Amongst the abundant feasting of the festive season your Christmas cheeseboard is the perfect moment for an impressive display and bold flavours. Put cheese at the centre of your Christmas celebrations with some top tips from the cheese experts at Slate. Suffolk-based Slate has shops in Southwold and Aldeburgh and via its website, www.slatecheese.co.uk offering cheese and gifts for nationwide delivery.
Your Christmas cheeseboard should offer choices to cater for all the tastebuds around your table. Consider a range of milks, rennet and pasteurisation to suit specific dietary requirements; also balance cheese styles and textures to create a truly tempting selection. Alongside something soft, fresh and goaty, include an indulgent Brie-style cheese and hard, grassy Cheddar. Contrast a light crumbly Cheshire with creamy, piquant Stilton and of course a true stinker to knock Grandad’s socks off!
Deck the halls
Christmas is all about turkey with all the trimmings and the same should apply to your cheeseboard. Provide a decadent array of accompaniments to make your cheese choices sing! Think complementary and contrasting in terms of both flavour and texture. A range of crackers from sweet oatcakes to crunchy sourdough crispbreads; handfuls of nuts such as pecans to enjoy with local Binham Blue and walnuts with cheddar-style Norfolk Dapple. Dried fruit including apricots, dates and cranberries bring jewel colours and natural sweetness that sits well alongside salty cheese. Stilton is particularly delicious crumbled on mince pies and Wensleydale accompanied by a slice of Christmas cake. A drizzle of honey is fantastic with goat’s cheeses like Dorstone and a spoonful of dark relish is perfect with hard cheeses and the Boxing Day pork pie.
Spiced orange & cranberry gin
St Giles have created a beautifully balanced gin which has the essence of the festive season. This limited edition seasonal gin combines fresh orange and cranberry flavours with a warming spiced finish which lingers satisfyingly on the pallet. Enjoy over ice with a premium tonic or gently warmed with cranberry juice and a chunk of fresh orange.
70cl, 41% VOL, £39 | www.stgilesgin.com
The taste of Christmas in a bag
Fairfields Farm’s Roast Turkey & Stuffing crisps combine the tasty and succulent flavours of British turkey with the punchy and herby aromas of sage and onion stuffing to bring you a delicious and thoroughly festive snack.
The crisps are created using the very best, hand-selected potatoes grown on Fairfields Farm and are cooked just a few metres away in its purpose-built crisp factory using 100% renewable energy.
150g bags £1.99
www.fairfieldsfarmcrisps.co.uk
A gift of food & wine
Why not gift something a little different this year with a voucher for Côte. Gift vouchers can be redeemed at both Côte at Home and Côte Brasserie, so you really have the best of both worlds.
Should you choose to visit one of the fabulous restaurants there are plenty of locations to choose from including Bury St Edmunds and Norwich. Beautifully prepared food using excellent ingredients you will be able to enjoy favourites such as a mushroom cassoulet or a créme brûlée. One of the Places&Faces office favourites is a tarte au citron, especially when enjoyed with friends and family… a much better gift than last year’s scarf.
An Empire of taste
The Hippodrome Great Yarmouth is readying for another blockbuster version of its Christmas Spectacular from 11 December to 9 January. The festive show, which is now firmly a Norfolk tradition, will see circus acts from all over the world come together and a Christmas extravaganza like no other. All set within the historic Hippodrome Circus arena it’s a truly unique and magical experience for the entire family.
This year there is also some very exciting ways to enjoy delicious food and drink during your visit. Firstly, The Hippodrome has recently opened Cafe 1903 next to the circus entrance, a stunning new coffee shop and cafe, serving freshly ground artisan coffee and tea, along with freshly baked cookies, cakes, and cinnamon swirls. They also offer a range of handmade sandwiches, bagels, and paninis. The cafe itself is adorned with vintage circus memorabilia from The Hippodrome’s collection. It’s the perfect place to start or end your visit to the circus.
Ticket holders for the Christmas Spectacular will also be eligible for an amazing 10% off all food and drink at The Empire, another one of the seafront’s iconic buildings. The Empire is a historic former theatre on Great Yarmouth seafront, which is now home to the east coast’s most exciting and talked about new venue. The Empire hosts 3 guest street food traders, ranging from wood fired pizzas, stacked burgers and Mexican inspired vegan and vegetarian food. There is also vast craft beer and cocktail bars along with regular live music events. Families are very welcome and it’s the perfect place to enjoy some food when you visit The Hippodrome.