Terrific Tiffins

Not tiffin, the chocolatey biscuity treat, but the compartmentalised lunch box used by workers across India. They are great for keeping all the bits of your meal separate until you eat them, so no more salad dressing leaking into your cake, or fruit that tastes a little bit like sandwich pickle. I love the idea of the Tiffin Wallahs, who deliver their tiffins in Indian cities, bringing hot, home cooked meals directly to the office. How do we get that here?! After preferring the bento box for years, this season, the brilliance of the tiffin has finally caught on. This family sized one from The General Toy Store will hold a lunch for a small crowd and is perfect for picnics. It's £60, but look how pretty it is!

If you're a traditionalist, this stainless steel box is probably the one for you. I think it would be great for serving, too, I definitely want to use it to bring my curries to the table. This one is from John Lewis and it's £20.

There are a few brightly coloured melamine numbers to be found in the picnic ranges of some stores. While, I'm not sure we'll have any cause to need them for picnic purposes, they'll make great lunch boxes, since they're light and resistant to knocks. My favourite one is this Marks and Spencer box, and it's £15.

Of course, there's no reason why you can't put some tiffin in your tiffin box. Sara's Malteaser Chocolate Tiffin would be a good choice.