Hair and makeup: Juliana Sergot using Lancome and Tigi; Styling: Hope Lawrie; dress Saloni; Earrings Susan Caplan. Photograph: Perou/The Observer
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference mature blue stilton centrepiece
£9, 590g, sainsburys.co.uk
You put chutney and fruit on the stilton? I’ve never seen anything like this, it’s fun with the different elements. The cheese is very nice and I like the spice of the chutney.
★★★★
Aldi Specially Selected sheep’s cheese with truffle
£3.49, 175g, aldi.co.uk
I can smell truffle; that’s quite nice. It’s not overwhelming. I love it. A nice earthiness, and the cheese is like manchego – buttery, nutty, rich. I would destroy that.
★★★★
Duchy Organic Witheridge farmhouse cheese aged in hay
£3.80 per 100g, Waitrose cheese counters
It’s been wrapped in something. Smells like grass. Or stables. Good texture: crumbly but chewy. Would sit well on a board with chutneys.
★★★
Aldi Specially Selected triple creme excellence
£3.49, 185g, aldi.co.uk
Bloody delicious. It’s got a really nice subtle saltiness. It’s nice for people who don’t like pungent cheese but want a soft cheese. A really nice texture, and the actual rind is really tasty.
★★★★
Tesco Finest wensleydale with cranberry, pomegranate and orange
£3.15, 200g, tesco.com
It looks like dessert, which puts me off. I think it’s cranberry and orange but it feels wrong.
No stars
Asda Extra Special hot toddy chutney
£2.15, 285g, asda.com
That’s probably right for somebody but not me. There’s a ginger flavour that tastes a bit medicinal to me. You’d need a really strong cheddar – or it could overpower.
★★
Rosebud Christmas day chutney
£9.95, 375g, rosebudpreserves.co.uk
This really tastes like a Christmas chutney. Herbally, with spices and cinnamon. Mmm – I love it.
★★★★
Waitrose No 1 chocolate boozy bauble edition
£12, 110g, waitrose.com
The chocolate is beautifully crisp. The fillings are super smooth. There’s booze but it’s subtle. Beautiful colours. They look super Christmassy. Delicious.
★★★★
Asda Extra Special Swiss truffles
£6, 254g, asda.com
Mmm, it’s like hazelnuts. Oh, I hit a crispy bit. The texture is great; chocolate is tasty; nice hazelnut praline. I’m a sucker for a hazelnut something.
★★★★
BEST BUY
Waitrose gingerbread spiced caramels
£6, 150g, waitrose.com
Beautiful caramel; nice thick chocolate; proper. Gingery, yum. It’s like a gingerbread latte. Subtle, like a ginger biscuit; not fiery. Really Christmassy, but without being too grown-up.
★★★★
Pierre Marcolini plumier box of Christmas elves
£23, 116g, marcolini.co.uk
The truffle is average. The praline hats aren’t bad. You’re seeing seeds, nuts, but the texture is more smooth. Would I eat another? I like the sesame one. They look stylish.
★★★
Hotel Chocolat classic Christmas H-box
£15.45, 160g, hotelchocolat.com
The shapes are cute, and it looks like there are some nice flavours. Buttery caramel; this one might be an eton mess situation. The chocolate is tasty. A modern box. I think families would like that.
★★★★
TOP PICK
Marks & Spencer the magical Christmas village
£15, 249g, Marks & Spencer
I hope the green trees are mint … no, white chocolate. Lovely, though, really nice filling. Simple but genuinely delicious. And so gorgeous.
★★★★★
Tesco Rudolph noses milk chocolate truffles
£3.50, 150g, tesco.com
The white chocolate shell is nice and thick. This ganache in the middle is super creamy. If you let it melt in your mouth, it’s so delicious. A bit basic but I’d have another.
★★★★
Aldi Specially Selected front-loaded Christmas tree
£9.99, 250g, aldi.co.uk
A Christmas tree with cranberries, crispy bits, toffees. It looks really cute. Unless you’re eating a bit with the flavourings, it just tastes like chocolate – but it’s nice chocolate.
★★★★
Poppy Cooks: The Actually Delicious Air Fryer Cookbook by Poppy O’Toole is out now (Bloomsbury, £20). All items blind-tested
