Christmas Hampers 2013

AS OUR FINAL Christmas Blog for 2013, we would like to thank all our regulars and repeat clients for your loyalty and commitment and welcome everyone on board who has just discovered the magic of a Hunter Valley Christmas. This year has been a wonderful journey with the ongoing support and dedicated loyalty of our corporate base clientele. Thank you – you know who you are.

Making hampers is a real pleasure and getting things just right for clients is even more satisfying – there is something special about seeing off a large shipment we have worked closely with from sourcing the suppliers to adding the final detailed touches.

We still have room for some final end of season orders in 2013 and if you are looking for genuine handcrafted artisan hampers with a twist, you would be well advised to get in as soon as possible to reserve your order. Best call direct on 1300 284 684 so you can lock in your order immediately.

Our bestsellers this year have no doubt been the create your own hamper section – you guys love having final say on what goes into your gifts – and no wonder considering the average dollar spend was up by nearly a third on previous years. So far it has been a year of bigger hampers with the buyers preferring to choose their own additions to existing hampers or completely making their own from start to finish.

Thank you again for keeping alive our dream of local, regional food integrity and in turn giving our authentic farmgate producers the opportunity to share their products on the national marketplace. Every single hamper is another share of Hunter Valley produce and the passion and commitment that goes into the food and wine of the Hunter Valley. We truly appreciate your purchase and want you to know that you are making a difference right here right now.

Fruit Baskets Newcastle

Stallholders Directory

 Firstly, after a long hiatus, we are back at the orifice, err, office.

New approach and attitudes all round have us with a definite competitive advantage.

Something about beer and teamwork

Fruit Baskets Newcastle

Hampers for Christmas?

At Christmas time there are plenty of pretenders in the hamper market.

You've got your department store wannabe, filled with boxes and packets fulls of air with a little teaser sampler inside. So when you actually open all the packaging and put all the edible food aside, you find there's about 600gm of real food there - the rest of the hamper has been cardboard, packaging, smoke and mirrors.

Like popping a balloon.

Darkness and light - from my early period reading Foucault and the genius of Diderot.

No wonder they are only $45 and reduced by 50% a week out from Christmas!

Then there's the hamper the distributor makes.

Basically this one is full of expiring stock - stuff they has been slow moving over the year and can quietly be put into a bundle buy and sold as a Christmas Hamper.

This is a step up from your department store "packaged air" hamper, but not much. You'll find the same or similar brands, big boxes with little crackers and some acrid wine you can buy yourself at your local bottlo for around $7.

But they still have the audacity to call it gourmet and will probably hit you up for around $80 - $100.

So by now we have taken out half the market or more, most likely 80% of the market share.
For people who want to send something but quite frankly don't really give a shit.

Then, you come to the specialist gourmet hamper suppliers.

You can tell this bunch because they have a little paunch from tasting their boutique wares, maybe rosy cheeks from a silently sampled a bottle of wine, even a shadow of a chocolate smile from the dipped nougat they have popped in their mouth as they answered the phone.

And their hampers - from a true lover of the genre - are something to behold. Packed by hand, with attention to colour and detail, the authentic gourmet hamper is a lumbering beastie filled with heavy clunky gourmet delights from across the region.

And you can tell immediately you set your eyes upon it.

My heady impressionist days - you can almost taste the passion in my work..

Choosing a Hunter Valley Hamper is like reading from the menu at dedicated restaurant where you just know they have put in the effort to match the flavours, tastes, smells, and appearance - even the sounds of the cellophane as it crinkles open are uniquely associated with Christmas and this time of giving.

So go forth and share a Christmas Hamper from Hunter Valley Hampers and rest assured your choice to share the best and finest will be met with similar appreciation when it safely arrives at its' destination. Call 1300 284 684 to order.

Christmas Hampers Delivered

Sydney Christmas Hampers FREE Delivery

Branded Custom Fit Boxes

Phew, just got a moment to catch my breath - it is soo busy the elves, Kacy and I are attending to your orders.  At this stage it looks like being an even bigger year than 2011, which was our busiest ever.

Our Authentic Old School Baskets

I would just like to take a moment to urge you to get your order in promptly.  Every year we get new clients and they are sometimes a bit tentative at first, considering we are a locally run independent hamper company and that we use boutique gourmet food. 

Don't be intimidated - we are not pretentious and I guarantee you will be more than impressed with the stunning presentation and equally memorable food, wine and condiments you will be sharing over the festive break.

Oh, and the free delivery thing - of course the big department stores offer free delivery - but it is costed into your hamper - which is perhaps why you get supermarket inclusions.  At Hunter Valley Hampers, we are honest to goodness and simply charge you what it costs us to freight your hamper, which is in most cases a measly $11.

So good shopping and thank you for supporting our family of local Hunter Valley food producers and winemakers.  Call 1300 284 684 to order.

Bitter and Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival

Image via Wikipedia

Bitter & Twisted International Boutique Beer Festival
Saturday 6th – Sunday 7 November 2010
Maitland Gaol, John St, East Maitland
In 2010, Bitter & Twisted will feature stalls offering tastings of over 60 beer from the best Australian craft-breweries as well as specialty international beer from around the globe. There will be heaps on offer for beer drinkers, wine drinkers, non drinkers, food lovers, music lovers, arts lovers, parents, children, grandparents, friends, lovers, dancers, singers.....basically anyone who wants to have a good time!
MUSIC * FOOD * BEER
Purchase your tickets before 1 September to go into the draw to win the Twisted Ales Brewing Competition.
Nominate your most twisted beer - be it ale, lager, whatever - for your chance to win a day brewing your winning beer with the expert brewers at Hunter Beer Company.
You'll get to take home 10 litres to share with your mates and have your beer featured on the Hunter Beer Company stand at Bitter & Twisted.
For more information, to purchase tickets and to enter the competition visit “Professor Sigmund von Beer’n’Mister” at www.bitterandtwisted.com.au or phone the Maitland Visitor Information Centre on 02 4931 2800
Buy Boutique Hunter Valley beer.