10 must-try food and drink ideas

A run down of the most exciting food and drink trends to try this summer

(Getty Images/iStockphoto)

When entertaining guests, mixing your ideal G&T or cooking up your standard mid-week curry, a bit of inspiration and guidance can never go amiss. Here are some suggestions for adding flair to your BBQ spreads and high-quality brands to your culinary radar.

Get in on the natural wine trend

(Low Intervention)

With many of us now choosing to eat organically, maybe it’s time to consider drinking organically too. What is natural wine? Organically grown grapes, farmed without pesticides and fermented without additives or mass machinery. Intrigued? A Low Intervention subscription is the perfect way to discover the exciting new wave of biodynamic and organic wines. The bottles are hand-picked according to what tastes best, as well the season, and are delivered monthly directly to your door. Expect bright, vibrant wines for spring and summer with darker, more intense wines for the cooler months. Each delivery will be accompanied by insightful tasting notes sent via email. If a subscription package isn’t for you, feel free to browse individual bottles from the UK’s most extensive online selection of natural wines. Shop now and enjoy 10% off your purchase using discount code LOW10LOW. Offer valid until 31st August.

Discover natural wines today

lowintervention.com

Indulge in the luxury of caviar 

(Caspian Monarch)

Caspian Monarque offers customers a unique and luxurious experience: aqua-farmed caviar from sustainably-bred sturgeons in waters from the actual Caspian Sea. This Iranian brand boasts a wide range of top-quality caviar, including Beluga, Osetra and Sevruga. While most caviar consumed today is the result of aqua-farming, not all producers are as conscientious about water quality, climate, sunlight, and food quality. Caspian Monarque places an emphasis on these factors, with their sturgeon farmed in a climate and environment that closely mimics their origins of the Caspian Sea. The result is delicious, premium caviar that is sustainable and organic.

Browse the Caspian Monarque range today

caspianmonarque.com

Create feel-good dishes at home with authentic Chinese flavours

(Lee Kum Kee)

Lee Kum Kee, the 133-year-old brand famous for inventing oyster sauce, has just added a new member to its collection of cooking bundles. The brand-new ‘Wok to Wellness’ cooking bundle provides six core authentic Chinese sauces and useful advice from nutritionists to help you cook feel-good Chinese food. The bundle includes their premium oyster sauce, char siu sauce, black bean garlic sauce, chiu chow chilli oil, seasoned rice vinegar and a sachet of tomato garlic stir-fry sauce, a ‘Wok to Wellness - Guide for Nourishing Mind and Body’ recipe book and a pair of authentic Chinese chopsticks. Why not impress guests with one of the bundle’s BBQ recipes this summer?

Get your Lee Kum Kee bundle today

shopuk.LKK.com

Hold your own showstopper round with the Great British Bake Off official baking box

(Bake Off Box)

Whether you’re new to baking or a seasoned expert, The Bake Off Box will give you the chance to experience your very own Great British Bake Off challenge at home. The monthly subscription includes an official Bake Off recipe, specially developed by the team of baking experts behind the show, along with carefully sourced dry ingredients and a collectable piece of GBBO equipment. Delivered direct to your door, everything is pre-portioned, saving on time and waste, and there’s also a checklist for the fresh ingredients needed to complete the bake. Use the code BAKE21 at checkout and get a Bake Off Cake Stand with their order for just £10. Offer valid until 30 June 2021.

Choose your Bake Off Box subscription today

bakeoffbox.co.uk

Enjoy finely crafted alcohol-free beer

(Divine Brewing Co.)

Quality brewing is both an art and a science and is the lifelong passion of the people behind Divine Brewing. The team produce great tasting alcohol-free beers using the best natural ingredients and precision brewing expertise. Divine Brewing combines traditional styles and modern classics, creating an outstanding contemporary collection of clean, pure, feel-good beer. The range is vegan and brewed to be naturally alcohol-free (max 0.5%), with nothing artificially added or taken away.

Explore the Divine Brewing range

divinebrewing.co

Brew your coffee with a commitment to the common good

(Common Coffee)

Common Coffee aims to strip away coffee jargon with flavour-led coffee roasts: Strong, Sweet, Bright and Complex. Made up of a small team in Edinburgh, Scotland, the team are dedicated to building a responsible supply chain that champions sustainable practices. To do so, they have launched new packaging made from recyclable and compostable cardboard with fully biodegradable inner sleeves. Coffee subscription refills arrive in minimal biodegradable packaging that fits through your letterbox. Head to Common Coffee, or check out their Instagram @iicommon, to browse the range of coffee and learn more about Common’s commitment to the common good.

Visit Common Coffee

commoncoffee.co.uk

Up your barbecue game with specialty brioche buns

(St-pierre)

Nothing lifts the spirits quite like al fresco dining. So, dust off the garden furniture and fire up the barbecue because St Pierre is here to help with this summer’s catering duties. From barbecue classics to fresh takes on family favourites, St Pierre has covered all the bases to make your barbecues truly magnifique. St Pierre Brioche Burger Buns and Brioche Hot Dog Rolls are available at Tesco and Morrisons stores nationwide.

Visit St Pierre Bakery for recipe inspiration

stpierrebakery.co.uk

Enjoy the bottled benefits of a Brazilian superfood

(Suivie)

Kick off the summer season by trying out something new. This all-natural drink is the first of its kind in the UK to be made with jabuticaba. The thick-skinned, dark purple berries native to Brazil contain vitamins C and E, calcium, iron, potassium and phosphorus. Packed with these benefits, Suívie is a 100% natural drink with no added sugars, sweeteners or preservatives. It contains just four ingredients: Swiss spring water, jabuticaba berries, pressed apple and ginger. You can find Suívie Jabuticaba at suivie.ch and on Amazon. Get 10% off your Amazon purchase with the code DRINKNATURAL (valid until 31 May 2021).

Shop now for 10% off

suivie.ch & amazon.co.uk

Discover your ideal concoction this G&T season

(Jim and Tonic)

Warmer days and longer evenings mean G&T season is well on its way. This year, make the most of it with Jim and Tonic’s boxed gin gift sets, handy all-in-one kits for making 15 perfect G&Ts. Each box contains a 70cl bottle of sustainably made urban gin from the award-winning sustainable Jim and Tonic distillery, along with a carefully curated selection of 15 premium tonics and mixers. Also included is a recipe booklet and ‘how-to’ guide for putting everything together perfectly. There are four varieties to choose from: Mediterranean Gin, made from fresh rosemary, thyme and basil; Rhubarb Gin, made using fresh rhubarb and honey; Hopped Grapefruit Gin, with floral, citrusy hops and zesty grapefruit peels; and London Dry Gin, with locally sourced London botanicals. Enjoy free delivery and 15% off on all Gin Boxes by using code ‘SPRING15’ at Jim and Tonic. Offer valid until 31st August.

Shop the perfect G&T set at Jim and Tonic

jimandtonic.com

Upgrade home-cooked meals with perfect rice, every time

(Yum Asia)

Cooking rice seems easy but can be maddeningly inconsistent. You can end up with rice that’s overcooked or too firm — with a messy saucepan and worktop to boot. Enter the high-quality rice cookers by Yum Asia that remove the guesswork. Just add rice and water, hit a single button and walk away confident you’ll get the perfect batch of rice. The range includes the mini Panda rice cooker, the larger Sakura version, a Kumo low-carb model, ultra-cool Bamboo and Fuji IH models and a single-person portable Bonsai bento rice cooker.

Find your ideal rice cooker at Yum Asia

yumasia.co.uk