Boxing clever: A cheat's guide to sustainable Christmas gifts
Sheridans virtual cheese and wine tasting
MOST of us would like to be the person who turns up at Christmas with homemade gifts wrapped in brown paper and tied up with eco-friendly string but it’s unlikely to happen.
This time of the year — between Santa visits, school plays, and the annual fairy light detangling event — the whole idea of being that organised is just another festive fantasy for most.
This is where our cheat’s guide comes in, helping you to give food-focused gifts from Irish producers.
Buying Irish, whether it’s in person or online, is an investment in the local economy. ISME (Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association) points out that for every €10 spent on Irish products, it generates over €40 in benefits for local communities.
Sustainable doesn’t have to be saintly — it just has to be chosen with care and focused on Irish.Â
We’ve put together our favourite local finds, delicious shortcuts, and experiential events that won’t cost the earth but will give you an eco-friendly glow as you support small businesses around the country.
Do you know someone who loves their coffee pod machine but struggles with the tricky environmental issues involved? There’s a company in Cork that can help with that.
Macroom’s Fzin Coffee is on a mission to eliminate waste caused by plastic and aluminium coffee capsules. These materials are recyclable on their own but, when mixed together, they can’t be easily recycled.
Fzin Coffee’s Aromatico range is a biobased, home-compostable coffee capsule compatible with Nespresso Original machines. They don’t use plastic or aluminium and can be tipped straight into your home compost bin without any sorting or cleaning.
The coffee used is fully compliant with the EU Deforestation Regulation.
The pods are available at fzin.ie (€50 for 100 pods). If you’re looking to upgrade your coffee experience while supporting a local, sustainably minded company, it also contributes to the tree-planting platform Treedom.
Some of the best gifts are those that the recipient can look forward to experiencing after the Christmas baubles are put away.
The ‘virtual wine and cheese nights’ from Sheridans Cheesemongers definitely fall into this category.Â
It’s a simple idea: carefully chosen cheese and wine are delivered to your door, a Zoom link lands in your inbox and, on the designated night, storytellers extraordinaire Kevin Sheridan and Enrico Fantasia, of Grape Circus Wines, will beam into your home, talking you through different styles of cheese, how they are made, and how to taste as you sip and savour.
Both gents have plenty of entertaining anecdotes to share about the small producers they work with. You’ll develop a newfound appreciation for cheesemakers, discover delicious new favourites, and each ticket (€70 + €10 delivery) is good for up to four people.
Well worth gifting to someone who’ll invite you round to share.
For more details, see sheridanscheesemongers.com
A jar of honey from native Irish black bees is always a special thing but sinking your knife into honey from the comb takes that experience one step further.
The bee-crafted hexagonal honeycomb cells give a satisfying crunch when bitten into, while the honey is deliciously smooth and viscous.
It’s a textural experience like no other and is ideal for those who want something more interesting on their morning toast, best loaded onto a trencherman’s slice of sourdough with lots of salty butter.
Starting with a few hives at their home by the Wexford coast, Michael and Anne Wildes, of Tara Hill Honey, now have around 110 production hives dotted around Wexford, Wicklow, and Dublin.
Their blossom honeycomb (€12), available at tarahillhoney.ie, is a reminder of summer flowers in the darkness of midwinter. Something well worth getting out of bed for.
A bean-to-bar chocolate factory right in the heart of Cork City? This is not a fever dream caused by too many selection boxes — this is the reality for former engineer-turned-chocolatier Paul O’Connell.
The Ballyphehane native recently returned to Cork after 35 years working in the US, and opened Tory Top Chocolate on Marlboro St just over 12 months ago.Â
Hands-on chocolate workshops take place in the airy space at the back of this former butcher shop, where participants learn to make their own chocolate bars from ethically sourced cacao beans from Madagascar, Mexico, and Vietnam.
Adult classes are €45; there are also family workshops (€20 for a child and €30 for an adult); and, judging by the excitement of the young crew and the parents who were arriving while I was there, a Tory Tops ticket won’t go amiss for any age group.
Visit torytopchocolate.com
When you use good salt, you don’t need much for maximum effect.Â
Salt of Kinsale’s finishing sea salt will have you taking time to savour the moment and the fresh-from-the-sea flavour as you crush the crystals between your fingertips, then relish the results in soups, salads, and the Christmas turkey.
Harvesting water by the Old Head of Kinsale, Billy Hosford allows it to evaporate in nearby polytunnels, slowly and carefully transforming into crunchy salt that brings a delicious depth, flavour, and texture to everything it touches.
The 40g tins (€5.60 online at saltofkinsale.ie, in selected local outlets, and Cavistons in Dublin) are a perfect handbag size for those eating-out moments when you need to elevate a meal.
Pro tip: Say no to salt when ordering fresh fish and chips, and just add Salt of Kinsale to taste.
A good chutney can elevate many meals — brilliant with sandwiches, stirred into a pasta sauce, used as a glaze for baked ham, and always a notable cheese accompaniment — so it makes sense to go in search of the best from local producers, at craft fairs, and online.
Fat Tomato is a flavour-focused, edible organic garden under the stewardship of Anthony O’Toole, who produces unique, small-batch jars of deliciousness from the plants that he grows in north Wexford.
His golden tomato jam (€15) combines heritage tomatoes with Irish honey and apple cider vinegar for a sweet-savoury condiment that pairs well with soft goat’s cheese. See fattomato.ie
Traditional cloth-bound cheddar is a beautiful thing, and we’re fortunate in Ireland to have Tom Burgess, of Coolattin Cheese, making his superb Mount Leinster Cheddar in Wicklow.
Fruity and sweet while young, this cheese develops a rich, crumbly complexity as it ages. It’s an ideal accompaniment to Christmas cake, with the salty sharpness of the cheese cutting the sweet fruit.Â
Mount Leinster Cheddar is available from cheesemongers nationwide, including On the Pig’s Back in Cork and Avoca outlets, or online at coolattincheddar.ie, starting at €7 per 200g.
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