Gift Guide 2014 with Melissa Hemsley
Melissa Hemsley is the co-founder of Hemsley + Hemsley, a healthy but delicious recipe site she started with sister and fellow “it” girl Jasmine Helmsley five years ago. “They are their own best advertisement,” writes House & Garden UK of the London-based duo, “clear-skinned, full of energy, and a genuine delight.” Today, the sisters are best-selling authors of The Art of Eating Well , a cookbook containing the best of their grain-, gluten-, and refined sugar-free recipes, and they regularly contribute to The Guardian, lifestyle website Sous Style, and Vogue. Below are Melissa’s holiday gift picks; look out for Jasmine’s tomorrow.
Photo: Melissa Hemsley
What are your top 5 food-related gift ideas for the holidays?
1. A Riverford vegetable box. Photo: Riverford Organic Farms
2. A Sizzle teapot along with the recipe for our Pep Up Tea (with cayenne, turmeric, lemon, and ginger), a rejuvenating and immune-boosting tea to see them through the winter. Photo: Sizzle
3. We love non-toxic cookware! A Green Pan casserole pan is the perfect gift for those who like making soups and stews during the cooler months. And it will last forever. Photo: The Original Green Pan
4. Our ‘Boil Your Bones’ tote bag and book pack. Photo: Start London
5. A Vitamix, making light work of soups, sauces, smoothies, dips, and dressings. Photo: Vitamix
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
Tickets to see Carlos Acosta as Romeo in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Royal Albert Hall.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever given?
Every October during apple season, we make vats and vats of our Festive Chutney. Throughout the year we save our glass jars, fill them with chutney, and give them as gifts over Christmas. So simple and easy! We constantly get messages from people saying ‘Just eating your chutney with cheese’ or ‘I’m having you chutney with curry’!
Photo: Hemsley + Hemsley
What are your plans for the holidays?
Lots of relaxing. I’ll be having a digital detox for a few days, having fun in the kitchen, reading, and eating good cheese (and chutney) with friends.
What will be on your holiday dinner table this year?
Roast duck with cranberry and orange jam and all the trimmings (non-traditional but just the way we like it)! For sides, we’ll be enjoying shaved Brussels sprouts and a pecorino and cranberry salad, kohlrabi dauphinoise, garlic butter green beans, and cauliflower mash. Christmas doesn’t have to be a smorgasbord. We’ll be focusing on a few key delicious and nutritious dishes to enjoy and share with family and friends. Christmas is a great opportunity to eat mindfully and consciously. Enjoy it slowly and savor treats so you’re not left wanting more. Eating this way will leave people feeling satisfied and nourished but not overstuffed.
What’s a great last-minute gift?
Make up a little hamper of great cooking essentials: proper sea salt, extra virgin olive oil, some raw organic coconut oil, and a selection of the best spices and dried herbs you’ll know they love.
Photo: Getty Images
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