Gourmet hampers are a wonderful way to celebrate the different special days that we have throughout the year, and there are literally dozens of celebratory days depending on your culture, religion and ethnic origin. At the Gourmet Grocer there are a range of hampers already configured for you which are just divine. However, if you want to celebrate a special day in your own way, you can choose from cheeses, wines, herbs and spices, confectionary, pantry foods and a host of other selections to make your hamper as individual as you are.

For example, Valentine’s Day is an important event early in the year that is celebrated almost world-wide. Forget red hearts and flowers, and impress your valentine next year with a gourmet hamper, themed for the occasion. The choices are limited only by the imagination and could include the obligatory chocolates and wine (after all, it is Valentine’s Day), but also other goods that are synonymous with romance. Think aphrodisiacs like oysters, smooth cheeses that slide along the tongue and exotic honeys that are begging to be licked.

Easter is another major commemorative occasion that is sacred to many religions, and gourmet hampers that express the seriousness of the occasion, while delighting the recipient with fabulous food selections need another stretch of the imagination. Try special teas, oils, spices, vinegars and dressings, seafood, mushrooms, wines and pastas.

“Our niece in Queensland was coming to Melbourne for Easter, then had work commitments and couldn’t get here. She sent us a beautiful gourmet hamper from the Gourmet Grocer instead, and while we were disappointed that we wouldn’t see her, we certainly weren’t disappointed with the hamper. It was wonderful.”

An Australian citizenship ceremony just cries out to be celebrated. If you have family, friends or neighbours who are taking the pledge to call Australia home, what better way to welcome them into the fold than a gourmet hamper Aussie-style. A cretin might say that we have nothing special in the culinary field to create gourmet hampers, but a quick search of the website at Gourmet Grocer Online begs to differ. We make some of the best wines and cheeses in the world, our seafood is second to none, our honey bees drink from the nectar of the bush, and our fruits and nuts are fresh and wholesome.

“Our neighbours came here as refugees from Somalia after many hardships. They are gorgeous people, and so excited to be Australians. After the ceremony, we did an Aussie picnic in the local park, and gave them a Gourmet Grocer hamper we had created ourselves. You couldn’t get the smiles off their faces.”

In such a diverse society, there are dozens of days that deserve to be celebrated - Halloween, Labour Day, Christmas, New Year, Fathers Day, Mothers Day, Epiphany, St Stephens’s Day, St Patrick’s Day, Assumption Day, Harvest Festival, SinterKlaas, Hogmanay, Confucius’ Birthday and there are literally dozens of others, all of particular significance to Australians whose origins lay in other parts of the world. Any of these days can be enhanced with fine food and drink around a table filled with family and friends.

All gourmet hampers from Gourmet Grocer Online are packaged in their own specially designed wooden hamper crate embellished with their name. The sturdy construction makes it perfect for transporting its precious contents across the city, the country or the world. Forget wandering into a cheese shop and picking up any old thing to throw into a cane basket. These hampers are sturdy, elegant, beautifully packaged and packed with a wondrous array of culinary delights.