Make this a cool yule with gelato company’s sweet hamper

Giselle Makinde's Cream Of The Crop gelato company has launched a Christmas dessert hamper in a collaboration with other Dublin food producers Harry's Nut Butter, Rua Food, Katie's Kombucha, and Brazilian bakery Sugar Loaf. It includes a giant gelato-stuffed panettone, five 300ml tubs of Cream Of The Crop gelato, Harry's Nut Butter Coco Buzz, Rua Foods hazelnut brownies and Katie's Kombucha in raspberry flavour.

The hamper can be delivered by refrigerated van in Dublin city and county, as well as counties Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, and is available to pre-order online now for delivery on Wednesdays and Saturdays in December. It costs €59 including delivery. See creamofthecropgelato.com.

Learn to drop ‘veggie lovebombs’ that wow your family

If you are what you eat, then I'll have a dish of whatever Susan Jane White is having. The food writer is inviting guests into her kitchen in Ranelagh for two online cookery demonstrations at which she will cook her "favourite veggie lovebombs". They will take place over Zoom, on Tuesdays, November 16th and 23rd, at 7pm.

Three of the best vegetarian dishes in Ireland, and where to eat them

---

Three of the best fish dishes in Ireland, and where to eat them

---

Three of the best steaks in Ireland, and where to eat them

---

You don't have to be vegetarian to join the group, as White has developed recipes that have wide appeal. "I'm not prepared to cook separate meals for each family member. So over the years, I've built an arsenal of plant-powered recipes that excite everyone at the table, regardless of allegiances," she says.

The ticket price includes an ebook of White's favourite midweek vegetarian meals, and the two cookery demos, with a focus on troubleshooting in the second session, as well as an interactive Q&A. Tickets are €36, and to book, see susanjanewhite.com.

Desserts, but not just desserts

Caroline Kavanagh and Rowena Forde are full-time mothers who have built up steady demand for their homemade cakes, brownies, cookies and traybakes, which they sell at a variety of outlets near their home town of Monasterevin, Co Kildare. "The Dessert Club started around a kitchen table, where two long-term acquaintances became fast friends over a shared love for baking and making people happy," they say.

Kavanagh previously lived in the US, where she studied at Cambridge School of Culinary Arts in Massachusetts, and brings an American flavour to some of their bakes, which include a Kinder pie, and their signature stuffed cookies. They also make family-sized desserts, mixed boxes of traybakes and biscuits, and cupcakes.

The range is made with Irish ingredients and contains no preservatives. You can find them at the farmers' market at Solas Eco Garden Shop in Portarlington on Saturdays (10am-2pm), as well as Grape & Bean in Portlaoise; Junction 17 Mayfield, on the M7, and Fitzpatrick's service station in Monasterevin. If you're close enough to pick up, you can order online via Facebook or Instagram (@thedessertclub_tdc).