The choices we make as consumers have a big impact on the planet, so this holiday season, let’s try to be as discerning as our foodie friends and family. When it comes to gifting, choosing local and sustainable giftss will not only bring smiles to their receivers, but to Mother Earth as well.
In our latest 8Shades’ Gift Guide, delight the gourmands in your life with our selection of gift ideas for foodies, all sourced from companies in Hong Kong that are doing their part in making sure we are meeting the needs of the present, without compromising the future.
1. Biodynamic Wine Box
Wine connoisseurs will appreciate La Cabane’s extensive selection of natural and biodynamic wines, made without chemical treatments, sulfites, and with minimal technological intervention. The Bubbly Wine box is perfect for holiday gatherings, featuring six different types of sparkling wine, including Ari Pét-Nat 2021, from Travis Tausend Wines in Australia, Bubulle 2014, from Domaine Jousset in France, and Crick 2018, from Lammidia in Montepulciano, Italy.
Available at lacabane.hk
2. Plant-based Christmas Cheese, Crackers and Dip
Garden Hill, a plant-based creamery founded by professional chef Jan Yeung, following her work with Grassroots Pantry and Nectar, has put together a Christmas Hamper with all their top sellers: aged sharp cheese from cashew and coconut cream; feta cheese, truffle mayo and herbed cream cheese from tofu; black cumin and rosemary crackers, shortbread, and Everything Cashew dip, packed in a Garden Hill tote bag, for HK$520/set. The company delivers free around Hong Kong for orders over HK$400. Please order hampers three days in advance.
Available at gardenhillhk.com
3. Ethically Sourced Chocolate
Founded by a Swiss and Israeli couple who met in Hong Kong and have a passion for experimenting with food, Conspiracy Chocolate is a small-batch, bean-to-bar craft chocolate company with its own licensed creation lab in Wong Chuk Hang. They use hand-sorted cacao beans from a single farm in Dak Lak province in Vietnam, and the tasting notes of the cacao are earth, spicy and fruity with a full-bodied finish. Conspiracy Chocolate’s vegan bars are 75% cacao or higher, and do not contain anything besides cacao and minimal amounts of organic, raw cane sugar.
Popular chocolate bars include Genmaicha, CBD and Salt and Caramel. For the holidays, Conspiracy Chocolate have created limited-time-only Christmas specials, including Maple Pecan and Christmas Pine chocolate bars, and coated caramelised almonds. Order online or visit their pop-up at Freida Club in Sai Ying Pun from 28 November to 12 December.
Available at conspiracychocolate.com
4. Vegan Christmas Cookies
The Vege Lab, a pastry shop founded by passionate vegan baker Yuki in 2018, is dedicated to creating beautiful and delicious desserts that are made from 100% plant-based ingredients, free from dairy, eggs and animal products.
This year’s special Christmas Cookie Box includes melt-in-your-mouth Wasanbon Shortbread, fruity Candied Lemon Earl Gray cookies; crispy Kochi Yuzu Pink Pepper Frosting Cookies and Strawberry Chocolate Sandwich cookies made with Valrhona’s vegan cookie filling. The box also contains Tieguanyin Tea Almond Snowballs and flavourful Caffe Mocha Pecan Cookies. Each box is HK$320, but order two or more for a 10% discount.
Available at thevegelab.com
5. Green Platter
A ‘Green’ Platter or Grazing Table would be the best gift for friends who love to host parties. A typical platter would include artisanal cheese, organic fruit and dips, freshly baked bread and a variety of savouries that can be customised based on the receiver’s preferences.
The Green Platters company ethos focuses on the use of sustainable and fresh (locally sourced, if possible) food, eco-friendly packaging, and giving back to the community, therefore all their suppliers are ethical and packaging is biodegradable or plant-based.
Available at thegreenplatters.com
6. Vegan Baking Gift Hamper
Gift Hampers Hong Kong is a great place to find a variety of gourmet hampers for the holidays, and in case you’re in a rush, the site offers same day delivery. The Vegan Baking Hamper is the perfect gift for a friend who has just started experimenting with the oven. It includes a chef’s apron, novelty kitchen timer, organic tea, extra virgin olive oil, organic coconut butter, gluten-free marble cake mix, baking cups and cookie cutters.
Available at gifthampers.com.hk
7. Green Forest Hamper
Le Fromage, founded by Chef Tina Barrat, who is also behind the recently opened fine-dining restaurant Ma… and the Seeds of Life, is dedicated to creating hand-crafted plant-based cheeses using nutritionally dense ingredients like cashews and almonds. Le Fromage offers at least 20 different types of vegan cheeses, among which the bestsellers are truffle-infused Shamembert, and creamy and flavourful Brie: Pink Peppercorn, both made with cashews. The online and K11 Musea stores also carry keto breads, gluten-free crackers and mushroom faux gras.
The Green Forest hamper includes a mix of Le Fromage’s signature vegan cheeses such as the Shamembert (235g), Sharp Cheddar (160g) and artisanal treats like fig chutney, almond flour keto bread; and comes with a bottle of Absolute Zero Nectar Alcohol-Free sparkling wine.
Available at lefromage.com.hk
8. Coffee Starter Set
Another ethical company born out of romance, Impact Berry was founded by a couple who met while volunteering in then earthquake-devastated regions of Indonesia. Timo and Sonja started looking for ways for the villagers to create new streams of income, discovered their rich heritage and expertise in coffee, and brought this to Hong Kong.
Impact Berry now helps communities in Indonesia and Vietnam by sourcing all of their coffee beans from these areas and making sure the beans are grown, processed and distributed in a responsible way, and with their carbon footprint low.
Coffee lovers will enjoy Impact Berry’s Coffee Starter set, which includes three assorted blends of coffee beans with tasting notes, a hand grinder and French Press Coffee Maker, letting you brew delicious coffee without any other equipment. Their Coffee Bean Tasting Set is also a great way to get acquainted with their medium roast coffee beans (use the code SANTACALLING! to get a HK$50 discount).
Available at impactberry.com.hk
More gift guides:
- 8Shades Gift Guide: Lifestyle Gifts For Men
- 8Shades’ Gift Guide: Ethical Gifts in Hong Kong
- 8Shades’ Gift Guide: For Yogis
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