Reviewed by
Evelyn
La Gourmet Box are a luxury artisan food and drink company who specialise in mainly French gourmet boxes and hampers, with products sourced from all over France. They also sell some Spanish themed boxes which are well worth a look!
The team behind La Gourmet Box are incredibly passionate about what they do and they really strive to provide their customers with the very best food and drink that they can find. Most of their boxes contain meat though, so I was very pleased to see them branch out with a brand new Vegetarian box this month. This new Nature Box is packed full French food and drink that’s made by a variety of small artisan producers. If you’re a vegetarian or simply someone who enjoys trying something new, this is definitely a box to try.
All of La Gourmet Boxes are shipped via courier to the UK and the boxes are presented beautifully, wrapped in tissue paper and with the products carefully packaged to ensure safe arrival. I couldn’t wait to open the very first vegetarian-friendly Nature Box from them, so here’s what I found inside.
Les Charmes White Wine 2016 AOC Coteaux du Giennois (750ml, 13.5%)
It wouldn’t be a gourmet box without a bottle of high-quality wine! Produced by winemakers Domaine Catherine and Michel Langlois, this Sauvignon comes from a little known Burgundy appellation and has won several awards in the Hachette Wine Guide. It tastes wonderfully fresh and light, with fruity notes of Peach, Apple and Grapefruit, all blended on a base of White Flowers. Perfect as an aperitif when you have friends and family over – needless to say, everyone I know really enjoyed it!
Champlat Reserve Organic Homemade Carrot & Coriander Soup
With the nights drawing in and the weather turning colder, there’s nothing more comforting than settling down for the evening with a hot steaming bowl of soup, and this Carrot & Coriander one was absolutely delicious. Made by Champlat Reserve, they are one of the last traditional home-made canneries in France that uses organic ingredients, and you can really taste the freshness and quality of the vegetables in this soup. This huge jar was enough for two generous sized portions.
Ferme de la Fontaine Vegetable Caviar with Rapeseed & Tomato Seeds
Made by the artisan Ferme de la Fontaine (translated as The Farm of the Foundation), this jar is an interesting vegetarian ‘caviar’ which can be served as an appetizer or quick snack. It’s made from mostly Tomatoes and has some yummy Rapeseeds mixed in, which gives it a mustardy and crunchy taste and texture. I haven’t tried anything like this in the UK and it tastes amazing on crackers or as a dip for crudites.
Eugène Blond Pure Butter Biscuits with Cheese & Rosemary
You can’t go wrong with a box of deliciously buttery, crunchy, cracker style biscuits which are flavoured with Cheese & Rosemary, and these ones are a speciality of Northern France. They have a delectable sweetness to them, whilst the Rosemary adds a savoury, herby twist which works so well with the subtle Cheese flavour. Very moreish!
Lo Moulinet Moulinade Green & Black
Here we have two jars of tapenades made by the small artisan company, Lo Moulinet, who opened their own olive oil mill back in 2004 and today manage over 3000 olive trees at their plot in Languedoc. The Moulinade aux Olives Vertes contains a tasty tapenade which is made with juicy green olives, and the Mouliande aux Olives Noires is of course then made with rich black olives. The latter has a much stronger taste, so I prefer the green one out of these two, but they are both very high-quality.
Gramm’s House Haricot Noir Chocolat Blanc Matcha
Containing no GMOs, no palm oil, no preservatives, no additives and no artificial colours, these crunchy, roasted black soybeans are coated with Jugetsudo white matcha green tea chocolate, which gives them an unusual and interesting flavour. The Matcha taste is very strong with these, but they make a delicious crunchy snack that goes well with many drinks!
The Oréliades Aubergine Caviar, Artichoke Spread and Poichichade
Lastly, I found three small jars from The Oréliades, a southern-France based artisan who has provided three of their best vegetarian products for the Nature Box. The first one that I tried was the Aubergine Caviar which is made from all-natural ingredients; just Aubergine, Tomatoes, Onions, Sunflower Oil, Olive Oil, Garlic, Lemon juice, Salt, and Pepper. This was delicious with vegetable crudites and crackers as a dip!
Next up, I was curious to taste the Artichoke Spread which had a rich and creamy texture, perfect for spreading onto warm toasted sourdough for a quick and easy breakfast treat. It’s an acquired taste for sure, but one that’s growing on me.
Finally, I tried the Poichichade which is a traditional Provençal spread that’s similar to Hummus as it’s made from Chickpeas, Lemon Juice, Garlic and Cumin. I’m a huge fan of Hummus so this was my favourite out of the three – I could eat this with everything!
