The Perfect Picnic 2022

By Julia Paddon

Fresh from the hottest summer days on record, we’re packing our bags and heading for the great outdoors with the best items to make your summer picnic go off in style…

Cooking Apparatus

Fan Assisted Portable BBQ – Anthracite
Cook up a feast for your family and friends at the beach, park or in the garden with this Fan Assisted Portable Anthracite BBQ. Enjoy great flame control thanks to the speed adjustable fan and the LED backlit control knob so you can grill to your heart’s content.
£99 from dobbies.com

CUBE
The portable, CUBE is designed for impromptu barbeques away from home. With an integrated food-grade storage tray, preparation board and porcelain enamel firebox, it’s easy to store, set up, cook and clean responsibly, while the chrome handles keep external heat to a minimum, making it easy to move while cooking.  Cooking capacity 670cm² You can cook 6 small burgers or 3 steaks.
£179 from everdurebyheston.co.uk

Lotusgrill Standard, Red
The Lotus Grill is a unique, ingenious BBQ which heats up in under 5 minutes, giving you that authentic charcoal cooked flavour in no time. Perfect for smaller households or impromptu summer gatherings this BBQ is small and convenient to transport, weighing only 4kg.
RRP £150 from dobbies.com

Adult Grub

Mandeira’s Kitchen
Each two-person picnic comes with an authentic tiffin carrier and flask, palm plates and bamboo cutlery. Choose vegetable or chicken biriyani, samosas, raita, spiced crackers and chutney. For a sweet ending there are mini spiced chocolate samosas and choice of gelato. Finish with Chai mix, beer or G&T.
£60-80 for two people from mandiraskitchen

Ickle Bubba Teepee
Let your little one’s imagination run wild with the Ickle Bubba Teepee Playtime 4 Piece Bundle. Perfect for indoors and outdoors, the Teepee Tent is easily assembled with collapsible wooden poles, meaning the tent can be packed away into the fabric carry case for neat, easy storage and portability.
£69 from icklebubba.com

Peelers
Ideal for keeping kiddies entertained, Fruit Bowl’s Peelers are are 100% fruit, six-sticky-stranded snacks that are a delicious and fun way for children to get one of their five-a-day! Available in three fabulous flavours including Strawberry, Blackcurrant and Raspberry, they’re gluten-free, contain no added sugar, are vegetarian/vegan friendly, and a simple way for children to interact with fruit in a hands-on way!
£2.50 from ocado.com

Waters

Crag Glass Bottled Water
Crag Water delivers water direct to your doorstep in reusable glass bottles. Once you’re done, Crag will collect your empties and take them back to the Crag Inn in The Peak District National Park where the exceptional quality spring water is bottled at source, to be washed and readied to be used again for the next delivery. Crag Spring Water has a really smooth texture thanks to its mineral rich content – the sparkling option has a delicate citrus edge, like the faintest flavour of lime.
£15 per still crate from cragspringwater.co.uk

Water in a Box
Water in a Box is a sustainable, 100% British spring water brand which launched in 2014 after the founder came face to face with the sheer amount of plastic in our oceans. In an ideal world, we all have a reusable bottle but invariably, we forget and sometimes there aren’t any water filling stations. So, when you’re out and need a drink, Water in a Box is the next best planet-friendly solution.
£8.99 from pack of 12 from waterinabox.co.uk

Refreshers

Savyll Non-Alcoholic Cocktails
Sip back in style this summer with these delicious cocktails from Savyll with zero alcohol in super handy slim cans – perfect for alfresco get togethers! Choose from Bellini, Mojito, Paloma Tequila and Moscow Mule.
£13.99 for a box of four from savyll.com

Angels Dare Cocktails
A new Scottish ready-to-drink cocktail brand which promises to help drinkers ‘lose their halo’. There are three cocktails: the brand’s signature ‘Cheeky Wee Kiss’ which mixes dry gin with rhubarb and ginger, the ‘Maverick Martini which blends vodka with passionfruit, vanilla, orange and lime, and their ‘Secret Garden’ which fuses dry gin with peach, elderflower and apple.
£5 per can from angelsdarecocktails.co.uk

Kombucha Drinks
Remedy Kombucha is the UK’s No1 kombucha for a reason: its delicious range of sparkling, live-cultured drinks are naturally free from sugar and artificial sweeteners, while also containing gut-loving live cultures, antioxidants and organic acids. Available in a delicious range of flavours.
£1.99 each; stockist: remedydrinks.com

MANGO GO!
Bursting with benefits, MANGO GO! is the sparkling mango flavoured natural energy drink that you need to try. Tasting great like a soft drink, rather than a standard energy drink, MANGO GO! takes everything you’d expect from a fruity soft drink and combines it with the benefits of a stimulating energy drink, all while being 100% natural. That’s a win, win… win. Right?
£10 from a 12 pack from goodtimein.co.uk

Belvoir Farm Fizzies
Pack in some of these perfectly portioned, single serve 250ml cans for refined refreshment on-the-go. Belvoir Farm’s Sparkling Elderflower, Raspberry Lemonade, Pink Lady and Ginger Beer are made with real fruit juices mixed with lightly sparkling water and are perfect for popping into picnic baskets and walking backpacks
£4.10, 4 x 250ml cans from Ocado

Nibbles

Kallø Veggie Cake Minis
Kallø’s light and delicious Veggie Cakes Minis come in Beetroot & Balsamic – blending premium taste with a unique crunchy texture. Made from lentil and peas, the plant-based snacks are high in natural plant proteins, low calorie, a great fibre source, HFSS compliant, contain nothing artificial, are gluten-free and vegan.
90p only at Tesco Express, jumbo format from sainsburys.co.uk

Afternoon Tea Chocolate Gift Hamper
Whether you’re looking for a new twist on the usual picnic or you’re just a chocolate fiend, the Intimate Afternoon Tea Chocolate Gift Hamper is perfect to enjoy on a hot summer’s day with a friend or loved one, with a refreshing soft drink or a glass of your favourite tipple.
£34.99 from wickedlywelsh.co.uk

Munchy Seeds
For the perfect picnic addition, try Munchy Seeds as a healthy sweet or savoury snack, or use them as a topping for salads or pasta dishes to add a nutritional boost to picnic fare. Buy them from Ocado and Amazon.

Extras

Whole Earth Drizzler
Whole Earth Drizzler has a unique and super smooth texture perfect for drizzling on your favourite dishes, from porridge to pancakes, ice cream, soup and stir fries. It’s vegan friendly and made with 100% nuts in an easy-to-use, squeezy bottle so you can simply shake, squeeze and drizzle.
£3.30 from waitrose.com

Holy Moly Dips
Holy Moly Dip have crafted a NEW rich, indulgent and wonderfully versatile plant-based dip range, using the finest wholesome ingredients – just like an authentic homemade recipe – with no nasty additives, fillers or preservatives. Tzatziki is set to make your mezze simply amezzing, Soured Creamy Chive Dip is a perfect harmony of chive and zingy lemon and the Smoky Garlic Aioli  is a velvety smooth blend of plant-based mayo and yogurt, infused with garlic and zesty lemon.
From £2 from holymolydips.com

Ramona’s
For the ultimate Mediterranean-inspired picnic pack up your bags with RAMONA’S delicious houmous and falafel. Healthy and packed with flavour and goodness, these authentically Middle-Eastern products will elevate your picnic to the tastiest one yet. Buy from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Ocado.

Accessories

SHO Food Flask
The prefect way to store your food for your picnic. The Food flask is an eco friendly and stylish option to keep food hot or cold for hours. Ditch the plastic this summer and invest in a hard-wearing food flask for you next picnic.
£13.50 from shoreusable.com

WaxWrap
WaxWrap is perfect for plastic-free picnics, packed lunches and for keeping food super fresh. Good for your budget and kinder to the planet too. Vegetarian Society approved, it’s eco-friendly beeswax wrap, sustainable, reusable and completely compostable. Can be used up to 200 times and at the end of its long and happy life it’s completely compostable and can even be used as an eco-friendly firelighter. Available in bags, wraps and unique roll format – the UK’s first.
From £12 at waxwrap.uk

Cooler Bag
Everything about this cooler is designed with family fun in mind, from its extra-large capacity, to its food-safe interior lining. The bag is printed with the ‘Lulworth’ pattern from KitchenCraft’s “We Love Summer” collection. Featuring classic sailor stripes in blue and white, Lulworth evokes images of sun, sea and sand.
£42.49 from cookserveenjoy.com

Xlear
If you’re one of the 13 million Brits currently suffering with hay fever, you know that treating the symptoms quickly and effectively is key to managing the condition. Xlear Nasal Spray can be used daily as a preventative measure to keep the nasal passages clear and stop allergens entering the body.
Xlear products are available from independent health stores and from Amazon £11.99. More info: xlear.com

Don’t Forget…

Bertinet Bakery Sliced ‘Sandwich-Friendly’ Genuine Sourdough
Crafted using traditional fermentation process and time-honoured methods, Bertinet Bakery Sourdough is made with just flour, water and sea salt – nothing artificial for a delicious, authentic taste. The sliced softer ‘sandwich friendly’ textured loaf makes it perfect for picnic sandwiches. Available in White, Malted Wheat and Seeded sliced loaves.
From £1.95 available from Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Ocado and Milk and More