A rather tastefully designed biscuit tin; stylish enough to lift it from the ‘naff’ and ‘tacky’ even with the addition of a wind up musical box that plays ‘God Save The Queen’.

Inside this glorious tin is a generous helping of an entirely new Fortnum’s biscuit, invented especially to celebrate our monarch’s Diamond Jubilee. Made with Cornish clotted cream, each digestive is half-dipped in dark chocolate and embossed with the Fortnum’s logo. The elegant tin is decorated with a parade of royal beasts, all dancing in jubilation – and if you wind the key in its base, it will play ‘God Save the Queen’. A deliciously royal experience.

The Jubilee Muscial Biscuit Tin is available from Fortnum & Mason for £12.95

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Celebrate the Diamond Jubilee with a handpicked hamper full of right royal treats from famous Yorkshire deli Hunters of Helmsley.

This medley of majestic goodies showcases the very best of British, including handmade chocolates from innovative brand Montezuma, biscuits from Yorkshire bakers Cookielicious and even a delicious jam based on the Cherries Jubilee recipe devised for Queen Victoria’s own Jubilee. With funky Union Jack packaging aplenty it makes you proud to be British!

An ideal gift or perfect to share with friends and family over the Jubilee bank holiday, the hamper contains:

• Butlers Grove Cherries Jubilee Jam
• Cookielicious Union Jack biscuits
• Cookielicious Bearskin soldier biscuit
• House of Dorchester 85g Chocolate bar
• Montezuma Lemon Meringue Pudding Bar
• Grandma Wild’s London biscuit tin
• Brewhaha British Teabags
• Montezuma Great British Pudding Truffles

Attractively gift boxed in blue with a Union Jack sash, UK mainland delivery is included for the price of £42.50.

For more information or to purchase a hamper visit www.huntersofhelmsley.com. Hampers can also be ordered in the store on Helmsley’s historic Market Place.

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Exquisite handmade chocolate maker Holdsworth Chocolates has launched a Union Jack chocolate box to mark the summer of celebrations in the UK.

The 240g box features delicious quintessentially British-themed chocolates, such as clotted cream truffle, praline cup, and apple and geranium cream. Designed to be re-used as a keepsake gift box, the Union Jack selection box has been created to celebrate both the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics.

Holdsworth Chocolates, which is based in the heart of the Peak District at Bakewell in Derbyshire, has a team of skilled chocolatiers led by creative director Genevieve Holdsworth. Each chocolate is handmade – not just hand-finished – and a number have been awarded gold star rating in the Guild of Fine Food’s Great Taste Awards…the Oscars of the speciality food industry.

“Holdsworth Chocolates’ Union Jack Box is a traditional British product, filled with chocolates that have been made in the heart of the UK using the finest ingredients,” said Genevieve Holdsworth.

“It makes a wonderful gift or an indulgent treat, and of course the box can be re-used as a gift box as a reminder of the historic events of the summer of 2012.”

Available nationally in selected stores and directly from Holdsworth Chocolates via www.holdsworthchocolates.co.uk, the recommended retail price for the Union Jack Box is £14.95.

The company was created by Barbara Holdsworth in 1988. Spurred on by a passionate belief in making chocolates by hand, she developed her own recipes. Barbara handed over to daughter Genevieve in 2002.

Stockists of Holdsworth Chocolates include Harrods, Selfridges, Waitrose, Chatsworth House shop and Chatsworth Farm Shop and Ibbotsons of Ashford.

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Rod and Ben’s Soup Club has voted two delicious NEW soup flavours on to the line-up of summer soups, which will be available from May 1st. A dozen members of its “Brotherhood of Broth” spent hours putting soups through their paces on Rod and Ben’s organic Devon farm near Exeter – and were ultimately bowled over by two exciting new Thai soups: Thai Chicken and Thai Vegetable, which will join the ranks of seasonal summer favourites such as Gazpacho, Tomato and Basil, Pea and Mint and Courgette and Tomato.

Rod Hall, Rod and Ben’s owner, whose 100% natural organic soups have won a host of Great Taste Awards, says:

“Thai soups are a new departure for us but as soon as the Soup Club tasted the two new contenders everyone was adamant that they had to be part of the Rod and Ben’s Summer Soup range. Thai flavours are light and delicious and lend themselves perfectly to a light summer soup – and who can argue with the decision of the Brotherhood of Broth?!”

Wheat and gluten-free, and sometimes dairy-free, the summer soup range is made using simple recipes so that the ingredient’s integrity – colour, flavour and texture – is preserved. The summer full line-up includes:

• NEW Thai Vegetable – wheat and gluten-free
• NEW Thai Chicken – wheat and gluten-free
• Carrot and Coriander – wheat and gluten-free
• NEW Gazpacho – dairy-free
• Tomato and Basil – wheat, gluten and dairy-free
• Pea and Mint – wheat and gluten-free
• Haddock Chowder – wheat and gluten-free
• Chicken and Vegetable – wheat and gluten-free
• Each month there is a soup of the month – a great way to taste the seasons!

Rod and Ben’s Summer Soup 2012 range is available from May 1st – October 1st from independent retailers (including Abel and Cole, Riverford, Planet Organic stores, Union Market, Selfridges and As Nature Intended), delicatessens and farm shops all around the country, South West Morrison’s stores and by mail order via www.rodandbens.com. Pots are 600g and have a RRP of £3.49 – £3.99.

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It’s a family business; taking the daughter-in-laws business degree thesis on a healthy eating food to a fully formed idea. Beyond Dark chocolate was born.

“What I found so fascinating was that scientific research studies had shown that cocoa and dark chocolate had some amazing potential health benefits. They both contain flavanols which are anti-oxidants. These flavanols have numerous health benefits associated with their antioxidant properties – most notably they have been observed to lower cholesterol and blood pressure, promote a healthy heart and lower the risk of some cancers and diabetes. All of a sudden I had a healthy reason to eat dark chocolate.”

“although a standard dark chocolate does have higher levels of antioxidants compared to some other foods the high fat to antioxidants ratio of the chocolate means that there are no real health positive benefits to the consumer. This started a four year voyage to create a healthy antioxidant-rich chocolate. Thanks to our cocoa bean selection and production process Beyond Dark contains up to three times more antioxidants than a standard dark chocolate, that’s the antioxidants equivalent to 25 oranges, 8 bananas or 5 apples in every 35g pack, making our chocolate a health positive indulgence.”

Beyond Dark was launched in November 2010 and is now available in Sainsburys in the premium chocolate section as well as over 200 independent retailers across the UK. Holland and Barret have also just started selling Beyond Dark. It is also available online via the Beyond Dark website.

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If you haven’t yet picked up your Valentines romantic meal for two from M&S, or brought the ingredients for a aphrodosiac-enhancing meal, then get yourself down to Hotel Chocolat for Valentines Day is tomorrow.

The Hotel Chocolat Love Box Selection is £12′s worth of luxuriousus valentine chocolate goodness…

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Christmas really isn’t Christmas without at least one box of chocolates; a fail-safe gift or a little private indulgence for you alone. This seasonal selection from Hotel Chocolat is £22 or 2 for £40. Pick up in store or order online – still plenty of time for delivery before Christmas Day itself! Billionaire Shortbread anyone? Or perhaps a Christmas Mess followed by a Cinnamon Praline?

Brimming with sparkling seasonal cheer and the gorgeous flavours of the season – in melt-away pralines and soft caramels, truffles with warming chilli and creamy coconut, cherry florentines, gingerbread, cinnamon and more. There’s something inside to make everyone feel Christmassy all over.

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Harrods has unveilled its brand new Boulangerie and Patisserie department, located in the heart of the Ground Floor Food Halls. Expect a delicious range of new pastries, cakes and breads, all freshly crafted each day by some of the UK’s most celebrated bakers.

Each morning Harrods team of expert pastry chefs prepare over 100 new pastries, desserts and cakes for the department – from fresh fruit clementines and fraiser tarts to innovative green tea-infused crème brulées.

And in response to the latest demands from shoppers, an array of gourmet marshmallows flavoured with orange blossom and strawberry has also been created, alongside a range of savoury mini muffins, including sautéed leek and thyme and bacon and cheddar.

Complementing Harrods own selection are exclusive patisseries from award-winning chocolatier William Curley and renowned artisan baker Paul Hollywood. The Boulangerie and Patisserie is now home to Curley’s stunning patisseries, including a cream-filled Paris brest and a Venezuelan chocolate cadeaux, while a variety of Hollywood’s freshly made, exclusive breads – such as a Stilton and walnut loaf – are delivered from Kent each morning.

Completing the area is a brand new, beautifully designed counter. Here shoppers can enjoy perusing endless displays of patisserie, special occasion cakes, baskets of gourmet breads and a host of freshly baked seasonal exclusives.

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One of the most popular cheeses in Europe is proving to be strangely illusive to the nation’s cheese lovers. Brillat Savarin Affine is a soft, creamy white cheese that appeals to even the fussiest of pallets, yet its own popularity is becoming the cheeses own nemesis. Some cheese enthusiasts are putting in orders months ahead, just to ensure delivery.

Brillat Savarin Affine is a luxurious cheese named after one of France’s most legendary food writers, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin. The lawyer-turned-food-writer had the honour of the MAGNUM cheese taking his moniker in the 1970’s following his rise in popularity as French Gourmet and political figure. The cheese itself, from the Normandy region, is a triple cream Brie that is luscious, creamy and faintly sour, going well with medjool dates and also champagne.

Nick Baines of JustCheese.co.uk, one of the UK’s top online cheese stockists, is proud that their website is one of the few places that Brillat-Savarin is consistently available: “We have established a fantastic relationship with the producers of Brillat-Savarin cheese. It’s true that this cheese’s popularity has caused a real supply and demand issue, so we are just pleased that we are able to be one of the few stockists of this esteemed variety. This really is one of our favourite cheeses!” JustCheese.co.uk carries a wide variety of artisan cheeses and caters online to the UK’s cheese aficionados by supplying cheeseboards featuring a selection of top cheese delights.

There is no definite date in sight when Brillat-Savarin Affine will be available on a wider scale, purely due to demand. Sites like JustCheese.co.uk give cheese lovers an easy and speedy option of getting hold of their favourite cheese.

Just Cheese is offering Brillat Savarin Affine for £7.95 for 150g.

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British high streets have long had strawberry, raspberry, damson, blackcurrant, apricot, plum, fig, cherry and other jams but until now never apple.

Now Master Preserver Michelle McKenna, (aka Clippy) is about to put that right when her Clippy’s Apples range of six apple conserves hit 800 Tesco stores this week.

The award-winning range of mind-bogglingly tasty conserves are made using the quintessential British apple and have a significantly higher fruit content than other brands dominating the shelves, making them a healthier option. Clippy’s Apples products are packed with juicy fruits and other indulgent ingredients such as fresh ginger and cinnamon to create unique flavour combinations. The conserves now available in Tesco include: Apple & Strawberry; Apple & Figgy Diggy; Apple, Rudebarb & Ginger; Apple Pie and Apple & Blueberry.

Clippy’s Apples conserves are hugely versatile and not just for spreading on toast! The labels highlight serving suggestions: try the Apple Pie conserve with waffles, the Apple, Rudebarb & Ginger conserve with roast pork or the Apple & Figgy Diggy conserve with cheese! Delicious! Their products appear on the menus of both Harvey Nichols and The National Trust.

Clippy’s Apples is the brainchild of Master Preserver Michelle McKenna (aka Clippy) who set up Clippy’s Apples with a mission to save the British Apple and to create a range of versatile, indulgent preserves that are healthier, less sugary and down-right tasty.

Believed to be the smallest National Brand in the UK!

Clippy and her partner Paul Gorman, who work out of their tiny spare room, are not only Tesco’s but quite probably the UK’s smallest national supplier reaching shoppers from the south coast of England to north Scotland.

And they have achieved creating their own brand of British-apple based preserves with an original outlay of just £100, keeping overheads to a minimum by working from their home.

Effervescent founder Clippy brings the brand to life and has been cited as the new face of preserves in the UK, re-invigorating the stagnant market with this versatile, indulgent, healthier range of family-friendly products, a great alternative to all the sugary brands currently on the shelves. Using only British apples and other fruits together the brand boasts provenance and a feel-good factor.

Clippy’s Apples products are also available to purchase in Asda in the North West (88+ stores), Harvey Nichols, Fortnum & Mason, John Lewis, Ocado, EH Booths in addition to 800 Tesco stores nationwide. BBC Countryfile listed Clippy’s Apples as the ‘pick of the best’ preserving companies!

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The Foodie List - Foodie stuff from around the UK