December will soon be upon us, and customers will be on the lookout for both traditional and unusual treats. Diane Lane rounds up some festive products
Plain pud
For customers who want their Christmas pudding without sherry, rum or brandy, Matthew Walker of Derbyshire has introduced an alcohol-free pudding to its range this year. It’s a twin-loaf pudding with 16% sultanas, 11% raisins and 7% currants besides glacé cherries, candied orange and lemon peel, and is suitable for vegetarians. Each pudding will serve either four wedge portions, seven slices or 12 blocks.
Indulgent ice
This Cornish dairy farm near Truro has been in the same family for 50 years and has been making ice-cream for 15. All the milk for the company’s range of traditional ice-creams comes from the farm’s own Friesian herd. As an alternative to traditional Christmas pud there’s brandy-soaked fruits with toasted almonds in a brandy ice-cream. The ice-cream is available in four-litre catering tubs. The company also makes sorbets, available in two-litre tubs.
Old and new
Traditional and not so traditional products make up a new selection of starters and buffet items from Brakes. With soup remaining a popular starter, caterers can offer a seasonal option with Winter Greens and Stilton Soup with White Port, packed in 2kg cartons. For serving perhaps with melba toast, Ardennes Pâté with Plums and Brandy is a 1kg coarse pork pâté cooked using the sous-vide method. Redcurrant Coulis Puddle Camembert has a sweet redcurrant coulis “puddle” in the centre of the individual Camembert rounds coated in a crisp crunchy breadcrumb. Brakes also has new vegetarian main-course items and Christmas desserts including a Spiced Fresh Fruit Salad with a mulled wine syrup.
- Prices: Winter Greens and Stilton Soup with White Port, £5.20; Ardennes Pâté with Plums and Brandy, £9.40; Redcurrant Coulis Puddle Camembert, £23.25 for 30; Spiced Fresh Fruit Salad, £14.90 for 2.5kg
- Available from: Brakes 0845 606 9090
- www.brake.co.uk
On course
Woodward Foodservice has new products for each course of your festive menu. Suitable as a starter or main course is a 180g individual Somerset Brie & Spiced Plum Chutney Tart, which should be defrosted overnight in a refrigerator and cooked in an oven. For main course there’s Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Whisky & Peppercorn Sauce, a 355g sous-vide product that, once thawed, can be heated in a microwave, cooked in a steam oven or in simmering water. For an indulgent finish, serve a Chocolate Profiterole Trifle, brownie squares topped with chocolate custard and cream-filled profiteroles finished with chocolate sauce and flakes of chocolate ready to thaw and serve.
- List prices: Somerset Brie & Spiced Plum Chutney Tart, £25.20 per case of 15; Slow Cooked Braised Beef in Whisky & Peppercorn Sauce, £41 per case of 10; Chocolate Profiterole Trifle, £35.28 per case of 24 trifles
- Available from: Woodward Foodservice 0870 600 6465
Sweet treats
New treats for Christmas come from Town & Country Fine Foods, and are aimed at the conference, banqueting and fine-dining markets. There are a few alternatives to mince pies: Mini Cranberry and Orange Pies, comprising a filled pastry case with a star-shaped top; Christmas Filo Baskets, a mincemeat filling in a filo pastry base with three different toppings – sugar-dusted, crumble topping and cranberry topping; and Mini Stollen Stars, bite-sized stollen pieces created especially for the hospitality market. On the chocolate front, there’s Cluizel Deluxe Chocolate Selection from the French chocolate maker; Noël Belgian Chocolate Selection of smaller-than-usual, hand-topped pralines; and, aimed at the hospitality gift market, individually wrapped hollow seasonal chocolate figurines in the shape of an angel, a tree and Father Christmas.
- Prices: Mini Cranberry and Orange Pies, £18 per case of 90; Christmas Filo Baskets, £37.44 per case of 144; Mini Stollen Stars, £23.04 per case of about 192; Cluizel Deluxe Chocolate Selection, £70.30 per case of 190; Noël Belgian Chocolate Selection, £27.31 per case of 162; figurines, £47 per case of 18.
- Available from: Town & Country Fine Foods 01628 538000
- www.tcfinefoods.co.uk