Christmas food luxuries to send by post, from white truffles to steak hampers

Feeding people, it’s what Christmas is about. The turkey, the cake, the pudding, the goodies, the “oh go on just one more, it is Christmas”; call it love, nurture or just a last blowout before winter takes hold, it’s part of the ritual, and one that’s deeply ingrained in the cook’s psyche. But if this year there will be fewer people around the table than usual, take comfort in making sure you still treat your friends and family, however far away they are.

In fact, there’s never been a better time. Food delivery is booming, with artisan producers finding new markets from supermarket-weary, locked-down customers and restaurant suppliers branching out to retail. The restaurants themselves are blasting away some of the mystique of the professional kitchen with meal kits so that those of us starved of dinners out can recreate the dishes in our own homes.

So, what is the ultimate foodie present? If cash is short, then homemade chutney or jam is a money-can’t-buy love in a pot. Or take a tip from the Americans and pack a tin with homemade biscuits, cut in festive shapes and speckled with red and green hundreds and thousands.

But at the other end of the scale, the money-no-object end, there’s only one answer. Truffles, of course. I don’t mean chocolates (although a box of champagne truffles never goes amiss). Real truffles, a kind of underground fungus, are the most revered ingredient in cuisine, and Alba white truffles are the holy grail.

They might resemble grubby, knobbly pebbles and a small one can cost more than dinner for two in a Michelin-starred restaurant, but chefs go wild for the gorgeously musky, funky fragrance. Of course, all the excitement may be more than gastronomic: the unimpressive-looking fungi are said to contain sex pheromones.

For most of us, our experience of truffle is in products such as cheese, oil, paste, pasta. Sadly though, these mostly contain minimal, if any, truffle. What you are tasting is a blend of flavourings, chiefly the appetisingly named bis (methylthio) methane, aka 2,4-Dithiapentane – the labels will probably refer simply to “truffle flavouring”.

If you are after the real thing, then head to wiltshiretruffles.com which, alongside fresh truffles, sells butter, cheese and truffle mayonnaise, eschewing truffle flavouring in favour of copious amounts of black truffle.

It’s probably fair that finding a fresh white truffle for sale is hard work. Truffle hunters and their dogs spend long cold hours rummaging in the woods in search of just one tiny fungus, in a sort of vegetal version of the Detectorists. They are indeed buried treasure: one enormous truffle weighing nearly 1.3kg fetched $330,000 at auction three years ago. But as the harvest is tiny, it is blisteringly expensive, and mostly goes to restaurants.

Still want to buy one? The River Café, Ducasse at the Dorchester, Angela Hartnett, and London’s Trullo restaurant source theirs from truffle dealer Meera Cortesi, who left banking 15 years ago to import these diamonds of the vegetable world from Italy. A precious few of Cortesi’s stock go to Fortnum & Mason, which will ship them nationwide.

When I spoke to Cortesi this week she was just packing up her bag in the Fortnum’s offices. It’s peak white truffle season now until Christmas, and the new season black truffles are just arriving too, from Norcia in Italy and Perigord in France. But never mind the geography, I had one important question: if I’m shelling out £200 on a something that looks like an undersized Jerusalem artichoke, how do I know it’s a good one?

“Feel it: it should be dense, and definitely not spongy. Then smell it – it should smell strong, but if it makes you recoil, it has gone bad. You also sometimes get some that don’t smell of anything, which we call patate – potatoes – in Italy.”

But, Cortesi pointed out, it’s a wild food, so there will be some variation, and once you’ve got your truffle, don’t hang around. “It’s like strawberries – if you buy it, eat it. When you are spending that kind of money, they are best fresh.”

If you must keep your truffle, five days is the maximum and store it wrapped in kitchen paper in an airtight container in the fridge. Pop a few eggs in the container too, as they are porous and will absorb the fragrance, “for fantastic scrambled eggs.” Christmas breakfast, sorted.

Truffles from Fortnum & Mason cost around £6,500 per kg for white truffles (£195 for a 30g truffle) and £2,200 per kg for black winter truffles. These prices can vary through the season. To order call the fresh food order desk (020 7734 8040, extension 14170) where staff can advise on sizes available and current prices.

More special deliveries for foodies

Best for seafood lovers

A platter of oysters is a stunning way to start a Christmas meal, and they will last five days in the fridge (including a day in delivery) making them perfect to send as a present. Teardrop-shaped Rock or Pacific oysters are excellent, but if you want to push the boat out just a little more, rounder shelled natives are considered oyster nirvana by Ostreidae epicures. The Haward family have been cultivating oysters around Mersea Island in Essex since the 18th century, and can deliver either or both kinds.

Rock oysters from 70p each, natives from 90p each, from richardhawardsoysters.shop; last orders by 10am on Dec 22 for delivery on Dec 23

Best for greedy groups

A whole truckle of cheese feels really celebratory, and lasts for several weeks. Rather than the small, heavily waxed pucks (generally made from large blocks, minced and then pressed together), look for cloth-bound cheeses that start at about 2kg. Leftovers won’t be hard to use, and everyone can take a slab home.

Stilton is the classic, and cheesemonger-to-the-Queen Paxton & Whitfield has a 2.3kg truckle that’s perfect for slicing or scooping. It also sells traditional wooden-handled scoops (£21).

Whole baby stilton £60, paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk; last orders Dec 18 (delivery slots are filling up fast; if you find they are all booked up, call 01451 823460. The line opens from 8.30am on Monday)

Cheddar may be less traditional than stilton but it’s a great crowd pleaser. It’ll last even longer too: keep it in the fridge wrapped in waxed paper, or press cling film to the cut surfaces (not the rind). Montgomery’s cheddar has won dozens of awards for its mellow cheddar, and the whole truckles are currently on offer for £14.95 per kg, with each weighing about 2kg. Buy from montgomerycheese.co.uk; last orders Dec 20.

Best for steak aficionados

The Meat Merchant’s (aka Peter Hannan) Irish beef is legendary among connoisseurs and was the only steak chef Mark Hix would serve in his restaurants. Much of it aged in chambers lined with bricks of Himalayan salt, it has an unparalleled richness of flavour, scoring it Supreme Champion in the Great Taste Awards.

Fortnum & Mason is the sole UK stockist, but The Meat Merchant is delivering boxes into the UK.

The Steak Hamper containing 20 generous steaks, including a côte de boeuf and a T-bone, both serving two (all vacuum packed and suitable for freezing), £220 including delivery from themeatmerchant.com; last orders Dec 21

Restaurant meal kits by post

If your Christmas present to friends or family is usually a slap-up dinner out, then a ready-to-serve meal sent from one of the country’s best restaurants could fill the gap perfectly. Most need to be eaten within a day or two of arrival, so check with the recipient when suits them, or buy a gift voucher to put under the tree.

Best for MasterChef wannabes

Michelin-starred Lyle’s restaurant delivers dinners that are exquisitely delicious, giving you the full fine dining experience (sans the service, alas) in your own kitchen. The multiple courses do require a bit of attention to assemble all the components (blackcurrant powder on the game parfait, dried orange slices on the scallop tartare) but they give a fascinating glimpse into how restaurant dishes are finished and plated up.

Lyle’s Game Menu, eight courses and chocolates, £140 for two.

Best for giving the cook a night off (almost)

The dinners from Jacob Kenedy’s regional Italian restaurant Bocca di Lupo are simpler to put together, with most of the cooking being done before you sit down, and still deliver big on the flavours. Regions change monthly, with Piemonte featuring in December and Tuscany in January.

From £42 for the four-course rustic “Tuscany in Campo” to £112 for the four-course “Piemonte Truffle and Veal Feast”.

Best for stepping in with Christmas lunch

Townsend Restaurant in London’s Whitechapel can deliver the full monty, although you’ll have to prep the veg. Chef Joe Fox, formerly of Petersham Nurseries, has included easy directions. There’s a choice of pudding and starter, and a vegetarian option too.

From £70 for two people to £265 for six to eight, or £48 to £170 for just the main course. Last orders Dec 15.