Chef Wise

We all know a foodie. The person you go to for restaurant recommendations, who isn't perplexed by that alien vegetable the MasterChef contestants are cooking with, and who actually looks forward to the sweet release of cooking a nourishing meal after a long, tiring day at work. But how do you surprise someone who's always the first to know about the latest epicurean trends? Your answer lies in the hallowed kitchens of Leiths School of Food and Wine in West London. Having produced food industry legends such as Diana Henry, Lorraine Pascale, Matt Tebbutt and Gizzi Erskine, even the most particular gourmet is sure to be impressed by a visit to the revered school. Offering the largest range of classes and courses of any cookery school in the UK, there's a present for every palate. The school's programme draws influence from cuisines all over the world and students have the chance to learn from the acclaimed Leiths teachers as well as celebrity chefs such...

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for the beer-lover in your life, take inspiration from our list of 10 books about our national drink. While the number of breweries in the UK has rocketed – up to 1,700 at the last count – writing about beer, brewers and pubs is also in good health. Whether you want a romp through beer's 10,000-year history, some tips on cooking with beer or a handy guide to the best places to enjoy it, there's a book just waiting to go under your Christmas tree. All the books below have been written by some of our finest beer and pubs writers, whose work has been recognised in the annual awards staged by the British Guild of Beer Writers.  Simply choose, wrap up, hand over - preferably with a bottle of seasonal ale – and wait for the gratitude to pour in. The World Atlas of Beer                            ...

Vorrei the online Italian retailer have expanded their shop this year with a carefully selected range of new products for Christmas. The small family firm are the UK's leading Italian dried fig specialists. Priding themselves on personal customer service, Vorrei not only select additive, preservative and colourant free products but have an extensive range of vegan and vegetarian gifts. Selecting the very best producers of fig specialities from Southern Italy Vorrei are the best stocked online source for Italian dried figs and fig delicacies. Their family run producers use ancient recipes and local produce to create sweet chocolate fig roll, figs with almonds, fresh figs in syrup, fig pralines with coffee and fig pralines with lemon. Hand made from an artisanal recipe, Vorrei's vegan panettone, flavoured with sweet, plump raisins is full of flavour and incredibly light and fluffy. Costing just £16, they make a perfect animal-friendly gift this Christmas. Founder...

For anyone struggling to find the right gift for the wine lover in their life, an English Wine Tasting Tour Gift Voucher offers the perfect solution. Experience gifts are growing in popularity, and an English Wine Tasting Tour Gift Voucher provides an all-inclusive and extremely memorable experience day. It is the perfect way to get an up close and authentic experience of the English Wine industry and the opportunity to taste an array of English wines. English Wine Tasting Tours are more than your average Vineyard Tour and Tasting gift.  What makes them so unique is that they pick you up from central London (no one has to worry about driving) and take you for a full day tasting English Wine, with a small group of fellow wine lovers. Their English wine tours include a visit to two acclaimed English Vineyards for a tour, and tutored tasting, with a very English inspired gastro pub lunch in-between, with a discount on all wines purchased. For 2017 they are launch...