Good tidings and Good Food: Christmas gift guide for Sydney food-lovers
We've got you covered, friends. Last-minute places to shop, hampers to send, markets to attend. Good Food loves this time of year. And the best gift to us is that you use this guide to embrace it too.
Jill Dupleix
My favourite place for gifts:
Has to be Harris Farm, because who doesn't want a box of cherries to serve with your pav and panettone for emergency Christmas snacking?
- Various locations, harrisfarm.com.au
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
A pure linen tea-towel from Bondi photographer Sarah Silverton that captures surf, sand and ocean pool scenes from Tamarama and Bondi. Because I don't care how rich you are, you still get to help out with the dishes on Christmas Day.
My go-to Christmas market:
Always small, local and rural, not big, global and urban. The Christmas Fair at Saddles Mount White appeals because the grounds around the lake are lovely, and I can buy my way out via market stalls of local farm produce while singing Christmas carols with the choir. Just like Love Actually, but with good coffee.
- December 18, 10am-3pm, saddlesmtwhite.com.au
The food hamper I'd love to give or get:
A good hamper has a sense of place, and the Harvest Christmas Box (from the Newrybar restaurant) is hyper-local and uniquely Australian. Put together by chefs David Moyle, Jo Barrett and Matt Stone, it contains Davidson plum Christmas cake cooked in the residual heat of Harvest's 120-year-old oven, local pandanus vinegar, lavosh-style crackers using locally milled flour, seasonal shio koji pickles for the Christmas ham, Byron's Beam Coffee beans, Rough Rice's sourdough miso and Jo Barrett's panforte, big on the local macadamias.
- $320 plus shipping Australia-wide or $320 plus shipping Australia-wide, harvest.com.au, or same-day Sydney delivery via DRNKS.com
Terry Durack
My favourite place for gifts:
The family-run Amatos Liquor Mart in Leichhardt, has been a wonderland of fine wines, cheeses, olive oils and Italian goodies for 45 years. Their secret sauce, however, is a mind-blowing range of well-priced aperitivi and Italian vermouths, including my all-time favourite, the classy Carpano Antica Formula ($66.99).
- Shop 2, 267-277 Norton Street, Leichhardt, amatos.com.au
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
A packet of potato chips. I don't know an over-privileged, done-it-all food-lover who wouldn't love to find crisp, salty Torres potato crisps from Barcelona in their Christmas stocking. Biggest seller is truffle (125g, $13), but ignore the jamon or smoked paprika at your peril.
- Gourmet Life, Edgecliff and Potts Point, gourmetlife.com.au
My go-to Christmas market:
Carriageworks' Twilight Christmas Market runs from 4pm to 8pm on December 22 with more than 80 great stalls serving up everything from Broken Bay oysters to Block 11's organic vegetables and LP's smoked meats. Plus (and let's be honest, the real reason it's my favourite) the RE Bar team will be making cocktails using market produce that would otherwise go to waste.
- 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, carriageworks.com.au
The food hamper I'd love to give or get:
Bruny Island's Nick Haddow puts two of my favourite food groups together in one festive hamper: beer and cheese ($89). You get his deep-flavoured Raw Milk C2 cheese, and oozy, surface-ripened Saint cheese, bread and butter pickles and Tassie sea salt lavash, as well as their Farm Ale and Bruny Black Dark Ale. Beer and cheese … it must be Christmas.
Trudi Jenkins
My favourite place for gifts:
The Juno & Sons pop-up in Paddington is a one-stop-shop for the disorganised gift-giver (me). Hospitality professional Terry Higgins has curated a personal collection of gifts for food-lovers, from Baldwin Studios' Pico bowls (perfect as pinch pots for salt and pepper) to Jodi Dawson's beautiful ceramics (used in restaurants such as Cho Cho San and The Apollo). Plus Listo margarita mixes, chefs' knives and a whole lot more.
- 250 Glenmore Road, Paddington, junoandsons.com
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
I don't know many people who wouldn't like a bottle of The Botanist gin for those obligatory summer G&Ts, and this year they've teamed up with September Studio in Darlinghurst to create a gorgeous handwoven native Christmas wreath, made from botanicals such as lemon myrtle and Geraldton wax that do double duty as cocktail garnishes. Your front door is not too far to stagger for a quick forage!
My go-to Christmas market:
My local is Carriageworks, but this year I will enjoy being able to venture further afield (and over the bridge!) to Northside Produce Market (December 18) – the main thing is that Brilliant Foods also has a stall here. A side of their smoked ocean trout, with accompanying wasabi cream and pickled red onions, is my Christmas entertaining hack – just add some supermarket blinis or your favourite sturdy crackers.
- 220 Miller Street, North Sydney, northsydneycentre.com.au/markets/northside-produce-market
The food hamper I'd love to give and get:
Being from the UK, I struggle with the whole prawns on the barbie thing at Christmas, but a big, celebratory box of Snowgoose cherries is something I can get behind. Supply is limited this year due to increased rainfall but Snowgoose is renowned for its quality, plus the other inclusions (if you go beyond cherries) are much better than the average online hamper – Meredith Dairy goat's cheese for example, plus Henschke wines, Nina's Belgian chocolates or even a bottle of Dom Perignon if you're feeling generous.
- From $99, snowgoose.com.au
Callan Boys
My favourite place for gifts:
Simon Johnson is an oldie but a very reliable goodie, and all stores are open until 4pm on Christmas Eve – handy if you, like me, leave all your cookbook, fancy olive oil, caviar, linen napkin and Florentine buying until the last minute. The gourmet importer closed online orders early this year due to huge demand, but its brick-and-mortar outlets are chockful of cracking gifts, many already wrapped and ready to go. The Alexandria warehouse outpost is the trick, where I've often found cheeses at peak ripeness for sale at 80 per cent off.
- 24A Ralph Street, Alexandria, 02 8244 8220, simonjohnson.com
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
It's a small shame that Christmas weather isn't ideal for whisky, because nothing goes better with too much custard than a big golden dram. Tasmania's Lark Distilling has released a very fine Christmas whisky this year, but the spirits lover in your life may be even more impressed with Lark's new Brandy & PX Sherry Cask single malt made in partnership with South Australian winery Seppeltsfield. Essentially plum pudding in a glass, featuring dark cherry, bright citrus peel and smoke in the distance. Perfect for sharing over that third viewing of Elf.
- 100ml for $80 or 500ml for $300, larkdistillery.com
My go-to Christmas market:
Gee, it's nice to see The Rocks buzzing again. Who needs cruise ship spend when thousands of Sydneysiders are keen to hit the precinct's Christmas markets every Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Local artisans provide plenty of edible and non-food gift ideas among the yuletide decorations (it's a regular Diagon Alley down there), but the biggest drawcard might be Broomfields' pie-and-mash pop-up with all-butter pastry and soothing fillings until February. Get the Christmas pie while it's hot, starring white wine and sage stuffing, pot-roasted turkey, cranberry and pork.
- Christmas-themed markets until December 19, Playfair Street and George Street, The Rocks
The food hamper I'd love to give or get:
It's impossible to visit LP's Quality Meats and not buy at least two of the house-made condiments so why not triple down and collect them all? At least the Christmassy ones anyway, lovingly packaged and ready to bolster Australia's hams. LP's $95 Provisions Box features pickled prunes and cherries, beer mustard, smoked olive oil and more. Speaking of ham, the Chippendale meatsmith's whole leg has already sold out, but Harris Farm is accepting ham-per delivery orders until December 24. The retailer's $60 ham box contains a half leg, five nectarines and mixed berry jam for your glazing needs.
Myffy Rigby
My favourite place for gifts:
For me, it's all about the DEA store in Redfern. A treasure trove of Japanese ceramics, Spanish cook's knives, French linen napery and barware to make F. Scott Fitzgerald rise from the grave to stir a round of martinis. Everything needed to cater for your stylish loved ones.
- 146 Regent Street, Redfern, thedeastore.com
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
For a cool $10,000, the entire team from Mountain Culture beer (possibly the best craft beer in Australia, located in an old video shop in Katoomba) will deliver a case of their bestselling Be Kind Rewind beer dressed as Santa, and sing 15 minutes of Christmas carols. (Disclaimer on their site: "You must be located within a three-hour drive from Sydney with no dogs that will attack us.")
My go-to Christmas market:
The Sydney Fish Market trades for 36 hours straight in the lead-up to Christmas Day. Sure, there's the spectacle of seeing all those Sydneysiders panic-buy thousands of kilos of prawns. But my hot tip? Walk, cycle or take public transport to avoid the traffic congestion, and visit late at night when the temperature has dropped and the queues have subsided.
- Corner Pyrmont Bridge Road and Bank Street, Pyrmont, sydneyfishmarket.com.au
The food hamper I'd love to give or get:
Every year, charities such as OzHarvest, the Salvation Army and St Vincent de Paul have donation drives so families at risk don't go without over the festive season. Any amount helps, but the cost of a luxury hamper is enough to cater an entire Christmas lunch for a family. Just some food for thought.
Megan Johnston
My favourite place for gifts:
Haberfield is where it's at for everything Italian. Lamonica's IGA stocks a virtual mountain of panettone (lemon, tiramisu, pear and chocolate, and fig and chocolate, and more) plus a range of pandoro and torta. Pick up a box of limited-edition Dolce & Gabbana Baci at Pasticceria Papa, excellent cheeses from Paesanella (the walnut-studded mascarpone reale is our fave), then stroll next door to Jessica Pedemont's Chocolate Artisan shop (Fridays and Saturdays only) for hand-made bon bons, truffles, barks and chocolate-coated nuts.
- Ramsay and Dalhousie streets, Haberfield
What to give the food nerd who has everything:
Oysters, what else? East 33 delivers quality Sydney rock oysters from the NSW coast to front doors across Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Choose a weekly, fortnightly or monthly subscription (from $53), or a special one-off gift ($69). Oysters come shucked and ready to serve, or unshucked if you prefer. Or make a party of it and add pre-batched Archie Rose cocktails, or a bottle of Dom Perignon or Cloudy Bay sauvignon blanc. Money to burn? Book a seaplane trip to Wallis Lake for a three-course lunch and oyster farm adventure. (January 7 or 14, tickets $1740.68 a head).
My go-to Christmas market:
You don't need to be of the plant-based persuasion to enjoy Sydney Vegan Market, now at its new home in Sydney Olympic Park. Come for the market vibes, free music and gift ideas (cheeses, chocolates, biscuits, drinks and sauces, for starters). Oh, and bring your pooch – it's dog-friendly.
- Sunday, December 19, Cathy Freeman Park, Sydney Olympic Park, sydneyveganmarket.com
The food hamper I'd love to give or get:
Gluten-free stollen is finally a thing in Australia, thanks to coeliac-friendly boutique bakery Carpathia. Put together a box of the spiced buttery German sweet bread (with or without marzipan), plus other European treats such as pfeffernusse, lebkuchen and zimtsterne and you'll make a loved one's GF Christmas.
- Mail orders in NSW by Saturday, December 18. Stollen $50, biscuits $10-$15, plus postage, carpathiahouse.com
The best recipes from Australia's leading chefs straight to your inbox.
Sign up