*this is part of a sponsored collaboration with Fenwick*
In the run up to Christmas this year, I’ve teamed up with Fenwick to create some celebratory culinary inspiration using their flagship artisan food and drink range and gourmet Christmas hamper offering. Dressing our newly-knocked through dining room with some beautiful decorations from Fenwick’s Christmas range really transformed what was, until very recently, a dumping ground for dust sheets, paint pots and cardboard boxes into a twinkling, magical festive grotto, and got us properly excited about our first Christmas in our new house. I’m particularly taken with the way this twinkling gold wreath looks on our smoky green walls, and know it will be a fixture in our dining room for many Christmases to come, along with these very sweet reindeer.
Around this time of year, I love to host and lay on a generous table of goodies for everyone to tuck into – covid allowing of course – but it can be incredibly full on with catering, so I’m also looking for hacks and helpful premium ingredients and products that can do a lot of the work for me. And this is where Fenwick artisan food and drink range really comes into its own. To create a lavish, but ultimately pretty effortless festive spread, I used some carefully chosen products from Fenwick’s Global Gourmand Hamper to create a feast of delicious sharing dishes and snacks that look wonderful on the table and provide a bit of respite from all those heavy, rich Christmas flavours we’re so used to at this time of year.
The hamper is made up of thoughtfully sourced international gourmet products, and what’s lovely is that there are some things, like the Ortiz anchovies or spicy, pitted Perello picante olives, which can just be opened, emptied into a bowl and dressed with a lick of lovely Alziari extra virgin olive oil and simply served up, and then there are other more store-cupboardy things like the Nerone rice, which can be used as the basis for simple but memorable dishes.
I love the idea of having some really special pantry goodies – like the Casalinga rocket pesto, that you can combine with other bits from the hamper – say the Morelli chilli and red pepper linguine – to make an easy but satisfying supper when we can often find ourselves rather cooked out.
For this spread, I created a salad made with the wonderfully fragrant, nutty black Nerone rice, dressed with the grassy Alziari extra virgin olive oil and a dash of Giusti Medaglia D’argento-ll Porfumato balsamic vinegar, and topped with roasted Delica pumpkin and spoonfuls of the glistening emerald Terra Rossa green harissa zhoug: a Yemenite spice paste fragrant with coriander, ginger, cardamom and rose water. It’s such a complex, flavourful condiment it means that you can keep the other elements pleasingly simple. I plated it on the stunning Panama round platter which is the perfect size and shape for something like this.
Then there was an upgrade on the much-loved ‘crisps and dip’, with the insanely addictive Torres truffle crisps (they are just so light and crunchy and delicious) served with a honeyed, herbed whipped ricotta that was sweetened with the Fenwick’s floral Yorkshire honey. Whipping the ricotta is a really easy way to elevate the fresh cheese, making it super smooth and airy. Again, I used something from the panama range – a really chic chip and dip bowl that was totally perfect for this.
I rippled the peppery horseradish sauce from the Fenwick food range through some tangy french creme fraiche and served this on the spelt and sourdough crackers topped with salmon roe and dill, arranged on this striking modern marble platter by Georg Jensen, along with bowls of excellent, spicy Perello olives dressed with the grassy Alziari extra virgin olive oil. 
And because we also need something sweet at Christmas, there were bowls of delicious Truede Turkish Delight and Fenwick’s own silky smooth salted caramel milk and salted almond dark chocolate, with glasses of its English Sparkling Wine – a classic Champagne blend of chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier made right here in Kent.
A festive table on my watch isn’t complete without a cheese board, so I arranged a cheese board with cheddar, ashed goats cheese, Comte, figs, grapes and a bowl of the Fenwick Yorkshire pickle made with Black Sheep ale and British vegetables all blended together to make an addictively tangy and sweet pickle.
My Top Tips for creating a fabulous festive set up
*I’m not one for tinsel at Christmas, but I love flashes of gold to bring a bit of sparkle – keep an eye out for tasteful decorations with hints of gold or glitter, and pair fully gold decorations against smokier, more matt colours to keep things classy
*A little bit of kitsch doesn’t hurt. Christmas should be about fun as well as style, and I like to throw in some more humorous or nostalgic pieces, like these fun reindeer and glittery toadstools.
* Combine a few new Christmas decorations or baubles with vintage or heirloom pieces. I’ve built up a collection of vintage glass baubles from charity shops, ebay and hand-me-downs, and I love them so much but a couple always get smashed each year, usually by the dog or kids, so I allow myself a few new baubles and decorations when they do
*Use bunches eucalyptus for greenery. I like to combine a couple of different varieties. Not only do they look stylish, and offset some of the more kitsch Christmas decorations, but they smell great and last well too. I much prefer to the traditional holly.
*I wore this beautiful Marimekko dress and shiny boots by Steve Madden, which were both also kindly supplied by Fenwick
A festive Fenwick spread
For the Roasted squash and Nerone black rice salad with zhoug
800g-1kg delica or butternut squash, halved, deseeded and sliced into 1.5cm half moon crescents
A pinch of chilli flakes
Nutmeg, for grating
Olive oil
225g Nerone black rice
A bay leaf
4 tbsps Terra Rossa green zhoug
A drizzle of Alziari extra virgin olive oil
A drizzle of Giusti Medaglia D’argento-ll Porfumato balsamic vinegar {in Global Gourmand Hamper}
A handful of roasted hazelnuts, chopped
For the honeyed and herbed whipped ricotta for with truffle crisps
Plenty to share
1 x 250g tub of ricotta
2 tbsps olive oil
A handful of sage leaves
A handful of thyme sprigs
1-2 tbsps Fenwick Yorkshire honey
Sea salt and black pepper
For the spelt sourdough crackers with horseradish creme fraiche and fish roe
150g creme fraiche
2 tsps Fenwick horseradish sauce
A packet of Mor Wholemeal Spelt and Sourdough Crackers
A jar of salmon or keta roe
A handful of dill, leaves picked
For the roast squash salad
- Heat the oven to 220 fan. Put the squash slices into a large bowl and coat with 2 tbsps of the olive oil, ½ tsp sea salt, a good grinding of pepper, the nutmeg and the chilli flakes – give everything a mix together with your hands to get all those flavours nicely distributed. Divide between two oiled roasting trays or one really large roasting tray, spreading it out in a nice even layer, so as not to crowd or overlap, reserving the bowl for later to make the dressing in. Roast for 30 minutes, until tender and sweet, then remove the tray(s) from the oven.
- While the squash is roasting, you can cook the rice. Bring 700ml water to the boil and lightly salt. Pour in the rice, add the bay, bring to the boil and cover, with a lid. Reduce the temperature and simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to stop it sticking, and adding a little more water if you need to. Once the rice is tender, cooked through, but still retaining a little bite, drain in a sieve and run under cold water to stop it cooking. Pour it back into the pan, discard the bay leaf and dress the rice with a nice glug of the olive oil and vinegar.
- Pour it onto a serving platter and top with the squash, then dot over spoonfuls of the zhoug and scatter over the roasted hazelnuts.
For the honeyed whipped ricotta and crisps
Drain the ricotta in a sieve to remove any excess whey, then empty it into a bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, and whisk it until smooth, silky and light, about 3 minutes. Scoop it into a bowl. Heat the olive oil over a medium high heat and add the sage, frying for a minute or two, until dark and crispy, removing to kitchen towel. Add in the thyme and take a step back as it will sizzle, and fry for just under a minutes, until dark and translucent, and remove to the kitchen towel too to drain off the excess oil. Season the herbs with a pinch of sea salt. Drizzle a little of the herb infused oil over the ricotta, followed by the honey, and top with the crispy herbs. Season with black pepper and serve with the truffled crisps.
For the horseradish creme fresh and crackers
Put the creme fraiche into a bowl and gently stir in the horseradish sauce. Taste and adjust with a little more horseradish if you prefer. Spoon the creme fraiche onto the crackers and top with small spoonfuls of the roe. Top with the dill and serve.