What do you spend your euros on? Photograph: AP
Gone are the days of the generic holiday gift - a horrible liqueur that will sit untouched in your cupboard for thirty years, a Toblerone or even some peculiar foreign fags to puff on.
According to research by Expedia, the average Brit abroad is no longer returning from foreign lands with just a sombrero-clad donkey and a serious sunburn, but a suitcase stuffed to bursting with fine foods and wines.
Of the people interviewed for the survey, 20% bought cheese, 10% herbs and spices and 9% local meats, compared with a mere 3% who chose to import cigarettes.
Forget tacky t-shirts and keyrings: edible goodies are the perfect booty to bring back from your adventures. Quite literally a taster of your trip, they are a far superior way of sharing your experiences than making your acquaintances snooze through 5 packs of photos. Although of course it's always good to double check your bounty is actually legal.
So why the new fashion? Perhaps it's our burgeoning love of delicatessens and luxury food stores that has turned us into a nation of so-called 'gourmet globetrotters'. Even if you can buy it at your local shop, nothing beats the real thing. Our island has a long history of importing exotic foreign foods, and there is something rather nostalgic and Victorian about awaiting a shipment. Yet times have changed, and as food miles become increasingly controversial, it seems slightly less of a shameful experience to feast on something picked up en route, rather than transported exclusively for your pleasure.
I was recently given a can of Terrine aux Olives Noires (yet to be sampled), that was lugged up and down the Mount Ventoux in some precious pannier space. And I'm very much looking forward to sipping on Breton cider this weekend when my latest cargo arrives.
It is also interesting to see the last minute treats your colleagues grab at the airport before returning to the office. A very boozy rum cake I picked up in Barbados, made an afternoon in the office much more entertaining. Less
popular was someone's tin of Turkish peber, which has been hanging around the desk for 6 months.
So what's still sitting on your desk? And what did you demolish in minutes? Have you given or received any food souvenirs this summer?
