Ingenious and timely gifts for home cooks and bakers are among the finalists for the 2021 Gift of the Year (GOTY) competition, organised by The Giftware Association.
The Kitchen & Dining finalists include T&G’s Tip Top Mills, which effortlessly grind salt, pepper, dried herbs and spices. The Birmingham Balti Bowl Company’s Authentic Birmingham Balti Bowl is (of course) designed and made in Birmingham. It is produced in the same way as the original 1970’s bowls and finished by hand.
More hand-crafting comes in the form of finalist Samantha Lois Illustrations’ Resin Coated Solid Olive Wood Bowls – no two pieces are alike.
Sustainable appeal surrounds the Bioloco Plant Lunch Pot from Blue Eyed Sun – another Kitchen & Dining finalist. These climate neutral reusable lunch pots are made from plant sugar. Fully recyclable and compostable, they are also dishwasher safe and the pot can even be used in a microwave. The producer invests in climate protection projects to reduce CO2 emissions that more than compensate for any CO2 used in their production. Unsurprisingly, the Ethical Gift category features the Bioloco Plant Kids Bottle from Blue Eyed Sun.
There is a third finalist for Blue Eyed Sun in the Own Label category: BambooCup by chic.mic
Meanwhile, The GOTY Food & Drink category reflects the rise in baking and cooking at home for all ages. Little Cooks Co is a monthly cooking subscription for children designed to teach children how to cook and learn about the power of food, as well as help families connect and make memories in the kitchen.
The Bottled Baking Co’s Baking Mixes include ingredients for cookies, cakes and brownies in an attractive bottle, The Smoke & Spice BBQ Kit from Hot Smoked includes Whisky Barrel, Pear and Piri Piri smoke and spice flavours with recipe suggestions. It comes with a stainless steel smoker box.
Another Food & Drink finalist, The Bake Off Box from The Great British Exchange is a monthly subscription service that delivers recipes, ingredients and a bespoke baking accessory – all developed by The Great British Bake Off team.
The GOTY finalist announcement follows the two rounds of online judging of a record breaking level of entries across categories. This year sees the launch of a brand new People’s Choice Award, which gives consumers the opportunity to vote on the finalists products and companies in order to produce one overall winner.
Click here https://www.giftoftheyear.co.uk/categories to place your vote.
“This is a great way to support the home and gift industry as well as industry peers,” says Chris Workman, marketing and PR manager for The GA. “Votes can be placed on the individual category finalists page.”
Top: Hot gift: The Birmingham Balti Bowl Company’s Authentic Birmingham Balti Bowl.