Whether you’re going for a fine dining festive feast or a traditional turkey blow out, it’s time to plan, party and make it memorable with our top tastes of a Lancashire Christmas
FOR THE FINE DINING AFFICIONADOS
Home by Simon Rogan
Enjoy a relaxing day of cooking for your ultimate Christmas Day dinner – yes, really. Simon Rogan and his award-winning team of chefs have put together menus to take away the hassle of cooking from scratch. With just a little time in the kitchen, you can then dine on five courses of decadent dishes including snowball cauliflower velouté, potted Cornish mackerel, poached and stuffed turkey from Goosnargh with confit leg, creamed fermented cabbage, winter vegetables in herb butter, pigs in blankets, cranberry, Woodruff infused turkey sauce, Christmas pudding and mince pie chocolates.
The Home by Simon Rogan Christmas Menu is priced £95 per person plus £10 delivery fee, simonrogan.co.uk/shop/christmas
Northcote, Langho
If you’re looking to finesse those festive favourites, want to prep like a professional, take the stress out of the feast or just make some sensational food, Northcote Cookery School’s Christmas Feast at Home class is the place to head. Learn how to make everything from cauliflower and truffle croquettes and beef Rossini tartlet to salmon tortellini with a champagne sauce, venison wellington and Christmas pudding souffle.
If you’re looking for treats to make for friends and family, you can make a selection of sweet and savoury items in the Christmas Hampers course. Learn how to put together a bundle of food joy by making cranberry relish, lemon curd, fig chutney, ginger cake, Northcote’s Viennese mince pies, stem ginger shortbread, mini yule log and mulled wine. If you don’t want to prep ahead, book yourself for their Christmas dining and you could be feasting on dishes like spiced pork cheek with black pudding, caramelised sprouts and pickled apple or Christmas pudding treacle tart, pictured.
Various dates, £250 for the Christmas Feast course, the Christmas Hamper course is priced from £225, northcote.com/cookery classes
Dale House
If you’re looking to boost your breadmaking skills ahead of the festive period –who doesn’t love a happy host filling their home with the smell of fresh bakes – chef Dominique Ashford, owner of Dale House Barn and B and B, in Slaidburn, has several courses available. Although her spectacular fine patisseries and tarts course is fully booked before the Christmas period – book yourself on the January course for a start of the year treat – her two-day artisan bread course takes place on November 18th and 19th. Brush up on your brioche, perfect your sourdough, learn how to make cracking crumpets and much more, all in the gorgeous surrounding of Dominiques beautiful farmhouse.
£250, dalehousebarn.co.uk
FESTIVE TABLE TREATS
Williams Handbaked Luxury Christmas Cake
For a traditional taste of Christmas try this rich fruit Christmas cake from Preston’s Williams Handbaked. It’s full of delicious vine fruits, cherries and is soak in apricot wine and topped with marzipan and icing.
Williams Handbaked have been selling traditional tarts, cakes, biscuits and their famous giant Eccles cakes since the late 1990s. What started as selling at farmers’ markets for founder Valerie Williams has now turned into a successful Lancashire business stocked in shops, delis, garden centres and supermarkets.
£17.95, williamshandbaked.co.uk
Brie fabulous
This beautiful French Brie Cake makes a fabulous gift or table centrepiece for any occasion with a whole kilo of creamy French Brie delicately hand topped with the finest continental charcuterie, beautiful Looking for something that little bit extra special for your cheeseboard or something to wow your festive gathering guests? The almost too good to cut into French brie cake from The Little Green Platter Deli in Orrell, run by Karen and Andy Green, could also be the perfect table centrepiece or a gift for cheese lovers. The whole kilo of creamy cheese come toped with the finest charcuterie, olives, seasonal fruits and herbs. You’ll have to be quick though, orders for these tasty treats won’t hang around for long.
French Brie celebration cake, £35, thelittlegreenplattercompany.com
Birks Farm Turkeys
For many, it wouldn’t be a Christmas dinner without the turkey – and you don’t want to hang around in getting that all important order in. Jenkinson’s Free Range Turkeys at Birks Farm, near Pilling, is a good place to head. Established for more than 80 years, the turkeys spend their days in nearby woodland or roaming the 350 acres of farmland. Choose from full turkeys or turkey crowns. Birks Farm also have geese and capons for an alternative December 25th showstopper.
birksfarm.co.uk
HAPPY HAMPERS
Christmas Cheese Selection Box, Butlers Farmhouse Cheeses
These fourth-generation family cheesemakers have a smorgasbord of fabulous fromage available for Christmas, all chosen by head cheese grader, Bill Yates. The Christmas Cheese Selection Box contains all the crowd-pleasers perfect for those pre-Christmas get-togethers or as a gift. Containing their flagship cheese, Blacksticks Blue, spicy Red Leicester, Firecracker, the bright and buttery Goosnargh Gold, their This is Proper Goat’s Cheese and This is Proper Cheddar.
£15 plus delivery, butlerscheeses.co.uk
A gift with Good Intent
New Lancashire start-up, Good Intent Gifts, has launched their Lancashire Gift Pack. Food and drink from around the county, including from artisan chocolates from Choc Amor, The Bee Centre Honey, Farmhouse Biscuits, Fiddler’s Lancashire Crisps and Mr Fitzpatrick’s Sarsaparilla cordial, is contained in the ready-made, compact gift that’s perfect for posting to food lovers this Christmas.
£28, goodintentgifts.co.uk/shop
Moonshine advent calendar
Not strictly a hamper but just as joy-bringing, open the door every day to discover a Moonshine mini from some of Manchester-based spirits company O’Donnell Moonshine’s most popular flavours – think sticky toffee and wild berry – as well as many other goodies and their new exclusive Christmas flavours.
O’Donnell Moonshine specialises in the production of spirits reviving the old tradition of illicitly produced alcohol in the 1920’s prohibition era. They have taken the concept, added some modern flavours, and bottled their liquor in mason jars.
£119, odonnellmoonshine.co.uk
SIPS OF THE SEASON
Mandarin & Ginger Gin
The light tang from the mandarins is expertly balanced with a punch of gingery spice. Seasonal and warming, this deliciously moreish gin can be enjoyed with tonic, in a festive fizz cocktail or in a gin hot toddy.
Mandarin & Ginger Gin, £29, lancasterspirits.co.uk
Farrer’s Coffee
Whether it’s an end of the night coffee, gifts for your festive host or a stocking filler, this speciality gift set from Kendal’s Farrer’s Coffee contains everything for the coffee lover including Sumatra ground coffee, China Banka ground coffee and Burundi Nemba ground coffee. All three coffees come pre-packaged in a specially designed presentation gift box.
£19.99, farrerscoffee.co.uk
Raspberry Mead
A Great Taste Award winner, the raspberry mead from Rochdale’s Dreaded Mead, not only works well as a dessert wine but is also the perfect post-Christmas dinner or Christmas party drink. Made with honey, water and raspberries Mix it half and half with lemonade and lots of ice for a cocktail to keep you going through the festive season.
£18, dreadedmead.co.uk
FABULOUS FARMS SHOPS
Bowland Food Hall
There aren’t many local treats you won’t be able to find on the shelves of Clitheroe’s Bowland Food Hall. With breads, bakes and beers, including from their own Bowland Brewery, there is also a deli, cheese and butcher’s counter. There is also gifts galore for everyone from gin and beer lovers to those who love to discover more tasty food from around Lancashire. Try the Bowland Brewery Bundle, £55, with all Bowland Brewery’s most popular drink including their No 1 Gin, Bowland Pilsner and three classic Bowland Ales.
bowlandfoodhall.com
Gazegill Organics
Over in Rimington, in a rural corner of the Ribble Valley, Gazegill Organics are a prime choice for your meat this Christmas, serving that all-important turkey, beef, goose, pork and organic Christmas cockerel. Some of the meat comes from animals that have been lovingly reared on the family farm, under the stewardship of Ian O’Reilly and Emma Robinson. Those animals that haven’t, have come from friends and their farms to bring you a Christmas meal to remember. Don’t miss the organic pigs in blankets, £6.99 for 12, made from rare breed animals, wrapped in streaky nitrate free bacon and with no traces of gluten.
gazegillorganics.co.uk
Low Sizergh Farm Shop
A must-stop destination for food since opening its doors in 1991, Low Sizergh Barn Farm shop sells food that is grown and produced with love from cool creamy milk, fresh morning bread, delicious local meat and vegetables fresh from the ground. Part of a working farm – dates show there has been a farm on the land since the 13th century – you’ll also find beers, bread, cheese and chutney and a stack of delicious vegetables from charity, Growing Well, based on the farm. The farm is run by the Park family and Christmastime is even more special on the family farm with even more festive food, meat and drinks available to buy.
lowsizerghbarn.co.uk
