Darling Bites – the perfect Christmas gift for food-lovers

Hello Dear Reader,

Do you ever find yourself in the situation I find myself in most Christmases? Your friends and family all know you are a food-lover. They put a lot of thought into your gift, buying or making up a food hamper. They wait with baited breath when you open their gift – you are delighted to see lots of food and they are delighted with your reaction. Then you start actually eating the products to find they are over-processed, full of additives, generally of inferior quality and not very nice at all.

The solution to this ever-recurring problem is to direct them to a new company called Darling Bites, who produce gift hampers and treat boxes full of fabulous food made by specialist British artisan-producers. Darling Bites actively seek out quality British craftsmanship and they screen every product personally checking for quality and taste.

Darling Bites - the perfect Christmas gift for food-lovers

I have to admit I hadn’t even heard of Darling Bites when they contacted me to see if I wanted to try one of their hampers. One line of their email had me hooked to investigate further “all of the products we stock in our boxes are artisan British made”.

I checked out their website and was delighted to find that their products included some of my favourite artisan producers, and some I had been wanting to try but hadn’t found anywhere, and some which were new to me. I was also very excited to find so many additive-free products in one place!

You can choose themed boxes, like breakfast or chocolate or fruity or spicy or savoury. Or you can do as I did and make up your own mix – I emailed a list of products I’d be interested in and waited for my hamper to arrive.

The box it came in was beautiful – I didn’t even know it was possibly to get such pretty packaging boxes suitable for posting!

Darling Bites

I shall definitely be re-using this for posting some of my own Christmas gifts!

The hamper inside is another pretty box which I shall keep to store some of my baking or crafting supplies but which could easily be re-used as a gift box.

Darling Bites

 

Inside everything had been carefully protected with bubble wrap…

Darling Bites

 

and cushioned with sparkly tissue paper…

Darling Bites

 

the products lovingly packed by hand, nestling in protective shredded paper…

Darling Bites

 

It is very exciting to see such a lovely range of artisan products that haven’t required hours of hunting to source them all.

Over the next week Mr Vohn and I enjoy a little treat every night!

Darling Bites

Mr Filbert’s Peruvian Pink Peppercorn Cashews and Peanuts are delicious, honey-sweet followed by the rich tang of quality black pepper with its distinctive smokey spice. It was a race between Mr Vohn and me to devour the last few crumbs!

Darling Bites

 

 

Darling Bites

I am a big fan of the chocolate ginger biscuits made by Island Bakery, who produce organic biscuits on the Scottish island of Mull, so was very excited to get the chance to try their chocolate limes. The crumbly shortbread has a delicate hint of lime, whilst the dark chocolate then enhances the lime flavour which seems to explode in the mouth. I love these so much that I am very reluctant to share them!

Darling Bites

 

 

Darling Bites

The disc of solid chocolate from artisan chocolatier Willie Harcourt-Cooze is a rich dark chocolate with little chunks of juicy ginger and a hint of lime. This is richly more-ish and addictive!

 

Darling Bites

The fruit and nut bar by The Grown Up Chocolate Company is certainly, as its name suggests, hunky dory. The gianduja is rich and decadent. However the ingredients list isn’t quite so pure and clean as all the other products in my hamper and I leave this for others to finish.

 

Darling Bites

Mr Vohn adores the Gnaw lemon meringue chocolate but the cocoa butter base is too light and creamy for my rich dark chocolatey tastes. I do love the natural lemon flavour and the little chunks of crunchy meringue which crumble off for me to “steal” from him.

Darling Bites

 

 

 

Darling Bites

I have never seen these hare and tortoise biscuits by Ashbourne before and instantly fall in love with them. The box is charming, with a short version of Aesop’s fable on the outside. The biscuits are rich and sweet with toffee, whilst the wheat flour gives them an unusual texture with a very nice crunch.

They are perfectly formed and have to be the cutest biscuits I’ve ever seen!

Darling Bites

Darling Bites

 

As a food-blogger I spend a lot of time throughout the year seeking out artisan products which are delicious, locally made, sustainable and distinctive. When the Taste awards come out each year it gives me real joy to find that a product I have been telling people about has won a Great Taste award from the Guild of Fine Food. These are quality products, which are not mass-produced and are often not found in supermarkets or on the high street.

How can my friends and family be expected to find these gems in the hectic rush before Christmas? They can’t, so I end up with the sorts of food I have spent the whole year trying to eliminate from my diet!

Not so any longer – I will simply direct them to Darling Bites and ask them to chose anything!
Easy for them, delicious for me!

Vohn
x

Legalese: I was sent a Darling Bites hamper to review but was not told what to write in this blog post and all opinions are my own.

Tried and Tested

14 comments

  1. Oh my, what a gorgeous box of treats. The biscuits are just beautiful. #TriedTested

    • Thanks Polly. All these wonderful comments are making me want to go buy a box to send to myself! 😉

    • It certainly is – I know of no easier way to choose a selection of such wonderful products. 🙂

  2. Ooh, you’ve chosen well there Vohn – can I come and join you and Mr Vohn? Fabulous to find a site that sells good quality products. I agree with you that many of the Christmas hampers I see out there leave a lot to be desired.

    • Definitely Choclette! You are welcome at chez Vohn any time you like!
      I immediately thought of you when I saw the fantastic Darling Bites chocolate-themed hamper! 🙂

    • Thanks for popping by Helen. That is one of the delights of these Darling Bites hampers – everything is chosen with such care and attention to detail. Not just delicious treats but also amusing play on words included! 🙂

  3. What yummy items….Those tortoise & hare biscuits are adorable x
    Enjoy!

    • You are so right Kim – adorable is the perfect word – I actually squealed with delight when I first saw those biscuits! 🙂

  4. What a gorgeous food hamper, just perfect for Christmas, or any occasion really! Much better than a lot of the processed versions. Thanks for linking up with #TriedTested

    • Thanks Kate. You are absolutely right – prefect for any occasion – I was just thinking about how lovely it would be to bring one to a summer picnic with friends and family if you hadn’t had time to cook. 🙂

  5. Dear Vohn,
    Thank you for this ‘perfect gift’ solution.
    However, it will prove addictive!
    One for (gift recipient) and one for me, one for (gift recipient) and one for me, until every gift box/hamper has been chosen.
    We love your blog and always look forward to your next posting.
    With very best regards,
    Jake Norfolk

    • I love it Jake! That sounds like an ideal way to buy these delicious hampers!
      As always, thanks so much for your kind comments about my blog – you always make my day with what you say. 😀

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