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.

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.

Roll out the tinsel! Christmas 2014 is looking delicious - and here's why

Words & Photography by Felicity Spector

Outside it was a blazing 25°C and London resembled a furnace on overdrive. What better day to sample an entire range of Christmas goodies from some of the country’s biggest supermarkets and brands? The fake snow was swirling, the cardboard reindeer were sporting painted-on smiles, and I was game for anything.

First, Marks and Spencer - a vast array of rooms showcasing everything from stunning winter coats to festive homeware and food. I began with the café range, and a huge selection of different Christmas sandwiches - secretly my favourite part of the season.

Alongside the traditional turkey sarnies was a protein-packed three bird roast in a flatbread wrap - and an excellent vegetarian sandwich, pairing roasted carrot with chestnut stuffing and cranberry sauce: it was satisfying, creamy and full of flavour. Another innovation - red crisps, although I have to say they did taste the same as the regular kind.

For the main event - along with some handy pre-prepared vegetable sides, M&S is offering a range of turkeys, from a ready-stuffed and rolled breast joint to a free-range bronze from an Oxfordshire farm, and even a goose. There are some spectacular pies, too - including one with a whole pear in the centre, which looked very dramatic cut in half.

I was most impressed with the selection of breads and desserts: especially a Christmas pudding boule which tasted delicious as it was, or toasted with a decadent amount of butter - a dense, dark and rustic loaf packed with dried fruits and a hint of spice. I’ll be making some rather special turkey sandwiches with that one.

From a luscious range of desserts, I loved the mini Portuguese custard tarts, crisped up after a few minutes in the oven, a very rich and moist chocolate stollen and the ‘hero’ piece: a cone-shaped chocolate brownie fudge cake with praline frosting, complete with ‘five gold rings’ made from spray-painted chocolate. As rich as it sounds, it will retail for £18.

Onto Waitrose, which was promoting the very current Middle Eastern/Asian trends: pairing turkey with dukkah and pomegranate molasses, and some dense and fruity stuffing balls fragrant with gingerbread and apricot. Sprouts were shredded and stir-fried with tiny shards of bacon, and roasted root vegetables were spiced up with an Indian inspired blend of seeds.

Chefs from the store were busy smoking huge turkey breasts in a Green Egg smoker, which made it beautifully moist with a good depth of flavour, paired with a scoop of smoked mash and some buttery gravy.

The Heston range was given a room of its own: highlights were a very rich sticky toffee apple pudding and, best of all, a new frozen dessert called the ‘Ultimate chocolate bar’ - many layers of chocolate, praline and caramel parfait, sandwiched by thin layers of chocolate cake and a shiny smooth chocolate glaze. I predict that one, at £9.99, will be flying off the shelves.

Of the other cakes and desserts, some new square shaped mince pies were an interesting take, with brown-sugar crusted walnuts on top, and the mincemeat mixed with apple to lighten it up. Waitrose pastry chef Will Torrent fried up some mincemeat hotcakes, a great idea for using up leftovers, especially served with some spiced sugar and a huge dollop of one of the store’s alcohol-laced creams.

Over at Asda, where food and drink was displayed in giant igloos, there was a really retro feel to the sweets and biscuits: children will love the giant gingerbread men, and the store has been careful to keep an eye out for cost-conscious customers - their layered chocolate cake, which serves 16, will be on sale for a price-conscious £4. I queued up for one of their most exciting new innovations - a 3D model of myself - the team is taking its special scanner to selected stores around the country and for £60, you’ll be sent a ceramic replica which looks uncannily lifelike. I heard the girl in front of me ask “Can it make me thin?” No promises there: it’s not magic!

The Co-Op, trying hard to rediscover its traditional values after a slightly rocky time - to say the least - has clearly put lots of thought into its Christmas collection. I was really impressed by a platter of six enormous scallops, ready to be seared and finished with garlic butter - they’ll be on sale for just £5, although they are flown in from Japan. Sustainably sourced, though.

The Co-op has also put together some decent festive sandwiches, and a decadent range of desserts including a Christmas pudding cheesecake studded with spices and dried fruit, with a base made of pudding rather than biscuit, which was a novel touch.

And there was a magnificently melting whole camembert, ready to be baked in its box, topped with pancetta and cranberries - all of it just £3.

At the more luxury end of the scale, Fortnum & Mason showed off a magical display of beautifully designed packaging and perfectly composed hampers: there were magnificent pies, bejeweled chutneys, and luxury chocolates. For the ultimate tree decorations, you can pick up an embroidered Big Ben or a London taxi.

Cheese specialists Paxton and Whitfield will also make up hampers to order, from £48 - and other gift ideas include a cheese-making kit and a little notebook where you can record your favourite cheese experiences.

We sampled a wonderful range of British and European cheeses - from an incredibly creamy Italian three milk cheese called La Tur, to St Egwin - nutty and clean tasting, and made on a farm in the Vale of Evesham. You can complete your cheese board with some of their seeded or charcoal crackers and some robust ale chutney or cucumber pickle.

There have to be chocolates, of course - and for the most spectacular creation you could hope to find - La Maison du Chocolat has constructed a vast and intricate Christmas tree: at £700, it’s certainly a work of art in its own right. If your budget doesn’t quite extend that far, then their festive range of chocolates won’t disappoint: a mandarin puree was sharp, intense and smooth as velvet, while a hazelnut praline studded with dates paired the dark chocolate couverture with a fudgy sweetness.

It’s a competitive market out there - and the big stores and brands will be going all out to impress, whether it’s by dreaming up new versions of traditional favourites, or providing the best possible quality and value for money they can. All of which is good news for consumers. And after my whirlwind preview, I'm dreaming of a bright Christmas - as far as the food goes, at least.

A Christmas Lunch Preview at The Gallivant Hotel, Camber Sands

Words & Photography by Marina Benjamin

Name: The Gallivant Hotel

Where: New Lydd Road, Camber, East Sussex, TN31 7RB (http://thegallivanthotel.com)

Cost: The Festive Menu (available from 2nd-24^th December) costs £24 to £34 per head, depending on the day of booking, and whether it’s lunch or dinner. The New Year’s Eve Menu is £75 per head. There’s also a Christmas Party Menu served on 14^th Dec, and a Christmas Day Menu, for £39 and £65 respectively. Children are welcome and are catered for at reduced cost.

About: Tucked away behind the hillocky dunes of Camber Sands, where the beach stretches for 5 miles, is the Gallivant Hotel. L-shaped, single story and with drive-in parking, it resembles an American motel; in fact, there is a real mid-Californian coast vibe to the place, with its driftwood décor and white-washed floors. Plus 1 and I were given a ‘deck room’, which captured the beach-house style perfectly, and had a wonderful rainforest shower to boot. The bed was extremely comfortable, and foodie treats such as home-made stem ginger cookies, smoked almonds and salted caramel popcorn, bespoke of the inventiveness promised by the kitchen.

Camber Sands is a stone’s throw from the medieval town of Rye, where cake shops jostle with antique stores along winding cobbled streets, and also Dungeness, where cultural adventurers can visit Derek Jarman’s garden-in-the- wilderness at Prospect Cottage. If you’re looking for a weekend away from London, The Gallivant is a perfect spot in one of the South coast’s loveliest areas.

What We Ate: The kitchen at the Gallivant is headed by Trevor Hambley, who is my kind of chef; by which I mean, he eschews molecular chemistry, witty deconstruction, and ubiquitous foams, in favour of using fresh seasonal ingredients and treating them well. Once again, very Californian. His sous chef, Benjamin Fisher, who prepared our meal, spent a year working at the French Laundry, in Yountville, under Thomas Keller, who like so many highly rated Californian chiefs, is a disciple of Alice Waters – the guru of kitchen-garden cooking, and the primacy of good ingredients. 

We were offered a sampling of different dishes from the various Christmas menus: three starters, a choice of two mains, and a fantastic pud that offered more proof of excellence that one could ask for. The starters were diverse and all beautifully prepared. There was a game consommé ‘pie’ – deliciously meaty broth topped with a puff pasty hat – that tasted rich and comforting. Just the thing for a cold winter’s night.

Another dish balanced little cigars of salmon roulade against a very tasty crab beignet, full of fresh meat that sang of the sea.

The only starter that didn’t really do it for me was a nicely cooked bit of turbot, topped with a potato puff, and dressed with whelks in curried oil and a smear of cauliflower puree. Everything in this dish was delicious in itself, but the ingredients somehow didn’t come together.

When it came to mains, Plus 1 ordered the festive turkey. What arrived was both fascinating and more-ish. It was a turkey ball, composed of breast meat on the outside, wrapped around slow-cooked thigh meat, and with an apricot flavoured stuffing in the centre. Doused with a saucy cranberry reduction, it was effectively an edible Christmas bauble. I opted for the pheasant dish, which was my favourite of the evening. Slivers of tender breast meat were served on green beans, and a fritter of confit leg meat sat atop a couple of cubes of potato Dauphinoise. Zinging things up were a Madeira reduction and some scattered dollops of damson jelly. This dish was technically accomplished, punching well above the weight of most Xmas menus, and also mouth-meltingly good to eat.

The pudding, too, was scrumptious. It was billed as pecan pie, but proper pecan pie has a slightly gelatinous quality to it, on account of being made with caro syrup. This one – and this is no criticism, believe me – tasted more like a cross between pecan pie and treacle tart. Plus it was served with some very tasty Christmas pudding ice cream. Yum, yum, and more yum.

What we drank: We had two wines to accompany our food flight. The white was a bone dry Chablis from Gaston Andre Pere et Fils (at £27.90), and the red, an earthy Fleur de Lisse Saint-Emilion (£32.70). Casting an eye over the well-chosen list, I found plenty of wines I’d like to try next time. And the house white is a very tempting Viognier Marsanne – one of my favourite white wines, and only £4.50 a glass.

Verdict: The seaside location is wonderful, and in the morning we enjoyed a brisk beach walk before tucking in to the Gallivant’s delicious breakfast, where there are egg choices for every preference, and a bounty of homemade breads and jams. The hotel staff were uniformly warm and helpful. And while not all the rooms at The Gallivant are as nice-looking or light-filled as the deck rooms, even the small rooms don’t skimp on comfort. The Gallivant’s trump card, however, is its kitchen, ruled over by two very talented chefs, who turn out wonderfully flavoured food with a lot of love and a good dollop of imagination.