Christmas is the season to eat, drink and be merry. But it’s easy to get caught up in planning your Christmas dinner and forget about the rest of the food and drink you need.
Here’s our round-up of some of the very best local businesses with the food and drink you’ll need over the whole Christmas period.
Beer from Rooster’s Brewing Co.
Rooster’s Brewing Co. make a range of beers that cover a variety of styles, from pale ales and IPA’s to best bitters, stouts and sour beers, all brewed on Harrogate’s Hornbeam Park.
What’s more, Roosters offers a free local delivery service within Harrogate and Knaresborough*, as well as a ‘Cluck & Collect’ service from the brewery and onsite Taproom!
Find your new favourite beer here.
*Minimum spend applies, please see website for specific areas covered.
Cheese from The Cheeseboard
Is Christmas even Christmas if you don’t eat lots of delicious cheese? Save the hassle of collating an assortment of individual cheeses with a ready packed hamper from The Cheeseboard.
To keep things local, try the ‘Luxury Yorkshire Hamper’. It contains traditional Wensleydale, mature Yorkshire cheddar, Flat Capper brie, blue Wensleydale, Yorkshire halloumi, Stottie goat’s milk camembert, strawberry jam, lemon and ginger marmalade and Wensleydale chutney from Rosebud Preserves, Blueberry preserves lime curd, and of course, traditional fruit cake.
You can order your Luxury Yorkshire cheese hamper here.
Gin from Whittaker’s Winter Solstice Gin
This delicious Whittaker’s gin is a smooth winter spice and fruity 42% London dry gin, an ideal fireside tipple for cold winter nights. Featuring juniper and coriander gently overlaid with signature botanicals of dried bitter orange and currants, it’s perfect as a gift… or a treat for yourself.
It’s best served over ice, with either ginger beer, ginger ale or simply with a plain regular tonic – but don’t be shy with your measure of gin. Add a slice of orange, or for a warming alternative add a star anise and use a cinnamon stick as a stirrer.
Get a bottle of Whittaker’s Winter Solstice Gin here.
Fish from Mackenzie’s Smokehouse
Smoked right here in the Harrogate district at Mackenzie’s Smokehouse in Blubberhouses, the Trawler hamper is perfect for anyone wanting a luxury fish-feasting experience.
Inside you’ll find traditional oak smoked salmon, oak roast hot smoked salmon, kippers, mackerel fillets, smoked salmon pate and mackerel pate.
Order the Trawler hamper here.
Wine from Yorkshire Vintners
The Yorkshire Vintners Ultimate Wine Lover’s Christmas Hamper really does have it all when it comes to exploring wines.
It’s a journey through the various styles and prominent origins of wines, starting with a renowned English sparkling Nyetimber, followed by a classic chablis and standout Australian red blend. Moving on, there’s a sauternes, then 10-year-old tawny port, finishing with a wonderfully smooth cream liqueur from an emerging distiller here in Yorkshire.
Also included is a Nyetimber bottle stopper, Grahams Port decanter and corkscrew.
Order the Yorkshire Vintners Ultimate Wine Lover’s Christmas Hamper here. Order before 15 December to guarantee for Christmas.
Just so you know, all of the local businesses featured here were selected on their own merit, but some have paid to be featured in this article.
Breweries across the Harrogate district are revving up their supply chains for bars and restaurants ahead of the reopening on Monday.
The closure of hospitality meant many local brewers moved their focus towards online sales and targeted people enjoying a drink or two in their gardens during lockdown.
But from Monday, large orders are set to ramp up once again as restaurant bookings soar to satisfy eager customers.
Aron McMahon, co-owner of Turning Point Brewery in Knaresborough, was “amazed” after orders returned to pre-covid numbers. He said:
“We’ve definitely had an upturn in orders for kegs and casks, which is great. It’s just great to be brewing casks again after not doing it for so long.
“Over lockdown we were delivering kegs and casks every couple of weeks but now with the reopening it’s much more frequent. It’s amazing – orders for next week look like they did pre-covid.”
The rise in orders also means the business can look ahead to bringing staff back to full-time hours.
Currently most of them are on flexi-furlough, but Mr McMahon is hopeful that if the roadmap stays on track, all employees will be back to full-time hours by the end of the year.
Read more:
- Harrogate Borough Council has told three Harrogate bars they cannot extend their outdoor seating on to Stray land.
- Female-led beer festival to go ahead in Harrogate this summer.
Similarly, in Harrogate, Roosters Brewery has also seen a rise in orders due to the reopening.
Ian Fozard, director at the brewery, said:
£1 a pint: Harrogate pub’s pre-lockdown deal“We’ve had nothing substantial, but orders are coming in and we are very encouraged by what we have seen so far. It’s definitely a step forward.
“We are expecting more orders in the coming weeks, but we won’t know the extent of the damage to some businesses just yet.”
Christies Bar on Kings Road, Harrogate is selling pints of cask ale for £1 today to shift the last of its beer before lockdown begins tomorrow.
Landlord Marik Scatchard told the Stray Ferret it had around 200 pints of Black Sheep and Roosters beer to sell this afternoon — and once it’s gone, it’s gone.
Mr Scatchard said business this week had not been as busy as expected and the offer would save the beer from a probable fate down the plug-hole.
He was disappointed the pub has been forced to close due to the month-long lockdown, and is waiting for news on financial support from the government. He said:
“There really hasn’t been any [financial] help this time. We still had to pay full rent last time for three months, which was a bit of a nightmare.
“We’re covid-secure and have had no issues since reopening.”
Mr Scatchard said he was unsure if there would be a melancholic atmosphere at Christies this evening, as drinkers sup their final pints for several weeks.
He hopes the pub will be able to welcome its regulars back on December 2.
Read more: