Food often takes centre stage at Christmas, but there are so many elements to the Christmas meal, it can become overwhelming in the kitchen.

So, this week I thought I’d share some of my festive favourites from local suppliers which will be sure to wow all your guests.

Wine: Ake & Humphris

The turkey may be the main attraction of the table, but we all know the value of a good glass of wine on Christmas day.

Ake & Humphris, in Harrogate, has the perfect accompaniments for you: Kovacs Nimrod Monopole 777 Pinot Noir.

This comforting red has gentle notes of fragrant cherry, wild strawberry and raspberry, as well as exotic spices. The savoury characters add complexity to this intriguing pinot with moderate tannins and good body.

It feels like a warm fire on a crisp evening, and has become a staple in my house every Christmas.

The wine, which has aged for more than 4 years in oak barrels, has a velvety and round finish, making it very moreish!

Luckily for Stray Ferret readers, this beautiful wine is available on your doorstep at Ake & Humphris, on Leeds Road.

You can even get 10% off by quoting code GREATWINEFERRET or by ordering it from their website.

Ake & Humphris also offers a six-bottle hamper, specially curated to compliment the entire Christmas meal.

Enjoy!

Ake & Humphris Christmas wine selection.

Cheese: The Cheeseboard

When the post-dinner lethargy kicks in, many of us just reach for a packaged selection of cheese for our Christmas cheeseboard, but why not make it a talking-point of the meal?

The Cheeseboard, on Commercial Street in Harrogate, will make all your dairy dreams come true…

One of my personal favourites, the Stonebeck, is made locally in Nidderdale by Stonebeck Wensleydale Farmhouse.

The cheese is made from the milk of Northern Dairy Shorthorn cows, a rare breed native to the Yorkshire Dales, and is hand pressed and bound in calico before maturing.

The taste and texture are an expression of the farm: soft and creamy with long, complex and layered flavours.

It’s delicate and rich and is guaranteed to put a smile on your guests’ faces.

Blue cheese is probably the most polarising of the cheeses, but I can guarantee you’ll fall in love with Swaledale Blue.

This pasteurised cheese, which is made by the Swaledale Cheese Company in Richmondshire, has a soft, melting texture that dissolves to cream on the tongue and a taste that is mild with gentle, herbal sharpness.

It is certainly full of flavour, but the peppery hints take the classic Swaledale cheese to a whole new level.

I cannot recommend these cheeses enough and both can be bought at The Cheeseboard. Make sure to get them before they sell out!

Appleton’s Butchers: Pies

I know many of us devote ourselves to one particular butcher, but Appleton’s Butchers has become a local institution for a reason.

Pork pie is something I look forward to every Christmas and the premium quality meat on offer at Appleton’s has me dreaming of it from summertime.

The standout medium lattice pork pie, which is even loved by King Charles II and Phil Tufnell, is a testament to Appleton’s commitment to quality, with a perfect balance of pork and pastry.

It also offers the highest quality locally-sourced beef, poultry and Yorkshire lamb.

It may seem a risk trying a new butcher, but this one will pay off when you taste Appleton’s Butcher’s meat!

You can find them in Harrogate, Ripon, Boroughbridge and Wetherby, or order online here.

Appleton’s medium lattice pies.

Chutney

 Christmas isn’t complete without condiments – and chutney is no exception.

Fodder, in Harrogate, stocks a wide range of flavours that will accompany your cheeseboard brilliantly.

The Christmas Chutney is made from plums, apples, onions and sultanas, while the Boxing Day chutney offers flavours of caramelised onion and cranberries.

Find them in store, just off Wetherby Road.

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When I started the food column, one of the first places I wanted to write about was Fodder, because it’s a place I regularly go to for fresh produce.

Fodder stands for everything the Yorkshire Agricultural Society believes in – a passion for Yorkshire, its farmers and local producers. It is also the only farm shop café of its kind in the UK where 100% of their profit goes back to YAS.

It’s as much a Harrogate icon as any.

Nestled within the Great Yorkshire Showground, there isn’t a more fitting tribute to the county’s farmers than a place that champions and sells their produce.

I first met Mehdi Boukemach, the head chef, at the Great Yorkshire Show, so I was delighted to spend some time behind the scenes with him in the kitchen. He and his truly diverse team includes chefs from the UK, Brazil, Poland, Italy, France and South Africa.

This diverse team means you get the tastes of different cultures peeking through the Yorkshire ingredients. Mehdi describes his food as “inspired by different cuisines using Yorkshire ingredients”.

Arancini and salads

The arancini is made from pearl barley and textured with a range of mushrooms including portobello, forest and shimeji, paired with a creamy Ribblesdale goat’s cheese. This is served with a spiced tomato sauce with a touch of local honey for a well-rounded flavour.

One of the more popular dishes is quiche. Mehdi’s serves it with a mooli and carrot salad with a touch of oyster sauce and a sprinkle of nigella seeds. It was like eating a savoury version of crème brûlée, and I can see why diners have not allowed it to be taken off the menu.

Other salads to accompany dishes include a Middle Eastern-style chick pea salad and fresh leafy salads with a drizzle of French dressing.

One of the staff members inside Fodder’s farm shop.

Burgers, stock and steak

“The Fodder way” is to use whole animals and ensure nothing goes to waste. Stocks are made every day from the bones, which become the base for many dishes and their homemade gravy.

The burgers are made from the brisket and seasoned with Maldon salt and black pepper. Nothing else needs to be added when you are working with high quality produce. The amount of fat in each burger ensures it remains juicy and delicious.

Another popular dish is the open sandwich. I watched the steak sandwich being prepared using perfectly seared bavette steak, topped with creamy Yorkshire blue cheese. It is served with a tomato sauce topped with onion jam and a salad, so you get a balance of sweet, salty, umami and a touch of acidity.

I left the Fodder kitchen with an appreciation for the amazing work that goes into producing the dishes. I saw the team’s love for the produce they use, as well as respect for local farmers and suppliers.

The front of Fodder.

The café and farm shop

The café serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea as well as coffee, tea and sweet treats.

The talented team of chefs bakes fresh scones, flapjack and (giant) Yorkshire puddings every morning.

The site also offers Fodder on the Hoof – an original 1950’s Airstream Caravan — serving hot drinks, bacon butties and quick lunches for those on the go.

Along with everything you need for your weekly food shopping, Fodder has a wide range of crafts, gifts, and cards.

In the lead up to Christmas planning, you can order your festive food from turkeys, pigs in blankets and side dishes to desserts and ice cream to be delivered from Fodder.

Read more:

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Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef  competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food  and sharing cooking tips– please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

This summer, I did many demos at food festivals across Yorkshire and Manchester. At every food festival, there is a scramble for ingredients because a chef has left a key item at home or forgotten a gadget; this happens to everyone which means we sometimes have to improvise or hope that another chef or food vendor can bail us out.

For one cook, I forgot my oil by the door as I packed all the ingredients and equipment into the car and this happened on the day when what I was cooking needed to be fried. Thankfully a food vendor came to my rescue.

If you’ve ever watched a cookery show, you will be familiar with the term ‘mise en place’, which is a French term for getting things ready or putting things in place before you start cooking to make it a speedy and stress-free experience.

The concept helps you to organise and prepare the ingredients and all the other components needed before cooking, but ultimately it helps you to also get your space ready to support you.

You will need to anticipate what is needed for all your dishes and get them ready, which will save time and ensure that no ingredient or seasoning is forgotten when cooking. As part of mise en place, you must consider kitchen utensils, cookware, tools for plating, and ingredients.

As home cooks, we don’t always think of mise en place because most things are within reach. However, there are some dishes that can be easily destroyed if we overlook the prep – like an omelette, soufflé and desserts.

Pancakes can get cold while we are faffing about sorting out the toppings, and a self saucing chocolate pudding will keep cooking and turn into a cake if we forget to take the ice cream out at the right time. Sticky toffee pudding batter will have to wait until we have soaked the dates, so knowing the order to prep our ingredients and cook our dishes matters.

I do my food prep in two stages: firstly I get out all the ingredients I need and set them out, then I move onto the ones that need to be prepped, like peeling or chopping onions for example, or grating the garlic and ginger, or whipping the cream. This improves my chance of cooking the dish I set out to make.

Christmas is a time when there is a lot going on in the kitchen with Christmas dinner having many components. There is a reason some shops open on Christmas day for the last minute dash for cream, butter, milk and spices. The season is already stressful enough for most people – we need to find ways to make it less so.

Also, good planning helps us to reduce overspending and food wastes during the season.

We need to ‘mise en place’ our Christmas by putting things in place to ensure we have a stressless celebration with family and friends.

Over the next few weeks, I will be sharing ideas for Christmas hampers, cheese boards, gadgets I can’t do without and tips that get me through the Christmas season when I am mostly confined to the kitchen.

There will be restaurant recommendations if you prefer to dine out for Christmas and, if like me you are not super keen on sprouts, Christmas pudding or mince pies, I will recommend alternatives for you.

And what about those leftovers? They either get used or buried in the freezer until they get freezer burn. So, in the lead up to Christmas, I will share some recipes that might even prove to be more popular than the dinner itself.

Look out for tips from the region’s chefs about how to make your celebration a tad more special.

This Saturday, I will be joining  Yorkshire Appetite Food Tours for a Harrogate Food tour. You can also join me at the Afghan Kitchen Pop up in Harrogate on Saturday 21 October. I will be at Fodder on Friday 27 at 3pm; come say hi if you’re in the area.

More importantly please share your own tips, wine and cheeses that you want me to consider for my recommended lists, hamper ideas, alternative roast ideas and venues you want me to check out.

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The managing director of Harrogate’s Yorkshire Events Centre has stepped down after 30 years in post.

Heather Parry was credited with creating Fodder shop and cafe at the Great Yorkshire Showground in 2009 and overseeing the multi-million pound refurbishment of the events centre in 2016.

She joined the events centre after working in London at Earls Court Exhibition Centre.

Ms Parry was soon promoted to managing director of the commercial arm of the showground, overseeing the Pavilions of Harrogate and the Yorkshire Event Centre.

She also led the transformation of a disused area on the showground into what is now the Harrogate Caravan Park, with 67 pitches for caravans, motorhomes and tents.

On her decision to step down, she said:

“I am so proud of the things that have been achieved working with an amazing team.  When I arrived the income from activities outside the Great Yorkshire Show was £40,000 so we have come a long way to the current £7m.  There have been so many highs: from welcoming President Bill Clinton and Sir Elton John, among many others, to creating Fodder and building Hall 1.  

“My career here has been wonderfully diverse; with people at the heart of it all; I feel so lucky to have worked with a myriad of clients, dedicated suppliers and a phenomenal team who have been a joy to nurture and develop.  After 30 years it is now time to hand the baton on and seek new adventures.”

Allister Nixon, chief executive of the Yorkshire Events Centre, said: 

“Heather has had a huge impact on the business, being instrumental in shaping and forming what we are today with vision and sheer hard work. Heather will leave an amazing legacy to be proud of.

“She has been part of the fabric of the society for so many years and I would like to take this opportunity to personally thank Heather for her hard work, dedication and significant contributions and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.”

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