- Don't buy a house.
Buy this.
- Yeah, what if you put a pound in a jar a week,
you could have that for Christmas.
(group chuckles)
- Michael, I hope you're ready
for a lesson in gifting.
Lift the cloche.
- Why am I here for this one?
Is it pretentious?
(opening music and bells)
- Okay, Jamie, Luxury Advent Calendar number one,
from me to you,
lift the cloche.
- Oh.
Smooth action.
Oh!
Barry's on it.
(group laugh)
- Oh, hello!
- A picture of Barry!
- We've each bought each other a luxury Advent calendar,
which basically are those Advent calendars
you walk past and you go
"Hmm, they're a little bit pricey to take a risk on."
Well, luckily for you
we're going to be reviewing a bunch of those today
so that you can see whether they're worth it or not.
Tomorrow is the start of Advent
but we'll let you open up some doors right now.
Let's see what's inside.
- Merry Spicemas.
Just Spices.
- So this is the 2022 small Advent calendar
from Just Spices
and yes, they create Just Spices spice blends.
But what I love about them is
that they make what I would call normal spice blends.
So stuff that we as normals look at and go,
"Oh wow, that's cool."
And it's marketed and labelled in a way
that's a lot more accessible.
And I love the fact
that as you look through the recipes that they're suggesting
they're also the type of things
that normals want to eat and want to cook.
- Fried rice with chicken as a suggested recipe.
- [Mike] That's it.
- And the spice mix is a Chinese Allrounder.
- They're not normal spice blends that I'm used to seeing.
You've got things like banana and vanilla in there,
which I've never seen as spices.
- Well, you've got your spiceology badge, Bas.
I know we then retracted it,
but we learned that spices is any fragrant part of a plant.
Bark is cinnamon,
leaves, bay leaves,
roots is ginger.
Literally every part of the plant that is fragrant.
So that does include banana chips and almonds
and other bits and pieces of vegetable matter.
- So give it a spin
and look at that.
Behind door 24 is a full sized spice.
- Oh wow, okay.
- So what have you got?
- Avocado topping.
- Gonna bitch now?
- I'm listening.
- This is what normal home cooks want.
I don't think the spice blends are very normal at all.
I think they're really quite imaginative
but the applications are so normal.
- Yeah.
- Advent calendars are definitely moving in this direction,
but this is not a open a door
just before you leave for school or work
and have a tasty little morsel.
This is an adventure behind each door
that you may use that day
or you might stash away for a rainy day.
- I think it's really exciting
and actually it's gonna spice up a midweek meal
which otherwise might be fairly standard
or fairly boring.
You can add something a little bit different to it
with no effort.
- Would you like to try it in practise?
- Yes.
(jazzy Christmas tune)
- Oh I feel like Goldilocks.
(group laugh)
- You don't look like Goldilocks.
- No?
- You look like daddy bear.
(group laugh)
- That's not the first time you've called me that actually.
(group laugh)
- So, banana bread seasoning on my porridge.
And what looks like almonds
and some cocoa and coffee.
Just right.
(group laugh)
That's such a simple way to add flavour to porridge.
- It works?
- Yeah, really works.
- [Mike] Great.
- Chip seasoning.
So, sea salt, ground paprika,
grated onion, grated garlic, mustard powder,
black pepper and nutmeg.
That's the kind of thing
that turns an ordinary dinner into something
a little bit different and a little bit special.
And it takes two seconds to do.
- That's what I look for as a normal in cooking.
Like I'll cook something
and I genuinely need a way to spice it up.
And I just want that one thing to do,
to either add, that will transform the flavour.
- So what makes up avocado seasoning?
- Sea salt, black sesame seed,
tomato flakes, crushed black Tellicherry pepper,
crushed chilli, course ground pink peppercorns.
What is Tellicherry pepper?
- Just Googling what Tellicherry is.
- Black peppercorns from India
- Cheers.
It's like a very well seasoned avocado topping.
And it's the kind of thing
that you'd get in a fancy cafe
that you wouldn't have at home,
because why would I put black sesame seeds
and some fancy pepper on my avocado?
- You'd have to buy 'em all separately wouldn't you?
- Yeah, exactly.
It's convenient, it's handy.
- How much do you think I spent
on this Advent calendar, Jay?
- 25 pounds.
- Oh, over a pound a bag.
- But near it, nearly.
- This retails for 34.99 pounds.
(till bell rings)
- I think this is for the kind of person
who cooks, maybe isn't too adventurous,
and just needs a little helping hand
just to go, try something slightly different,
get outside of your comfort zone just slightly.
You're gonna have Bolognaise?
Great, add something else onto it
and just switch it up a bit.
- What I quite like is they do
dozens and dozens of different spice pots,
but this gives you a chance to taste 24,
work out which ones you might like.
And then you can just go
and buy the ones you like later in the year,
in pot form.
But you get to try the whole bunch
without having to buy 24 pots.
It's kind of a little taster set really.
- I think that is a lovely way to experiment.
(tinkly Christmas music)
- Righto Ebbers, your turn.
- Here's your red box.
Oh, two things I like the look of,
the words mince pie and the word Selfridges.
(group laughs)
- You've gone well luxury.
- Okay.
- Yes, Ebbers.
This is Selfridges' selection of mince pies.
24 mince pies with extraordinary flavours.
- Oh, yes.
- Including classic, citrus, almond and chocolate.
- May I?
Oh there's a big one in 25.
- I'm interested to see the size of these mince pies.
- It does say mini on the box.
- It does, but what constitutes-
(group laughs)
- Tiny!
- Wow!
- Little morsels.
- So it begins with the discovery
of a copy of the 1929 Selfridges' Household Encyclopaedia
and an irresistible mincemeat recipe.
Keen to bring this traditional festive treat back to life,
Selfridges turned to Thursday Cottage,
which makes preserves and jams
on the idyllic Trewlands Farm in Essex,
and the pastry chefs at Marasu's in North London
to make the crumbliest pastry imaginable,
and thus their mini mince pies were born.
And to finish off the gourmet adventure
a mini iced Christmas cake.
- When you look at it, you think,
"Oh, a little bit dry."
But that is the most buttery short crust pastry,
that when that melts in your mouth,
that is sublime.
- I'm genuinely surprised.
I expected them to taste good,
but I didn't expect them to taste that good.
- No.
- So, very traditional.
Would originally have been made with actual minced meat
and lots of spices and fruit
and cooked out inside of short crust pastry.
And once they're cooked,
they keep for ages at room temperature
and they don't go stale
because you've got that wonderful buttery short crust.
- Christmas cake really goes against the grain
'cause it's supposed to be dense.
- Yeah.
- You don't want it light and fluffy.
- Light and fluffy, no.
- I wanna know how much it costs though.
- Mm.
- I would imagine it probably shifts for 52 pounds.
- Let me make your Christmas for you
because this is 39.99.
- Oh.
(till bell rings)
- I don't think I would spend
that much money on mini mince pies,
but I can't deny they're delicious.
And it is a very special Advent gift.
- If you are enjoying this
there are some small things you can do
that make a big difference to us.
Like the video.
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Thanks.
(upbeat music)
- Mike, I hope you're ready for this.
Lift the cloche.
- Oh, Ladurée, and they make macarons.
- They do make delicious macarons.
(Mike sucks in with glee)
- Shut up.
This can't be, oh, shut up.
Look at that.
(Mike laughs)
- Okay, this is the Celeste Advent Calendar by Ladurée.
This year's Ladurée Advent Calendar
displays the elegance of their historic boutique in Paris
as a tribute to it's timeless elegance,
containing delicious selection
of sweets and chocolates, caramel candies,
flavoured chocolates, and calissons.
Well, what's the first one you've got?
- I have a praline chocolate.
- Oh.
- It's absolutely delicious.
Oh.
- Oh, he's turning very French.
(Mike laughs)
Oh huh ha!
(group laughs)
- Oh, hello.
- Hello.
- Yeah, which one's that?
That's a little bit of apricot jam.
- Yeah, Confiture de Fraises, wow!
(group laughs)
These are all amazing and they are delicious.
I think the quality matches the expectation of the name.
It is what I'd say.
- Price aside, if you've got it as a gift-
- Ah, it's brilliant.
- You'd love it, right?
- Yeah, it's exactly,
it is bang on a luxury Advent calendar.
- C'est un combien?
- 55 pounds.
- 70.
(till bell rings)
- 70 pounds?
- Seven zero.
- It's very expensive for me.
(Jamie giggles)
- Who's spending 70 pounds on an Advent calendar?
- I am not the target audience by no means.
- The scariest thing about that being 70 pounds
is we've two more rounds left,
and they get more and more expensive.
- Hey, I've got an idea.
A lot of these have reusable boxes.
This time next year we make our own.
Be a lot cheaper.
(music and bells)
- What's this about?
- What, what?
- This one is something for all of us
but I'm letting you two enjoy it first.
- Shall I lift the cloche?
- Yeah, go on, lift the cloche.
Ta-da!
- Oh!
- What, Barry?
I can't see.
- I've had a little sneaky peek.
I'm gonna show them, not you.
Ready for this?
(upbeat music)
And now you can see.
- Oh, it's beer, it's beer.
(Barry chuckles)
- So this is the Tiny Rebel 2022 Advent Calendar.
25 exclusive beers.
And they've never before been sold
and they never will be again,
is what they claim.
So they are all completely unique
to this Advent calendar.
- These are the Christmassy Craftiest beers.
- I'm just trying to work out how this thing works.
It's like it's-
- Oh.
- This is awesome, what.
- Did you see that?
- So on day one you get your Tiny Rebel glass
so that you can enjoy,
for the next 25 days
each beer.
- Galaxy IPA.
- I've never been so excited to open calendars.
- Cherry Amaretto, Red Stout, whoa!
- They're based in South Wales
and they are a relatively new beer company,
albeit a handful of years old now
and they just wanted to break the mould of craft beer
and do lots of different fun flavours,
and just to make beer drinking a bit more fun.
In their first year they won bronze, silver, and gold
at the Champion Beer Awards.
- A Trifle White Stout.
- Right, someone's gotta try that.
- Sauvignon Blanc DIPA, double IPA.
- Sounds like an Ebbers.
- That's so like an Ebbers.
I love an Negroni.
Can I have an Negroni?
- That's an Negroni?
- Can I have, try an Negroni.
- Very Cherry Amaretto Red Stout.
- That's got you written all over it.
- I've gotta try that 'cause that seems bonkers.
I've got it.
There you go, Mike.
- What was that one?
- Veggie Turkey Soup.
(Jamie and Barry laugh)
- Every single day there is also
an exclusive tasting video with the founders
as they talk you through the exclusive flavour,
should you wish to join in with that as well.
- This Negroni one is very nice.
- It tastes of turkey.
(group laughs)
- They do kind of go novelty.
They've got great beer making practises
and they've won all sorts of awards.
But I think this Advent calendar especially
is just a playground for them.
- If I was to see these on the shelf in the supermarket
I'd go, "Novelty."
I'm not going near that, it's too far.
But once you've had one or two of them,
you realise they are delicious drinks themselves.
Sometimes they are flavoured beers
but they kind of, almost forget that.
- There's only one of them.
- Yeah, just enjoy the drink as it is.
- And as if opening the door each day isn't enough.
If you also keep all your cans
and stack them in the order that you unboxed them-
- Oh heaven.
- They make art, they make a drawing.
- They create a picture.
Okay, 25 exclusive beers.
How much do you think for this Advent calendar?
- I think this sells for 99.99.
- I was expecting to come around a tonne,
so yeah, let's go for that.
- 87.50.
- Ah, do some maths Ebbers.
What's that, what's that, what's that?
- It's about three pound a can
- If you're having a Christmas event of some sort,
actually having that as a centrepiece drink,
everyone to dive into, would be really good fun.
- If you've got a beer lover
and they're looking for a unique beer experience,
this delivers.
(Christmas bells)
- Why am I here for this one?
Is it pretentious?
- This is another one
we're gonna have to absolutely share
because it's pretty mega.
Lift the cloche.
- Yeah, I think I can smell what it is.
Lots of boxes from Paxton and Whitfield,
individually wrapped Paxton and Whitfield,
London cheesemongers.
So each one comes with the name of the cheese
and a description
and what it's perfectly paired with.
- You get one of their prize cheeses,
hand cut, hand wrapped,
and a little tasting note,
but you literally have a box for every single day.
- Of the week, plus one day.
- Well, you see this is where I think
Ladurée got it wrong.
'Cause if macarons don't have a long shelf life,
then deliver your Advent calendar in three deliveries.
- No!
- So you get delivery one with the first date,
then the second delivery rocks up with your next date
and then the next date.
- Okay.
- That's-
- I'm impressed.
- Okay.
- And I think one of the things they mention around this
is sometimes you have a whole month of indulgence
and then especially on Christmas Day,
from the moment you wake up you just start eating
and the last thing of the day is the cheese board
and no one's got any space
left in their bellies for the cheese.
So this is a way to enjoy the thing you love,
if cheese is your thing,
right the way through the month
rather than on a completely full
I've-eaten-too-much belly at the end of Christmas.
- Oh my-
- We should stress,
we have spent our own money on these.
We did buy them, but I did speak to them very nicely
to see if they could send us them all in one delivery
rather than scattered,
given what we do.
- This has got some green on it, this one.
- There's creamy ones, hard ones, crumbly ones.
- I can't eat all these on my own.
Everyone come and get something.
Which one was the Gruyère?
- That's Gruyère.
- Okay.
- Really, that'll be really nutty.
- Oh, that's quite-
- That Cheddar is lovely.
- It's quite a punchy cheese
but it's not like, it won't make you cringe.
- You're bang on.
Quite, really salty.
That Gruyère is awesome.
- They are one of the oldest cheesemongers in the country
and still operating as a cheesemonger.
I think it is like their 225th year.
They were literally cheesemonger to the Queen.
And I'm talking Queen Victoria, 1850.
and they've got so many royal seals right the way through.
And they still do so much of the cheese the traditional way.
- Exceptional cheeses.
But they expect nothing less.
- Well I like some of these cheeses so they must be good.
- We are lucky that we have a whole team to share this with.
And as a workplace, this is a really lovely thing
to do on a Friday lunchtime
and whip out the selection
for everyone to dig into once a week.
- I am having a great time,
but this is the sort of thing
that I would never commit to buying.
But I suppose-
- Could we, could we?
I'm kind of with you.
I don't know enough about cheese
to invest in something like this.
However, I love cheese and I like the fact
that every one gives you the information,
that means by the end of it
you do know a bit more about it.
- Yeah.
- And because they're hand cut and hand wrapped
literally fresh the day before each of the three deliveries,
there is a limited number of them,
so it's also incredibly exclusive
and half the cheeses are brand new for the Advent calendar.
(Jamie laughs)
- That'll bring the price down Bas.
Whilst Bas is trying to work out the price,
this is a really good time to say
we're having our own Advent calendar.
Starting tomorrow we're doing 12 days of Christmas
on the Sorted Food Store.
Each day, a different discount on a different product.
Check out the link in the description box below.
- I've run our fingers.
Looking at 24 cheeses, I'd probably say
this comes in around 125 pounds.
- Which is a lot of money.
- A lot of money for cheese.
- I think you're right.
Cheese is a very humble ingredient
but each of these has been loved-
Yes.
- And it's going to cost you 150 pounds.
(Till bell rings)
Including the three deliveries.
I mean, we've only scratched the surface.
- It is an outrageous amount of money for cheese.
- Yeah, but If you've got money to throw at cheese,
do it this way.
- I love the fact
that we've still got that much cheese left.
- And that much beer.
- Yeah.
- Insane!
- And mince pies.
- And the countdown is on to our massive Sorted Live,
Big Christmas Bash show.
A first act of challenges,
pretentious ingredients,
dad jokes, scavenger hunts
and a near impossible cooking challenge
for Ben on this London theatre stage.
- The outcomes of the challenges
will then either help us or hinder us in the biggest,
most festive OTT pass-it-on recipe relay
in the second half of the show.
- It's streaming live on the 17th of December
at 3:30 PM and 8:00 PM UK time.
And both will be completely different shows as well.
(bell rings)
Tickets are available now
and as always you can watch on demand after the event.
There are also a few in-person tickets still available too,
so get them while you can.
- It's the most ridiculous thing we've ever attempted.
So come and join the fun
at the ultimate Sorted Christmas party.
All the details are in the description box.
(closing music)