It's not always easy to buy for a food-lover at Christmas. Sure cookbooks, hampers and novelty aprons come in handy, but when everyone else has opted for the same thing, your poor foodie friend will be left with very few genuinely thoughtful gifts. Thankfully, Sacl. Italia has a range of wonderful food-related products to suit all budgets, so there's no excuse.
You can never go wrong with candles; they smell great, they're available in all price ranges, they're often packaged beautifully and they're useful for stormy winter weather when the power cuts out. At the moment we are loving the Casa Zilli luxury Trio of Candles Gift Set, which you can purchase for o50 over at Sacla.co.uk.
The candles - dubbed 'The Italian Herb Garden Collection' - feature a gorgeous blend of herbs that will have you salivating at the mouth. Basilico was a personal favourite; with fresh basil, tarragon, green leaves and anise, it smells like you've brought the greenhouse into the living room (or bedroom, or bathroom, or wherever you choose to light your wick). Basil is a romantic aroma, and this blend is so reminiscent of Italian summers and traditional dishes that you can't help but crave bruschetta and pesto when you catch a whiff of this.
Vita Pomodoro has more of a traditional scent with the floral notes of water flowers and sweet leaves, but the orchard fruit and ripe vine tomato give it a real Mediterranean edge. Rosemarino presents a more woodsy fragrance with an aromatic blend of rosemary with mint, patchouli, sandalwood and coumarin. It smells like sitting out on the terrace in the Italian countryside, in the shade of trees with antipasti laid out on the garden furniture.
Created by celebrity chef Aldo Zilli, this gift collection perfectly reflects the aromas of both an Italian kitchen and an Italian garden. The scents aren't unusual enough to be out of place in the lounge, bedroom or bathroom - i.e. it won't leave the room smelling like a pasta dish - but unlike most scented candles, these actually make great dinner candles for the table thanks to the herb theme.
To some people, o50 might seem a lot to spend on some candles, but you truly get what you pay for in this case. We're not talking about a candle that you can only smell when you put your nose in it; the fragrant vapours not only disperse noticeably through the air, but also linger long after blowing out the flame. Plus, each one burns for approximately 40 hours, so they're a decent investment on that front.
Check out more food-related gifts here.
Tagged in Food And Drink