We’ve tasted, sipped, broken apart, crumbled and examined all the festive products from small producers we could get our hands on, then whittled the list down to the very best of them – just for you
BOXING DAY CENTREPIECE
Calum Franklin, master of the double-crust pie and proudly self-described ‘pastry deviant’, has again created a Christmas showstopper for Melton Mowbray-based traditional pork pie makers Dickinson & Morris. If you don’t have time to make Nokx Majozi’s centrepiece on p110, this one is good looking enough to take pride of place on anyone’s Boxing Day table. The burnished, crisp-yet-satisfyingly-lardy pastry is perhaps a little thick in parts but other than that the pie is a marvel: the shiny, ruby-red port and cranberry jelly blankets a magnificent mixture of well seasoned outdoor-bred pork, chicken and smoked bacon. £40 for 1.1kg, Fortnum & Mason, selected Waitrose deli counters and porkpie.co.uk
Luscious biccies
You’re no doubt familiar with the crackle-topped, chewy almondyness of trad Tuscan ricciarelli, but have you tried chocolate ricciarelli? They’re made by Nannini to an old family recipe, with the genius addition of melted Belgian chocolate in the dough (a revelation). Serve with coffee for a two-bite-size dessert on days when you want less time in the kitchen, more at the table. Nannini ricciarelli with almonds, £18 for 250g, sacla.co.uk
Are you team mint chocolate?
If you’re orange-flavoured chocolate only, move along please, nothing to see here. Mint choc fans, however, will love the products of Summerdown, a farm in Hampshire that grows the sought-after black mitcham variety of peppermint. We tried the thins, crisps and mini choc squares, but our favourite is the peppermint creams, which have a satisfying dark-chocolate-to-gooey-peppermint-cream ratio, a pleasing plumpness and just the right amount of chew. £8.50 for 200g, summerdown.com
Get the party started
Every festive gathering needs crisps, and these aren’t just any old crisps: they’re Tyrell’s new black garlic and sour cream flavour, so moreish we advise buying six bags – two for the party; two for betwixmas snacking; two for emergencies. The black garlickiness is rounded out by the sour cream: super-tasty yet with no breath-affecting aftertaste, if you get our drift… £2.75 for 135g, Waitrose and Ocado
Frozen genius
Layers of gelato, creamy with mascarpone and saturated with the flavours that make tiramisu perennially popular: sweet marsala wine and coffee, finished with a blanket
