“Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat…”, but this traditional bird has nowadays largely been supplanted by the turkey on our Christmas table. Turkeys have been around for a long time, arriving on these shores from their native Mexico in the 16th Century, but it was not until the end of the 19th Century that they became a popular dish for the festive season, made fashionable by Edward VII.
Personally, I favour goose for a really special occasion. It’s a more unusual bird, has a fabulous, rich flavour and is an excellent choice for a smaller gathering. Here in the restaurant we roast the goose whole and then carve it at your table and serve it with our chestnut and apricot St Paul’s stuffing and all the trimmings. Our Christmas menu does, of course, feature free-range Suffolk bronze turkey as the star of the show and this year we are boning out the birds and filling them with a delicious fennel and onion stuffing. This keeps them really moist and tender – there will be no dry old birds on our table!
Something that gets me thoroughly in the Christmas spirit is a party and we really went to town at St Paul’s with the Harbour & Jones Christmas Extravaganza which was held here on November 24th. The party had a Charles Dickens theme and the Crypt, Restaurant and Wren Suite were decked out in true Victorian Christmas style. With food stalls offering oysters, British cheeses and hot roast beef or pork baps and the “gin palace” serving old-fashioned Gin Martine, a precursor of the martini, none of the guests went hungry or thirsty and entertainment was provided courtesy of RADA students performing a cabaret in the restaurant. Oh yes, and how about that ice sculpture? What a night!
