Gifts with Taste: Alison Attenborough, Food Stylist

With the holidays just around the corner, we asked some top tastemakers in the food community to curate their own gift guides from our collection. Check back for more Gifts with Taste and start making your own gift list!

 

Alison Attenborough is a chef, food stylist, restaurant consultant, recipe developer and author of our cookbook Cooking for Friends – winner of the IACP cookbook award in April 2010 for styling and photography. She has a flair for creating effortlessly beautiful dishes and tables, and she’s lent her stylish touch to many a Williams-Sonoma catalog photo shoot. Read on for her top holiday gift picks, and see her work at AlisonAttenborough.com.

 

1. Bay Leaf Wreath with Burlap Ribbon Hanger: The smell of my Diptyque bay candle always reminds me of the holidays. I burn them throughout the winter and take the travel ones with me wherever I go, so I adore the aroma of the bay wreath and love this year’s version in the burlap.

 

2. Double R Ranch Co. Beef Tenderloin: One of my favorite food items for the holidays is the beef tenderloin. Such a delicious tender piece of meat — this is a real hit with all my friends!

 

2. Steamed Whole Chestnuts: I love chestnuts so I always have jars of these on hand to add to soups or stuffing. I’m on a real Japanese kick at the moment after a recent work trip there with FOOD & WINE magazine. I just had chestnut mochi here in San Francisco with prop stylist Marcus Hay at one of my fave Izakaya places in San Francisco.

 

4. Washed-Linen Napkins: The washed cotton linens in the grey and blue would make great gifts. I hate ironing so these are fantastic — so soft, and they can be thrown in the wash.

 

5. Live Maine Lobsters: The Maine lobster dinner would be fantastic served on Christmas Eve. Just pile it on a table covered in newspaper, then no dishes to wash before the big day. Serve it with rosé Champagne, or if you don’t want the splurge, go for a sparkling cremant!