Me and Mr Jones

Last night, my fave Mr Jones (the Grocer) turned one and he threw a major birthday bash. I brought my friend, who is nuts about Jones too (the cheese room is her must-go-to-without-fail-everytime-she's-there corner). Obviously, she was super thrilled when she found they were dishing out Beaufort and parmesan-- paired with honey truffle oil (which is like yumm-meeeeee; $59.50 for a large bottle) and crackers and fresh cranberries-- as part of the tapas selection. We were permanently parked where the cheeses were practically the whole night! I couldn't move her cheese, or rather I couldn't move her away from her cheese.

We're going Down-under! Can't get any more Aussie than this.

The highlight of the night was the auction, which raised about S$40,000 (don't quote me on this because I had a bubbly, a martini and half a bottle of pale ale on an empty stomach when all of it was going on) for Jones' adopted charity, the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

So it wasn't only a roomful of party-goers who went home merry and contented; so would the three kids whose wishes--to party with Dora and Barney, to visit Hello Kitty Land in Tokyo and to have a MacBook computer to hone his design talents-- were granted. So kudos and shout out to Amanda Osbourne (thanks for inviting the Vanilla team!) and Bruce Chapman. It was really nice to finally meet you both. :)

And in case you're heading down to the store anytime soon, I hear there are some fantastic Christmas coffrets you can get. The prices range from $72 to $480. Though from their names, seems to me you don't have to use xmas as an excuse to get 'em (read: Cheese Lover's Delight, Jones BBQ, Chef's Selection, Weekend Picnic etc.)

My personal fave is the Platinum hamper because it's jam-packed (no pun intended) with triple berry jam and awesome buncha treats like Prestat champage truffles, sicilian choco biscuits, white truffle glaze and a Babero Hard Torrone-- great for any truffle-chocoholic. You can email dempseyhill@jonesthegrocer.com or call 64761512 to find out more.

Meanwhile, have a good weekend!