TRENDING . . . INTERACTIVE BAKING Get the kids involved in a real-life Hansel and Gretel-style situation by making a gingerbread house for Christmas. This cookie-cutter kit from UK-based Prezzy Box (0044-8452495007, prezzy box.com) has all the cookie cutters you will need to make this gingerbread chalet, including the animals, fencing, Christmas tree and shepherd. Whether the end result looks like the one seen here is anybody’s guess, but you should have a lot of fun even getting to that point. The object of the exercise, of course, is memory making, not winning The Great Irish Bake Off. The set, which includes the recipe, cutters, cutting knives and assembly instructions, costs about £15.95 (€19.05) ex- delivery.
This personality-laden vegetable brush by MAS Joie puts a fun spin on a less-than-pleasant chore. Costing €4.95, it makes the perfect stocking filler for the foodie who has everything. Stock Design (01-6794317), 33 to 34 South King Street, Dublin 2, is offering this nifty little kitchen aid for €4.46 to Irish Times readers who present today’s column. Offer ends December 24th.
Coffee purists like the 15-bar pressure, 0.9 litre, pod coffee, milk-frothing Favola Lavazza machine (25cm by 22cm by 30cm) by AEG because it makes great espresso ristretto, espresso lungo, macchiato, cappuccino, latte and Americano. The white design comes with either chocolate brown, purple or red detailing and is reduced from €150 to €105 at Brown Thomas (brownthomas.com), Dublin (01-6056666), Cork (021-4805555) and Limerick (061-417222). Offer ends January 5th. The machine comes with one box of 16 Lavazza coffee pods. Additional 16-pack boxes cost €6. This personality-laden vegetable brush by MAS Joie puts a fun spin on a less-than-pleasant chore. Priced €4.95 it makes the perfect stocking filler for the foodie who has everything. Stock Design (01-6794317), 33 to 34 South King Street, Dublin 2, is offering this nifty little kitchen aid for €4.46 to Bargain Hunter readers who present today’s column. Offer ends December 24th.
Calling all serious cooks. In-House (01-236 8400 in-house.ie), Sallynoggin Road Upper, Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, is selling the Viking food mixer, described as the Samson of mixers for its ability to work through difficult textures, for €649 – down from its usual price of €949 – while stocks lasts. The motor of the graphite grey steel device has 1,000 watts of power and the machine comes with a pizza hook, a bubble whisk for whipping cream and a dough mixer. Michelin-star restaurant Chapter One uses one in its kitchen.
A Kenwood smoothie-maker is a smart way to ingest your five a day. The SB245 silver smoothie-maker has a powerful 400 watt motor, a 1.25 litre capacity, three speed options and a dispensing tap that also makes it good for creating cocktails. It is normally €69.99. To celebrate food month, Irish Times readers who present today’s column can buy it for €39.99. Offer ends November 27th and is available at Expert Electrical (01-8050569), Arnotts, Henry Street, Dublin 1; and Michael Briscoe Electrix (041-9837302), NewGrange Business Park, Donore Road, Drogheda, Co Louth, and Unit 3 (01-8359637), Ashbourne Retail Park, Ashbourne, Co Meath.
Kitchen Complements (01-6770734, kitchencomplements.ie) has settled in well to its bigger premises on South Anne Street and is offering Bargain Hunter readers who present today’s column the opportunity to invest in a plane grater set by Swiss brand Zyliss. The two grater set includes a fine grater for zest, chocolate, garlic, ginger, nutmeg and so on, and a two-way grater for cheese, carrot, apple and other fruit and vegetables. The set normally sells for €49.90. It is on special for €29.90 Offer ends November 27th.
Sweeney O’Rourke (01-6777212, sweeneyorourke.com), 34 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, is one of the country’s best known catering equipment suppliers. The store is offering Bargain Hunter readers who present today’s column 20 per cent off the entire range of Wustof knives, across their Ikon, Classic, Silverpoint, Gourmet and new Xline lines. The shop devotes nine metres of display to this chef favourite. A simple paring knife from the Classic range normally sells for €7.06. BH readers can buy it for €5.65. A Wustof Gourmet carver, usually costing €53.97, can be bought by BH readers for €43.18. Offers are available in store, include VAT and end December 24th.
THREE OF A KIND . . . SMART STORAGE This Boho owl tea caddy tin, €17, is just one of several stylish options at Marks and Spencer (marksandspencer.ie). Check out the robin motif tins and their cool typography printed cake tins, €35 for a set of two.
THREE OF A KIND . . . SMART STORAGE Orla Kiely’s Stem print has become a victim of its own success – it has become so popular that fans have started to fall out of love with it. This new cleaner version has a raised white glaze moulded pottery-finish kitchen storage jars and high gloss colour glazed lids(above). The inside of each pot is also glazed in the same high gloss colour, making for a striking contrast with the white exterior. The lids have rubber air-tight sealing rings. The one-litre storage jars, 13cm by 13.5cm, come in charcoal, orange and yellow, and cost €29.95 at all branches of The Kilkenny Shop (kilkenny shop.com). The smaller, orange-lidded sugar pot, 9cm by 9.5cm, costs €25.95. This Boho owl tea caddy tin, €17 (left), is just one of several stylish options at Marks and Spencer (marksandspencer.ie). Check out the very robin motif tins and their very cool typography printed cake tins, €35 for a set of two.
THREE OF A KIND . . . SMART STORAGE This giant custard-cream tin takes the biscuit when it comes to adding some humour to the storage. The 32cm-long tin costs £11.25 (€13.44) ex- delivery, from UK-based The Contemporary Home (0044-845 1308 229, tch.net).
