Scottish Hampers and Chocolate

Today I want to segway a little from doing classic meals and talk about possible gifts for Christmas/Birthdays.

Scottish Hampers are a wonderful gift if you have some money to spendmoney on/want to buy something lovely for a dear one.

I have tried several and my favourite 3 are:

Cockles Hampers, from Cockles in Lochgilphead

Loch Fyne Hampers

Loch Awe Hampers

Please note that the latter 2 emphasise smoked salmon, whiskey and cheeses but the first can be vegetarian (or anything else, they also sell smoked salmon/cheese etc).

Each company prduces a wonderful hamper ranges and I can personally recommend each of them. I do feel that the widest range is offered by Cockles, as they will put whatever you want together but the quality of produce from all 3 are extremely high.

The other topic I wished to discuss today was that of chocolate. The best chocolate I have ever tasted (if you like dark chocolate, but they do milk as well), is from the Oban Chocolate Co. These wonderful chocolate makers have a shop/cafe in Oban but many of their ranges, and I can personally recommend the berries and honey one, it is exceptional, are not avaiabel in the shop itself, but from stockists.

I have linked these two topics together because my first taste of these divine chocolates was in a hamper from Loch Fyne. My second as a gift pack from Cockles (alas, I don't think Loch Awe offer these chocolates in their hampers, but please check this).

I include here a link for the stockists for these delicioius chocolates: List

Oban chocolates offer a wonderful range of delicacies and I highly recommend them as gifts for those you love this Christmas, or as an alternative birthday treat xx

On another note, my second book, The Island of the Mist, is now available on both Kindle and paperback formats:

Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-Kingslayer-Series-ebook/dp/B0092TUS7U/ref=sr_1_2?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1346945410&sr=1-2

And paperback: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346506656&sr=1-2

and in the US: http://www.amazon.com/Island-Mist-N-Roy/dp/147921292X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1346946271&sr=1-2&keywords=the+island+of+the+mist

And you can still obtain the first book, The Stone in the Sword: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stone-Sword-ebook/dp/B006ZQIEPG/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1327179005&sr=1-3