Christmas Is Served

Lose the Harry and David catalog, the Santa potholders, and the six-pack of Natty Lite topped with a stick-on bow. We know what the gourmets on your holiday gift list really want this year, and we've found it at prices that range from naughty to very nice. Best of all, everything draws heavily on Northeast Ohio's bountiful culinary resources -- chefs, farmers, brewers, authors, shopkeepers, and others with hometown ties.

Romance for Two
Dinner prepared in your home by Chef Brian Doyle
(Approximately $300, depending on the menu)
Light the fire, turn on the Sinatra, and settle in with your Snuggle Bunny for an evening of culinary pampering. For a fraction of what your heating bill is bound to cost, personal chef Brian Doyle -- former honcho at hot spots like Lure Bistro and the Fulton -- can warm up your love life with a sumptuous five- to seven-course feast for two, filled with festive flavors, imaginative preparations, and sassy global accents. Lobster lollipops, anyone? Kiev-inspired roasted free-range chicken? Peppercorn-seared duck breast with beet infusion? All are among Doyle's recent specialties, just a sampling of what he could put on your plate. Count on devoting at least two hours to dining; how you spend the rest of the night is your business. Contact Doyle at World's Fare Culinary, 440-622-5071, or visit www.worldsfareculinary.com.

Lavender Delight
Herbal gift baskets from Daybreak Lavender Farm
($96.60)
Self-styled "aging hippies" Jody Byrne and Michael Slyker operate a Streetsboro farm teeming with fields of lavender that, until recently, had been harvested mostly for use in Byrne's handcrafted soaps and oils. In the past few months, though, Byrne has found herself increasingly drawn to the herb's gourmet possibilities, experimenting with various infusions, blends, and mixes. Her preoccupation has resulted in a line of fragrant comestibles, gathered into a whopper of a gift basket that she calls "The Taste of Lavender" -- aka "the full-tilt Provençal boogie." There's lavender-infused honey, lavender-scented sugar, and organic lavender tea, as well as jasmine pearl tea and a trio of gourmet salt blends. The basket's most mouthwatering assets, however, are the lavender-infused baking mixes: one for shortbreadlike tea cookies, the other for a dark chocolate torte that contains eight full ounces of Ghirardelli chocolate and a lovely herbal aroma. To see the farm's full line of handcrafted lavender products, visit www.soap-please.com.

Cold Comfort
Gift box of Mitchell's homemade ice creams
($75; $115 for out-of-state delivery)
Entrepreneurial brothers Pete and Mike Mitchell have been cranking out the region's finest small-batch gourmet ice cream for nearly six years, with contemporary, year-round parlors in Solon, Westlake, Rocky River, and Beachwood. But until recently, out-of-towners were out of luck when it came to savoring the Mitchells' confections. That's all changed, this holiday: You can now order pints by the eight-pack -- in any combination of flavors, including seasonal faves like pumpkin spice, peppermint stick, cinnamon, and eggnog -- and have them shipped in dry ice in a reusable cooler to anywhere in the Continental U.S. To order, visit any of the store locations, or call 440-333-4563.

Intro to Vino
Gift certificates from the Cleveland Wine School
($50 and up)
Give a lady a bottle of wine, and she'll drink for an evening. Give her a gift certificate for the Cleveland Wine School, and she'll drink in the wisdom for a lifetime. That's the great thing about wine, after all: There's always something new to learn. Blessedly, wine expert Marianne Frantz and her staff manage to make the lessons informative and insightful while whittling the intimidation factor to a nub. Available in multiples of $50, gift certificates can be used toward classes like "Understanding Pinot Noir" and "Bubbles 101." For the ultimate present, pay her way into the Epicurean Event coming up on March 7, an indulgent five-course feast matched with French wines from Château Cos d'Estournel, presented by winemaker Jean-Guillaume Pratts. At $135 per person, this gift is strictly for good little gourmets. To order, call the wine school at 216-295-9583 or visit http://clevelandwineschool.com.