Perk up your seasonal celebration with shots of ‘Icy Limed Winter Welcome’ and ‘Seasonal Sushi’ – great flavours and talking points to start your party.

I like the idea of craft skills, dedication and talent being put into a bottle and Thornbridge Brewery from Bakewell, Derbyshire seem to have all the credentials and combine all that enthusiasm with state of the art brewing facilities. Faced with a bottle each of their Jaipur, White Swan and Kipling I got ready to go all the way.

I’d sipped, I’d sampled and I’d almost conquered this year’s Taste of Christmas festival at the ExCel.

Lists of sweet treats like double chocolate brownies, mince pies and truffles alongside important Christmas condiments including mulling spices and cranberry sauce plus a hefty selection cheeses and festive bottles of fizz, shows that Riverford really wants to help make the season merry.

Christmas is fast approaching, and to celebrate the Petersham Hotel is launching their Christmas menu and guaranteeing snow for all of December.

The proof will be in the pudding at this year’s Taste of Christmas (2-4 Dec) when award winning chef, Theo Randall will reveal how much money has been raised from a deliciously matured 12 month old Christmas pudding, auctioned to raise money for humanitarian organisation, Action Against Hunger.

Selfridges food hall is packed with Christmas cheer from their eponymous Selfridges’ Selection to the finest array of gourmet brands including Godiva, Charbonnel et Walker and Moet & Chandon in everything from pate, port and panettone.

Yaaaaaaahhhhhh…. tingit! The Angry Birds cookbook is out with lots of eggy recipes and we go get our trotters on a copy. If you’re looking for a kids’ stocking filler, this should feed the need.

With more and more people opting for traditional British food, this year would be the perfect moment to send someone special a Dickinson & Morris Luxury hamper. Full of premium regional produce this hamper would make an ideal gift for family and food lovers

Jackie Lee visits the Waitrose Cookery School to test out her Mexican cooking skills and hopefully win a KitchenAid blender, courtesy of Benito’s Hat and Discovery Foods.