Co-op Irresistible pigs in blankets crisps
150g, £1.70, coop.co.uk
The crisps are fabulous – waves and waves of piggy gourgeousness. And I like the crinkle cut.
★★★★

Tesco Finest savoury nibbles selection
115g, £2, tesco.com
The cheese and poppyseed twists are a bit dry and loveless. Nothing celebratory about the cheese and garlic twists, I didn’t get much butter. The breadsticks could double as an equine toothbrush.
★★

Marks & Spencer turkey feast combo mix crisps
150g, £1.50, marksandspencer.com
A real 1970s glorious hit of flavour, enormous amount of punch. A great snack to have with drinks – they make you very thirsty. A retro tongue-in-cheek marvellous thing.
★★★★

Morrisons turkey and stuffing balls
300g, £1.50, morrisons.com
Pleasant enough, but overwhelmingly stuffing. There’s not a great length of flavour. They are moreish but airy. They don’t have the impact I want.
★★

Daylesford Organic mature cheddar cheese straws
100g, £5.99, daylesford.com
Really good strong cheddar. Not as flaky as I want, but they have a heft to them with an after note of clean butter. Heavy like a biscuit.
★★

Taste the Difference crab and lemon mousse pots
2 x 170g, £4, sainsburys.co.uk
The lemon has a dessert texture. I’m confused. Good delicate flavour of crab but the lemon is almost overwhelming. It’s not that it doesn’t work but I can’t chalk it up to working brilliantly either.
★★★

Morrisons The Best roasted mushroom vegan paté
150g, £4, morrisons.com
A woodland mushroom taste, but light to the point that you’re almost reaching for flavour - but I could eat more of it.
★★★

Morrisons The Best vegan smoked salmon and cream cheese
2 x 130g, £4, morrisons.com
Nothing pleasant about that cream cheese. The “salmon” is shaved carrots – visually not appealing but pleasant in flavour. Pretty dismal.
★

Waitrose No 1 truffle prosciutto crudo
80g, £6, waitrose.com
Just the right amount of bite, just the right salting, luxurious amount of truffle. It’s a really elegant antipasto. Very, very impressive.
★★★★★

BEST BUY
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference oak smoked salmon
200g, £7.70, sainsburys.co.uk
One of the finest salmons I have tasted. The smoking is delicate and elegant.
★★★★★

Waitrose No 1 gravadlax
120g, £6, waitrose.com
The gravadlax is a real disappointment. It was fragile and insubstantial in texture but the real rub was that it was salty beyond palatable.
★★

Marks & Spencer clementine snow globe gin liqueur
70cl, £20, ocado.com
Absolutely beautiful to look at, absolutely delicious to taste. It’s festive, celebratory, sweet, fruity and really brought a smile to my face.
★★★★

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference clementine bucks fizz
75cl, £3.50, sainsburys.co.uk
This is absolutely delightful. The real joy of a clementine thrill. Fruity, lively, with a lovely fizz that stayed even after the bottle had been open for a while. Really great way to add a sparkle to Christmas.
★★★★

Waitrose mulled wine
75cl, £5.45, waitrosecellar.com
This was light and full of a berry freshness. It didn’t have the deep comfort of a rich mulled wine but was very pleasant and drinkable.
★★★

TOP TASTE
Selfridges Selection mulled wine
750ml, £16.99, selfridges.com
This is a very wondrous mulled wine. Deep, full of Christmas berries, but with an almost port-like elegance. A fantastic length of flavour.
★★★★★

Nisha Katona is CEO and executive chef of Mowgli Street Food restaurants