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The cooking shelf

This is the part of the range people come back to monthly. Ottolenghi is the biggest name here and the deepest: miso pesto, green harissa, pilpelchuma, roasted aubergine and tomato sauce, shawarma and preserved lemon marinades, spice blends and the cookbooks they belong to. Belazu covers similar ground from a different angle, with rose harissa, tagine paste, pomegranate molasses, preserved lemons, tahini and a run of pestos that go well past basil. Between the two you can rebuild a tired pantry in a single order. Mike's Hot Honey handles the sweet-heat job on pizza and fried chicken, and Dreamfarm make the kitchen tools that end up in the same drawer, most of which solve one small annoyance each.

Heat, smoke and the barbecue drawer

Cape Herb & Spice make the seasoning shakers and the Chilli Addict sauces, which run from birds eye up to ghost. Red Gum BBQ, from the Mornington Peninsula, make single-purpose rubs with a name attached to each one, pork, beef, chicken and lamb, in two sizes so you can find out whether you like it before committing to the big jar. eat.art build the gift-shaped version of the same idea, boxed sets for whoever has claimed the barbecue. The Regimental Condiment Company sit slightly apart, with relishes and tapenades that lean sweeter than the rest.

Tea, biscuits and the tin on the bench

Whittard of Chelsea covers loose leaf and teabags, plus a hot chocolate range that goes well past plain, with mint, salted caramel and rocky road among them. Grandma Wild's put shortbread and butter biscuits into embossed tins that survive long after the biscuits are gone, which is why they work as a small present. Jen's Biscuits are the Australian answer on the same shelf: melting moments, jam drops, Anzacs and gingernuts. Gingerbread Folk make gingerbread people and house kits, gluten free versions included. More under biscuits, including the tins on their own.

Sweets and chocolate

Lakrids by Bülow is Danish liquorice taken seriously, from the sweet No. 1 through to the habanero No. 4, and it converts people who were sure they disliked liquorice. Cocoba and GNAW handle chocolate bars and hot chocolate spoons, Hamlet make the Belgian pralines, Nutworks roast and coat Queensland macadamias, Candy Kittens and Pimlico cover the gummy end, and Sovereign Hill still make boiled drops the old way. Copperpot Originals do Cornish clotted cream fudge, and Borgo de Medici and Vergani bring the Italian side, panettone included. Browse the lot under chocolate and snacking.

Preserves and the breakfast end

Mrs Bridges and Cottage Delight are the two useful to know: Scottish marmalades and curds from the first, whole fruit jams and thick-cut marmalades from the second. Both are the dependable answer when you need something genuinely nice that is not trying to be a statement, and both keep well enough to be bought ahead. Mistletoe And Merry take over the same shelf from about October, when the Christmas side of the catalogue starts moving.

I am buying for someone who actually cooks. Where do I start?

The Ottolenghi and Belazu pastes. A cook who owns every dried spice going still will not have green harissa, pilpelchuma or ve-du-ya on the shelf, and those get used rather than admired. Add a cookbook if you want the gift to explain itself.

How is this different from ordering a hamper?

Single items arrive as an ordinary parcel. A hamper is hand-packed with care into a premium box with a gold ribbon and carries a free personalised gift card under the bow, which is what you want when it goes straight to the recipient rather than to you first.

Do you stock gluten free food?

Yes, and it is labelled rather than guessed at, including Gingerbread Folk gluten free gingerbread and house kits, and Vergani gluten free panettone. The current list sits under gluten free options.

Guides from our kitchen

Three worth reading before you shop: what goes on the Christmas table, how much food per person and which cracker goes with which cheese. The rest is in The Australian Christmas Guide.