We’re creatures of habit when it comes to festive celebrations – especially where eating and drinking is concerned. Some of our top local chefs, producers and business owners reveal what food and drink always makes it feel like Christmas
Emma Booth, gifting and special occasions buyer, Booths
‘Christmas isn’t really Christmas until I’ve got a damson gin and prosecco cocktail in hand. Made from Damsons grown in our back garden, the gin brings the rich berry warmth, the Booths Prosecco adds the sparkle, and the sugared cranberries on top? They’re basically edible baubles; festive, fancy, and a little bit over the top, just like Christmas should be. One sip has this magical effect of slowing everything down, the hustle, the lists, the endless rushing and reminds me that the season is meant to be savoured.
Emma Booth (Image: Booths)
‘It’s the sound of laughter with family, the sparkle of fairy lights, the feeling of being wrapped in warmth. This cocktail isn’t just festive, it’s tradition. A little ritual that turns ordinary December evenings into moments I’ll remember long after the last glass has been poured.’
Edwin Booth, chairman, Booths
‘It goes like this. Mrs B, “shall I make a Christmas Cake this year?” Me, yes! Christmas day comes and goes, and it turns out that I am the only member of the family who will eat it. Every year the delicious confection is portioned and stored in sealed containers for me to enjoy with my coffee at Booths HQ during January and February. Occasionally, I have a few pieces left in March, by which time it is fully mature, sticky and unctuous. For me, Christmas keeps on giving.’
Mrs Kirkhams Cheese (Image: Mrs Kirkhams Cheese)
Richard and Rachel Trenchard, founders of Goosnargh Gin and Trough
Stepping into Christmas (see what we did there?) is all about the cheese for us. And boy, are we lucky with such an incredible selection of cheesemakers and cheese merchants right on our doorstep. We enjoy food that can be shared, talked about and enjoyed in a relaxed way – so we always like to have a cheeseboard on the go at our house.
Richard and Rachel Trenchard (Image: Kirsty Thompson)
Our local go-to (literally around the corner from us) for traditionally produced Lancashire cheese is Mrs Kirkham’s, who also have a spot on our menu at Trough. For our other cheeses, we’ll be enjoying a selection from Jonathan at The Crafty Cheese Man, who recommends a variety of British cheeses for Trough too and really champions artisan producers. We’re also loving our Bowland Meadow White Negroni on our autumn/winter menu and will definitely be enjoying those alongside our cheeseboard when we can eventually put our feet up.
Stosie Madi, chef owner, Parkers Arms, Newton-in-Bowland
Christmas at the Parkers is a very laid-back country style affair. The mantles are decked with pine and holly; the fires are roaring and the menus bursting with seasonality. Christmas at home is about food and family. Lebanese, French, West African and English dishes are on the menu to please our multicultural family and friends. Great wine and bubbles are a necessity as well as my famous P’tit punch, a very pokey Caribbean style rum punch.
As we all need plenty of drinking and family fun time, I always have a table heaving with home cured salmon, lobster and prawn mayonnaise, game terrines and pates, all home made by me and visiting family and friends. There is also a Lebanese meze of hummus, moutabal and a big bowl of well-dressed Fattoush. Fresh baked flat breads and sourdough country breads piled high means people can graze when hungry and I can enjoy the day.
Stosie Madi (Image: Parkers Arms)
December falls in game season. We enjoy mallard with summer preserved pickled cherries, pheasant boned and rolled with chestnut and apricot stuffing with a rich leg meat pie and served in a mahogany-coloured cherry sauce made from the bones. There is also roasted partridge carved over a platter of Lebanese jewelled rice, scattered with every toasted nut imaginable, with a rich sweet and sour pomegranate sauce.
Pudding is always a proper Buche de Noel made like my mum taught me – an elaborate black forest affair. Then there are trays of baklava and a rum soaked Christmas cake.
Photo: George Hammond (Image: George Hammond)
George Hammond, owner, Georgonzola Deli, Clitheroe
‘Good turkey, ham and pigs in blankets are all an absolute must and worth the extra cash at Christmas. Naturally, you’d expect me to say that a good cheese board can really top off the day. But you should also make sure that you have lashings of the trimmings. You always need more roasties, gravy and sprouts than you think.
‘Our big festive meal is quite the event with almost 16 people round the table. So, you can imagine the production line we have peeling spuds and managing oven space. But it never gets wasted, so why skimp.’
Lisa Goodwin-Allen, chef patron-director, Northcote, Langho
‘One of my favourite things at this time of year is leafy clementines. I adore them. They come into season in November, and that fresh, citrusy fragrance always reminds me that Christmas is on the way. Whenever we have them in the kitchens at Northcote, the team know they need to keep an eye on them because they’re my Achilles’ heel. I can’t resist sneaking one (or two) when I walk past.
Lisa Goodwin-Allen (Image: Northcote)
‘They’re not only delicious to eat on their own, but they’re also incredibly versatile to use in the kitchen. For Obsession, we created a beautiful dessert inspired by clementines, which celebrated their natural brightness and sweetness. The citrus flavour paired beautifully with silky, rich Valrhona Opalys chocolate, which we caramelised and finished with a hint of aromatic thyme.
I also love adding a little grated clementine zest to mulled wine or folding it into a rich chocolate cake for a vibrant, indulgent flavour.’
Paul Askew (Image: Barnacle/The Art School)
Paul Askew, chef patron at The Art School and Barnacle, Liverpool
‘Our focus at the restaurants are local ingredients, a lot of which are wild. When the first venison comes on the menu, it makes me feel Christmassy. I’m a big fan of Brussels sprouts, done with sauteed smoked lardons of pancetta with maple syrup, shallots, garlic, pecan nuts and tossed in butter. They are absolute joy.
‘Partridge always rings home to me; it’s a family tradition where we always sing the 12 Days of Christmas around the dinner table, so we have to have partridge. It was a tradition I started with my parents and now continue with son, wife and her parents. I do look forward to a traditional Kelly’s Bronze Turkey too, mainly because I make a legendary stuffing with it.
‘We take the turkey leg meat and mince it and mix that with chestnuts, rosemary, garlic and some little bits of pork, dried cranberries and apricots. It’s almost like a meatloaf.
‘It’s become part of our home traditions, and I do it for the staff Christmas lunch too. I get a real kick out of making it every year and seeing people’s faces when they taste it as well. I adore Christmas and our family. We’re very Christmassy people so it’s always something to savour.’
Ollie Bridgwater (Image: Gilpin)
Ollie Bridgwater, executive chef, SOURCE at Gilpin, Windermere
‘When I think of Christmas, I always think of chestnuts. There’s so much you can do with them. The obvious choice is tossing them in with your sprouts on Christmas Day. I love to grate them over roasted vegetables which adds a lovely nutty richness, but for me, a properly made chestnut soup is something very special and it’s surprisingly easy to make. A lot of people avoid chestnuts because they think they’re tricky to open, but you can buy them ready-peeled from Booths.
‘Start by softening an onion and a clove or two of garlic in butter. Add the chestnuts and let them take on a nice golden colour, then pour in some chicken stock and a splash of milk. Let it simmer gently for 5 -10 minutes before blending into a smooth, rich soup.
You need to season it generously and, if you want to add some texture, stir through a few chopped chestnuts at the end. You can also add in some truffle (not oil) for even more flavour. Perfect for when you come in from a crisp Boxing Day walk.
At SOURCE we make a chestnut purée that pairs beautifully with venison and other game. This festive season, I’m hoping to bring it back on the menu in a partridge dish.’
Dining and Cooking