Gourmet Hampers in Australia - What is gourmet in 2009?
Author: Brendan P Murphy
Gourmet (def) a connoisseur of the delicacies of the table. Of a standard required by a gourmet: first rate. From the Old French for wine merchant's man.
Hamper (def) a large basket... made from cane, wickerwork etc.
As a supplier of Gourmet Hampers, I often get asked what exactly is it that makes your hampers gourmet? It is best to start with the Old French root of the word gourmet, which leads back to the idea of wine merchant's man.
Can you imagine the wine merchant's man of the middle ages, working much like a travelling sales representative of today, keeping in touch with a range of local retailers of fine foods and wine? And the myriad tastes and smells he would have experienced over the years and how he would have been seen as an authority on things food and wine? That is my preferred idea of a gourmet, a person who has vast experience in tasting and working within the food and wine industry and whose opinion on matters food related would be highly valued.
In the context of gourmet in 2009, like so many other traditional terms, a gourmet hamper has come to mean many things to different people. In short, a basket with wine, sweet foods, savoury foods and fresh fruit and cheese. But in reality, a quick search of the web will reveal a multitude of themed inclusions to make a gourmet hamper fit a particular occasion.
It has even gone so far as companies doing away with the traditional basket and placing products in an easy to ship box and still calling it a hamper. As the definition suggests above, a hamper is not a cardboard box or a tray or anything that is 'easy to ship". The most requested is still the traditional wicker basket.
Further, the idea of a gourmet hamper being a generous sized gift basket has been changed forever by gift basket companies offering three or four products and some novelties aa a hamper. Gift Ideas like "night at the movies", which is a cardboard box filled with mainstream chocolates and soft drinks and some microwave popcorn are appearing, and are certainly not gourmet hampers.
When buying a gourmet hamper, aim for a business that maintains the traditional and authentic standard of the gourmet, in a hamper. Perhaps that sounds obvious, but seek out companies that offer niche products, local foods and wines, and don't use pallet loads of corporate multinational products that are common.
Imagine buying honey from the lady who tends half a dozen bee hives on her cattle farm, collects the honey during summer blossom time, gently hand treats it, and then puts it in jars with a hand written label? That is what a gourmet hamper is all about. Similarly, there are olive oil growers, relish and jam makers, sourdough, cookies, even boutique wineries - the list goes on.
So, like the wine merchant's man of old, trust your business to a local gourmet hamper specialist who actually makes gourmet hampers in the true sense of the word. You'll be thanked for it when you send the true regional taste.
Hamper (def) a large basket... made from cane, wickerwork etc.
As a supplier of Gourmet Hampers, I often get asked what exactly is it that makes your hampers gourmet? It is best to start with the Old French root of the word gourmet, which leads back to the idea of wine merchant's man.
Can you imagine the wine merchant's man of the middle ages, working much like a travelling sales representative of today, keeping in touch with a range of local retailers of fine foods and wine? And the myriad tastes and smells he would have experienced over the years and how he would have been seen as an authority on things food and wine? That is my preferred idea of a gourmet, a person who has vast experience in tasting and working within the food and wine industry and whose opinion on matters food related would be highly valued.
In the context of gourmet in 2009, like so many other traditional terms, a gourmet hamper has come to mean many things to different people. In short, a basket with wine, sweet foods, savoury foods and fresh fruit and cheese. But in reality, a quick search of the web will reveal a multitude of themed inclusions to make a gourmet hamper fit a particular occasion.
It has even gone so far as companies doing away with the traditional basket and placing products in an easy to ship box and still calling it a hamper. As the definition suggests above, a hamper is not a cardboard box or a tray or anything that is 'easy to ship". The most requested is still the traditional wicker basket.
Further, the idea of a gourmet hamper being a generous sized gift basket has been changed forever by gift basket companies offering three or four products and some novelties aa a hamper. Gift Ideas like "night at the movies", which is a cardboard box filled with mainstream chocolates and soft drinks and some microwave popcorn are appearing, and are certainly not gourmet hampers.
When buying a gourmet hamper, aim for a business that maintains the traditional and authentic standard of the gourmet, in a hamper. Perhaps that sounds obvious, but seek out companies that offer niche products, local foods and wines, and don't use pallet loads of corporate multinational products that are common.
Imagine buying honey from the lady who tends half a dozen bee hives on her cattle farm, collects the honey during summer blossom time, gently hand treats it, and then puts it in jars with a hand written label? That is what a gourmet hamper is all about. Similarly, there are olive oil growers, relish and jam makers, sourdough, cookies, even boutique wineries - the list goes on.
So, like the wine merchant's man of old, trust your business to a local gourmet hamper specialist who actually makes gourmet hampers in the true sense of the word. You'll be thanked for it when you send the true regional taste.
Article Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_978405_47.html