they can try it and supplement cocktails at home with an authentic rum flavour. Rum lovers, especially those doing Dry January, will love having the rum flavours and none of the alcohol to feel guilty over!

Available online for £16 at: https://clean.co/collections/frontpage/products/cleanr-non-alcoholic

Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Home

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Christmas wouldn’t be the same for children without the excitement of getting a chocolate advent calendar, which in our house was always from my grandparents! As we got older, family friends would always send chocolate advent calendars to us and eventually it became a group amongst all our friends to have a children’s chocolate advent calendar.

Cadbury are the Grand Masters of advent calendars. We were sent 3 out of a range of calendars to try, all of them with delicious chocolate which you would recognise behind every window. The first of those was the Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate Advent Calendar – a staple in any family home. Each of the 24 windows has a small piece of Dairy Milk Chocolate molded into a Christmas shape such as a gingerbread man, present or snowman. There’s pictures behind the windows and the chocolate is hidden behind tin foil to keep it fresh, although it also adds to the anticipation for little fingers to prise it open and reveal the chocolate!

The cocoa in this Dairy Milk Advent Calendar is 100% sustainably sourced and Cadbury partner with the Fairtrade Foundation to promote fair growing for farmers and friendly farming for the environment. The packaging is recyclable, although the foil wrapping isn’t just yet. On the back of the calendar there’s a simple puzzle for children to complete, although I would imagine most children would just be interested in the chocolate inside! There’s 90grams net of chocolate inside, so no overloading on lots of sugar before bedtime.

Cadbury Dairy Milk Advent Calendar for children available online from approximately £4.92 from supermarkets and: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cadbury-Dairy-Chocolate-Advent-Calendar/dp/B076X55SZB/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=cadbury+advent+calendar&qid=1694531043&sr=8-2

Swizzels Sweet Shop Advent Calendar

advent calendar, Children, Christmas, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own

It’s the start of September and the month that advent calendars start to hit the shops. With so many fantastic calendars available I’m finding that you do have to buy them early as the popular ones quickly sell out. Swizzels sweets are a favourite in my house so I’ll be picking up a couple of Mr Swizzels Sweet Shop Advent Calendars for them to enjoy this December.

The calendar has a bright sweet shop seasonal theme and behind the 24 numbered doors you will find a miniature version of iconic Swizzels sweets, will there be Love Hearts, Fizzers, Refresher Bars, Parma Violets, Stinger, Banana Skids, Drumstick or a Snap Crackle behind your door?

At a very purse friendly £5 this is the perfect way to count down to the big day.

O’Donnell Moonshine

alcoholic drinks, Birthday Gifts, Drinks and Mixers, Father's Day, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Gifts for teachers, Mother's Day, Stocking Fillers, Valentine's Day Gifts, Vegan, Winter

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

It is lovely to go out for cocktails with friends but as we all know it’s not a cheap night out. Luckily staying in is the new going out so our evenings out at cocktail bars have now been swapped for the comfort of friend’s houses, thus enabling us to still enjoy our girlie cocktail nights but in a more purse friendly way.

This weekend we’ve been trying some O’Donnell Moonshine which in a nod to the history of moonshine is bottled in cute glass mason jars. The brand, who have featured on Dragons Den, was created back in 2016 after founders August Ullrich and Philip Morsink took a road trip through America learning more about the Prohibition era when the production and sale of alcohol was illegal. Alcohol production went underground, becoming known as Moonshine, as it was made at night to reduce the chance of discovery. The alcohol was stored in mason jars before being handed over to smugglers called ‘bootleggers’ who then sold it on.

Fascinated by the history surrounding Moonshine the friends decided to create their own at home and O’Donnell Moonshine was born.

We have been sampling the following flavours – Very Cherry, Blood Orange, Tough Nut, Sticky Toffee and the new Passion fruit which is lovely and refreshing, especially with some fizz and ice. The Very Cherry is very nice on it’s own and I think it will be a lovely addition next time I make an almond Tart.

The liqueurs are delicious on the rocks or can be topped up with some fizz to produce a delicious ‘spritz’ drink. They also make lovely cocktails too, our favourite was the Passion Fruit Moonshine which went down really well with my friends this weekend – here’s the recipe if you want to try making it yourself?

30ml Passion Fruit Moonshine

60ml Vanilla Vodka

1tbsp Lime Juice

1tbsp Simple Syrup

Prosecco optional served alongside

One thing that O’Donnell pride themselves on is that their Moonshine is vegan friendly and allergen free so they can be enjoyed by everyone.

The 20ml mini sets consisting of 4 x 20ml bottles make a lovely gift and are perfect for sampling the flavours before you commit to a larger bottle – which I guarantee you will once you’ve tried them! They also make lovely gifts too.

Mini set £21.90

700ml bottle £26.90

Joe & Seph’s Cake Collection Popcorn

Birthday Gifts, Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Stocking Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Boy, have we got a treat for you! Joe & Seph, our friends of gourmet popcorn, have sent us their range of NEW Limited Edition Cake Collection flavoured popcorn – perfect for celebrating birthdays!

If you’re wondering what gourmet popcorn is, then let me explain. Not all popcorn is created equal. Gourmet popcorn is air-popped (not fried) and coated in butter. Usually, UK popcorn is made with oil and coated with sugar but Joe & Seph’s coat their gourmet popcorn in butter. This allows yummy flavours to coat the popcorn and creates the varieties which Joe & Seph’s are now famous for. If you’re not familiar with their flavours yet either, then feast yourselves on tastes such as Salted Caramel, Toffee, White Chocolate & Raspberry as well as savoury flavours like Cheese, Marmite and even Olive Oil, Mozzarella & Tomato!

The new Cake Collection which is available online already, has several flavours based on our favourite desserts including Chocolate Fudge Cake, Peanut Butter Blondie, Millionaire’s Shortbread and Birthday Cake. These flavours are designed for celebrations, hence the Birthday Cake variety which makes an excellent birthday gift. They all make excellent gifts though, especially if you stock them up and give a bunch of them at the same time to anyone who loves popcorn.

We first tried the Chocolate Fudge Cake. It’s similar to the other chocolate coated flavours by Joe & Seph’s but much richer and you get more of a chocolate flavour. There’s definitely a fudge flavour in there too. I’m a big lover of peanut butter anyway, so the Peanut Butter Blondie popcorn is fabulous! It tastes of peanut butter (rather than peanuts) and the texture of the popcorn really reminds me of the crunchy peanut butter I love. Millionaire’s Shortbread is a mixture of chocolate and caramel with a bit of crunch in there too from the shortbread. It’s not the strongest flavour overall but you can taste the caramel and chocolate in there and it’s very rich, similar to the Chocolate Fudge Cake. Lastly, my favourite was the Birthday Cake flavour. Very sweet, with raspberry and cream cheese flavouring, it was delicious and so moreish, particularly as we ate it as a replacement dessert after dinner. I think children would like this one the most as it’s both the fruit flavour and sweet together and really reminds me of the birthday cake it’s styled after.

It’s always great to try new flavours, and these Joe & Seph’s Cake Collection flavours are not only a great idea, but will be universally loved by anyone who adores popcorn or is a fan of cakes and desserts.

Each variety is £4.00 from:

https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/popcorn

Peppersmith Mints

Food & Drink, Gluten Free, Plastic free, Sustainable, Vegan

Disclaimer: We received this product free of charge for the purpose of this review and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

One of my favourite sandwiches is cheese and onion but they do make my breath smell, so I try and avoid eating them when I am meeting people. After hearing about my cheese and onion addiction Peppersmith kindly sent me a selection of their delicious mints, pastilles and gums to enable me to continue to eat my favourite sandwiches without worrying about bad breath. Do they work – absolutely! A couple of mints after lunch is proving very effective at freshening my breath, enabling me to talk to people confidently without worrying about my oniony breath.

Peppersmith are one of the leading mint and gum brands in the UK and all their mints are made with 100% natural flavours. They use real British mint plants grown on a small farm in Hampshire to flavour their mints and they are sweetened with Xylitol, a plant based sweetener which contains 40% less calories than sugar. As well as being nice and minty the mints are approved by the Oral Health Foundation as Xylitol has been proven to help reduce tooth decay.

With a choice of Peppermint Mints, Peppermint Gum, Extra Strong Mints, Spearmint Gum, Lemon Mints and Strawberry Pastilles there is something to suit every taste.

The peppermint and spearmint mints are nice and refreshing, cooling your mouth and leaving it feeling nice and fresh. My favourite are the Lemon Mints – made with Sicilian lemons and Hampshire mint the zingy flavour is perfect for freshening my oniony breath, much to the relief of my colleagues!!

The mints are packaged in little cardboard boxes so they get full marks for having environmentally friendly packaging! Each box contains approximately 25 mints and they are the perfect size to keep in your bag or desk drawer. The Peppermint Mints and both flavours of Gum are also available in larger boxes aptly called Mighty Boxes.

All Peppersmith products are sugar free, gluten free, vegan friendly, free from palm oil and nut free.

Available individually or in a mixed taster box or you can even take out a subscription for a regular delivery every 4,8 or 12 weeks

Available directly from Peppersmith or health shops and supermarkets nationwide

Hellmann’s Mayonnaise, Colman’s Mustard and Mint Sauce and Marmite

Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Home, Home & Garden, Lunchbox Fillers

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Remember the Hellmann’s Turkey advert from the 1980s? “Don’t save it for the summer” was the slogan they used to encourage us to eat mayonnaise with Christmas dinner and since then, it’s been a staple in households all over the country along with other favourites such as Colman’s Mint Sauce (great for roast lamb) and Colman’s English Mustard. In fact, I think my first ever taste of mustard was at the Christmas dinner table when I was little, and not ready for the taste that was adorned on my roast at my insistence!

Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise isn’t just for salads. Made with just egg, oil and a dash of vinegar, it’s a time old recipe that is the basis of lots of recipes. With such simple beginnings, it can be used on most meals but at Christmas time, it’s particularly useful with cold meats, especially on Boxing Day. Turkey sandwiches are one of my yuletide memories and they’re usually made with piles of carved turkey and lots and lots of Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise. There’s something about the mixture of the two textures and the cool mayonnaise flavour that make the two go together so well.

If you’re not into mayonnaise, then Colman’s have the taste alternative. Colman’s Mint Sauce and Colman’s Mustard have been in our pantries for decades since the company started in Norwich in 1814. Colman’s Mint Sauce, grown in Norfolk, uses the meat tenderising enzymes found in mint to compliment lamb. Using the sauce cold and eating with a hot lamb joint, the mint brings out the lamb flavour. It’s also particularly good with roast potatoes and adds a completely different angle to home cooked meals.

Colman’s Mustard (English) is a completely different taste. This mustard isn’t as hot as you might think, but still has that peppery taste to it that works so well with beef. You can put this straight on your plate and eat it as an accompaniment to beef, but I have discovered that it works brilliantly if put over your beef joint before going into an air fryer. As the meat cooks in the super hot air, it heats the mustard allowing it to break down the outer fat of the joint and seeping in flavour. I tried it in my air fryer and it created this lovely crust to the outside of the cut, which was super easy and protected the outside from scorching. I also use mustard in my salad dressings, adding a certain hotness to summer lunches which you can’t get anywhere else.

See the Hellmann’s Turkey Sandwich recipe online too: https://www.hellmanns.com/us/en/r/what-shes-having-sandwich.html/255443

Lastly, we would not talking about condiments if we didn’t mention Marmite. Available all over the world now, it is particularly special at Christmas for ex-pats who crave the special taste. If you’ve ever lived abroad or go on holiday where many Brits congregate, you’ll know that Marmite is on all the supermarket shelves. The phrase ‘Love It Or Hate It’ is now part of the English vernacular and recognised as a polarity due to Marmite‘s unique taste. If you’ve never tried it before (and I suggest you do at least give it a go once!) then I can only describe it as a slightly tangy version of beef gravy, only much thicker and spreadable. It goes nicely on toast as most of us will remember from our childhoods, but there are ample recipes available on the Marmite website. There’s a particularly good recipe for Marmite, Ham & Camembert Festive Toasties; perfect for after Christmas dinner or on Boxing Day when you have plenty of leftovers and not many ideas!

Colman’s Mustard (170g) £2.15: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/colmans-original-english-mustard/007650-3584-3585

Colman’s Mint Sauce (165g) £1.80: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/colmans-mint-sauce/738308-589437-589438

Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise £3.00: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/hellmanns-squeezy-real-mayonnaise/393918-55355-55356

Marmite (250g) £3.35: https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/marmite-yeast-extract-spread/007834-3717-3718

Joe & Seph’s Popcorn for National Cinema Day

Children, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for children, Home, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

3 September is National Cinema day in Britain this year. It’s the day when we are all invited to visit the cinema and support the film industry, but this year it’s particularly important as the SAG union strikes are affecting all films made in the US, and most which are scheduled to be made around the world – including the UK.

Joe & Seph’s are big supporters of the movie industry, which is not surprising for a gourmet popcorn company! Joe & Seph’s don’t make just one kind of popcorn though, and it’s not your usual butter coated Saturday Morning Pictures popcorn either!

To celebrate National Cinema Day, and to give you some ideas of their gourmet flavours to try when you get to the cinema, Joe & Seph’s have worked with some big names to get exclusive flavours out there for you. We were sent the flavours; James Bond Dry Martini (popped, not stirred), Dungeon’s & Dragons Chilli Chocolate Caramel (Sweet & Fiery) and Asteroid City Belgian Chocolate & Caramel Asteroids (almost definitely not asteroids, but popcorn!). If those flavours don’t get your mouth watering as you wander into your local cinemas, I don’t know what will!

You’ll notice that each of the flavours is based around a film franchise, which is not surprising given how well popcorn and movies go together. I love both sweet and savoury popcorns, especially if they’re well cooked and the popcorn is soft which it always is with Joe & Seph’s. Starting with the James Bond Dry Martini flavour, it’s more savoury which is what you would expect, but the flavour doesn’t develop until you’ve let it melt in your mouth a little bit. It’s not as overpowering as an actual Martini either, so if you like the taste but not the alcohol, this is very edible! Be warned though, especially if you’re on medication because the flavouring is 5% real gin and vodka! You can also taste the lemon a little bit and the caramel balances the flavour out nicely.

The Dungeons and Dragons Sweet & Fiery is for chilli lovers. Based on the idea of Dungeons & Dragons, the fiery comes from red chilli pepper flavouring, and the sweetness is from caramel and Belgian chocolate. The chocolate isn’t just ordinary chocolate though, Joe & Seph’s only use the best quality Belgian chocolate in any of their popcorn recipes, so you’ll find that this is extra smooth, creamy chocolate and compliments the chilli taste. You’ll love the juxtaposition of the two flavours together, and taking a big handful is not an option unless you’re a really, really big fan of chilli so I would go easy on these until you find your level! It’s a fabulous combination and one that you don’t normally find with popcorn so well worth trying it out.

Lastly, there’s an old favourite. Asteroid City Belgian Chocolate & Caramel. Anyone who loves either chocolate or popcorn will love this flavour, and it’s great for children too. The soft texture of the caramel comes through first, then the chocolate flavour then the sweetness from the caramel. It’s a more subtle flavour than the Sweet & Fiery or Dry Martini but it’s just as enjoyable, if not more so. This Belgian Chocolate & Caramel flavour is also great for adding to ice cream or desserts, and if you’ve never tried Joe & Seph’s before (where have you been?) then I can tell you that the popcorn is robust enough to withstand ice cream sundaes, lashings of whipped cream or even custard without going soggy.

I hope you manage to support the British film industry on 3 September and if you never go to the cinema, this is the one day you’ll not regret making an effort for. Joe & Seph’s are with you all the way, and there’s a flavour for everyone – so see you at the flicks!

Available online from £4 each: https://www.joeandsephs.co.uk/popcorn/smooth-caramel-belgian-chocolate-popcorn?product=6_std

Due Vittorie Oro Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Gift Box

Birthday Gifts, Christmas, Family Life, Food & Drink, Gifts for Her, Gifts for Him, Home, secret santa, Summer

Disclaimer – We received this item free for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.

Christmas is a time to get out the best of the best, or if you prefer, gift the best to your loved ones. Due Vittorie’s award winning Balsamic Vinegar of Moderna comes in a beautiful gift box this Christmas, ready to send to someone who loves their food as much as Due Vittorie… or will you keep this for yourself over the festive season?

Made with 80% cooked grape must and 20% wine vinegar, this is the best selling premium brand of balsamic vinegar in the whole of Italy. It’s made in the famous Modena, giving it the branded name and contains no other preservatives or additives, just the authentic Italian Modena balsamic vinegar taste. It can be added to salads, on cheese or as part of a dessert – the Italian chefs have no end of uses for it so with a bit of imagination, you’ll discover it’s not just for dipping bread into! The balsamic vinegar spends time in oak barrels to transfer the tannins, and give it a heartier, full bodied taste.

The 250ml bottle is not only beautiful but will last a whole year before you buy your next instalment! I loved trying this with bread and on salads as it’s got a slightly sweet taste and is thicker than usual shop bought balsamic. I can see why it’s one of the best selling as it’s so flavoursome. I would rather use this alone on salads rather than mixing it up to make a dressing, and it’s to die for on its own with bread or on pizza. Even the design of the bottle makes it easy to hold when you’re cooking or dressing a dish and it looks fabulous on the shelf!

Anyone who is interested in food, or specifically authentic Italian food will love this as a gift. If your loved ones prefer ‘practical’ gifts which they can use, the Due Vittorie Oro Balsamic Vinegar of Modena Gift Box is an excellent choice and at £20.00 it’s an affordable luxury – and one that will last meal after meal.

Available online for £20.00 at: https://www.artisanoliveoilcompany.co.uk/products/due-vittorie-oro-balsamic-vinegar-of-modena-gift-box-250ml?_pos=16&_sid=ccfb02aa2&_ss=r