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Tuesday 5 December 2017

Iceland Christmas Foods - Gilded Turkeys, Melting Chocolate Snowflakes, Macarons and Much More!


A unique supermarket group in the UK, Iceland specialises in a huge range of frozen foods but it also offers fresh produce, groceries and drinks. Despite accounting for just 2% of supermarket food sales in the UK, Iceland is renowned for its specialty dessert selection, and in fact is the leading supermarket in the country for desserts.


So I was intrigued to visit Iceland’s head office and product development kitchens in Deeside near Chester to meet their Director of Product Development, Neil Nugent.


The event was an opportunity to flag up some of Iceland’s Christmas range products, and we got off to a very good start with their warming, sweet mulled white wine (first time I tried a white wine version) and some very good Iceland Luxury Mince Pies (£1.89 for 6) on arrival.


Then it was into the testing kitchen for a cookery demonstration of a variety of Iceland’s Christmas offerings.  We started with Iceland’s lobster range. Iceland sells an incredible half a million lobsters each year, and no fewer than half of those are sold in December. They are sold whole, split in half, or as shell-on tails, and Iceland have even perfected a way of removing shells from raw lobsters for easier cooking. 

Smoking lobster tails in burning hay!

In whatever form Iceland’s lobsters are bought, Chef Nugent recommends never boiling them, but rather grilling or frying to preserve the flavour and texture of the meat.  Grilled then smoked in burning hay and served in a taco, the lobster flesh was indeed succulent and delicious.  I loved the clever use of hay to smoke the lobster tails. As part of the 2017 Xmas festivities, Iceland offers Luxury Rock Lobster Thermidor, with a tangy cheese and mushroom sauce (£14 for 2).

Griddled and Hay-Smoked Lobster Tails with Burnt Pineapple, Picked Onions, Guacamole and Soured Cream over Tacos

For Christmas day itself, Iceland, recognising the age-old problem of dry turkey breast, has revived the Victorian custom of roasting the turkey with butter-encrusted muslin draped over the breast.  The Luxury Gilded Turkey with a Mustard & Honey Glaze (£15 for a 3.5Kg bird) is baked at home, then the provided honey and mustard dressing is added for the last 5 minutes for a deep ‘gilded’ finish.

Iceland's Gilded Turkey with Mustard and Honey Glaze

Chef Nugent is also experimenting with roasting salt-encrusted joints, and I was impressed at the sight of him encasing a seasoned, butter-encrusted turkey in a mixture of rock salt and egg white before wrapping the whole lot tightly in muslin.

Salt-Encrusted Turkey!


The salt forms a second “oven” inside your kitchen oven, sealing in all the flavour and moisture of the bird.  I really enjoyed the tender and succulent flesh that emerged once the salt crust had been broken and brushed away.


I also thoroughly enjoyed the Christmas-inspired cocktails on the day - to note were the Christmas Mince Pie Martini made from vodka infused in Iceland's mincemeat and also the Christmas Bloody Mary using bacon-infused vodka! Both were really delicious and refreshing and easy to replicate at home!


The day finished with a medley of Iceland’s famous desserts. After weeks of development, Chef Nugent and his team are particularly proud of their new Luxury Melting Middle Chocolate Snowflake (£8, serves 8). A chocolate brownie base is topped with a Belgian chocolate bronze snowflake-shaped shell. You simply pour over the provided hot chocolate sauce to reveal the hidden Belgian chocolate mousse and enjoy!

Iceland also has some gorgeous looking macarons, (12 for £3), while its Luxury Raspberry & Pistachio Layered Pavlova (£6, serves 8), is an Olive Magazine supermarkets award winner. With gooey meringue, lemon cream and raspberry sauce topped with whole raspberries and pistachios, this is a dessert that looks and tastes the business. 


And of course, there is also a Luxury 12 Month Matured Christmas Pudding with Brandy, Sherry and Cognac (£6, serves 6), or for a novel variation, the Luxury Christmas Pudding with a Brandy Sauce Centre (£6, serves 8), which was highly commended by Olive Magazine.

Iceland is already gearing up for Xmas 2018, but for this year they have a huge range of treats for the whole season, with everything from party food to main courses, drinks, spirits and liqueurs.


You can see more at http://groceries.iceland.co.uk/event/christmas or pop into your local branch – if you shop in store until 24 December, they offer Christmas food delivery for free! 

This review feature was commissioned and sponsored by Iceland Foods. The London Foodie maintains full editorial control over all content published on this site as always.

Friday 1 December 2017

The St James’s Market Advent Calender Starts Today – Your Chance to Win a Fabulous Xmas Prezzie Every Day to 24th December 2017!


I don't know about you, but I get childishly excited about Advent Calendars - and St James’s is most likely the ultimate of its kind this festive season, with a fabulous gift giveaway each day in the run-up to Christmas! Forget milky chocolates, we are talking men's fashion, wine tastings and other super-luxe prezzies!


To welcome in the festive season, the St James’s Market Pavilion has been turned into a giant advent calendar. When each new advent window is opened, one lucky person will win and the surprise revealed each day via @StJamesLondon Instagram Stories.


St James's is widely recognised as the original home of menswear in London and the stomping ground of the well-dressed, so it was a natural choice to ask London Fashion Week Men to curate a selection of the twenty-four gifts.


Each beautiful present has been gifted by a different one of St James’s unique and exceptional retailers, restaurants, art galleries or hotels. For a full list of participating St James's retailers and a flavour of gifts on offer, take a peek below.


HOW TO WIN:

For a chance to win one or more of these fabulous gifts, visit the St James's site at https://stjamesslondon.typeform.com/to/rD5749 and enter your details in the entry form.

From today, the 1st December, each daily gift will be revealed on @StJamesLondon Instagram stories. Follow @StJamesLondon to stay up to date and take part. Participants can enter daily for a chance to win each prize. 

From Champagne afternoon tea for two, to a fitted Barbour jacket, will you be lucky enough to win one of the bespoke gifts from St James's esteemed retailers? Brands include: 

Lou Dalton
Berry Bros. & Rudd
Fortnum & Mason 
Aspinal of London
Arc'teryx
D R Harris
Emma Willis 
Cubitts
Smeg 
Barbour Int
The Ritz 
Harvie and Hudson
Trickers
Budd
N.Peal
Tiger of Sweden
Mint Leaf
Jigsaw 
New & Lingwood
Sims Reed
Lock & Co
Grenson 
John Smedley 
Floris
Maille 
Sunspel
Villandry 
Haymarket Hotel

For more information about St James, the Advent Calendar and what is going on in this exciting neighbourhood of the West End of London, visit their website here - http://www.stjameslondon.co.uk/.


This review feature was commissioned and sponsored by St James Crown Estate. The London Foodie maintains full editorial control over all content published on this site as always.
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