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Mitch Gabourie hasn't drawn up his gift list for the holidays yet, but he knows where he'll be doing most of his shopping for colleagues in the film and television business: at Caviar Direct. The fine-food purveyor located in Toronto's St. Lawrence Market specializes in delicacies such as artisanal smoked salmon, black winter truffles and Canadian caviar from sustainable sources - just the kinds of treats Mr. Gabourie knows will be sure to please.

"I think you can always get to somebody's heart through their stomach," said Mr. Gabourie, who just wrapped production on The Buck Calder Experience, a pilot for a Canadian TV series. "In the film and TV business, it's become quite common to give food."

It is becoming common everywhere else, too.

The market for food gifts in the United States grew 47 per cent between 2004 and 2006, to about $16-billion (U.S.), according to a recent survey by researcher Packaged Facts. That stands in contrast to an overall decline of 8 per cent in U.S. consumer gift spending over the same period.

And the food-gifting trend is expected to continue, with the market projected to grow another 45 per cent by 2010 to more than $23-billion.

While there are no comparable Canadian projections, researchers here say the market is likely to be similar. For one thing, general food shopping as a proportion of consumer spending is roughly the same in both countries, at just more than 15 per cent of the consumer dollar, said Raj Chawla, a senior research analyst at Statistics Canada in Ottawa.

A key driver behind the larder largesse is the boom in gourmet entertaining in general, a phenomenon reflected in the explosion of TV cooking shows and the rise of the celebrity chef.

"Our country is becoming increasingly enamoured with food as a social and recreational activity, and some of this is translating into food gift giving," said Dianne Cyr, an associate professor in the faculty of business at Simon Fraser University in Surrey, B.C., who specializes in online commerce.

Food gift retailers agree. "I think the Food Network has expanded the business for everyone," said Anthony Rommens, Caviar Direct's owner.

Mr. Rommens says good food is almost universally appreciated and that some of his customers feel it can make more of a splash when offered as a host gift than, say, just another bottle of wine. "A lot of people, they're wined-out to a certain degree," he said. "They'll bring food because usually somebody has wine anyway."

Caviar Direct's delicacies include hand-carved Maritime salmon that's been smoked with pesticide-free wood.

He also sells caviar from Hudson's Bay and other regions of the lower Arctic, products he says rival the more famous caviar from endangered Caspian Sea sturgeon.

At Calgary-based chocolate maker Chocolaterie Bernard Callebaut, founder Bernard Callebaut says people increasingly want to give gifts that offer an experience as well as something that can be shared, such as theatre tickets and restaurant meals. Packaged-food indulgences play into that theme. "The focus is more on the social aspect of sharing the season with loved ones and enhancing those gatherings with quality foods," he said.

Packaged Facts reports that gourmet confectionery retailers are enjoying especially strong growth, benefiting from the increased number of chocolate connoisseurs.

Food also resonates with the holiday season by offering a connection to family traditions. Callebaut, which has 28 stores in Canada, from British Columbia to Ontario, as well as several across the United States, is renowned for several seasonal offerings. Among them: Christmas Cherries, a recipe Mr. Callebaut brought over from his native Belgium and adapted to Canadian ingredients. Organic B.C. cherries are soaked in maraschino liqueur for five months, then hand-dipped in semisweet chocolate and rolled in milk-chocolate shavings.

Dr. Cyr, who specializes in online marketing, says the Internet has made it easier to source and deliver specialty food items. Callebaut, which does 30 per cent of its business during the holiday period, also ships worldwide through its website.

And many online retailers that at one time specialized in other products, such as books or flowers, are getting into the food business. In the United States, Amazon.com, the books and music retailer, offers holiday gift baskets that include such items as cheese, chocolate and jam. At 1-800-FLOWERS, the range of comestibles includes celebrity-chef packages, such as the Barefoot Contessa Breakfast Tray, a package of food items from U.S. TV personality and cookbook author Ina Garten.

The latest food gifting trend is organic products. Mr. Callebaut's organic range of ingredients now includes dairy, nuts and fruit.

For some anxious shoppers, giving the gift of grub means never having to guess a sweater size or colour preference.

Not that food has to be equated with the impersonal touch. Many retailers, such as Caviar Direct, will tailor special baskets for those who know their recipients' tastes.

"I think it's a really creative gift," said Mr. Gabourie, the filmmaker. "And I think it's a gift that keeps on giving."

Good food hunting

Caviar Direct

Caviarforsale.com

1-800-FLOWERS

1800flowers.com

Chocolaterie Bernard

Callebaut

Bernardcallebaut.com