Traditional Festive Food & Drink

Nowadays the most common meat used for a Christmas dinner in the UK, the turkey first came to England in 1523 and was seen as an exotic delicacy, only enjoyed by those who could afford it. As it became more readily available throughout the years, its popularity increased.

Chipolatas wrapped in bacon, more commonly known as pigs in blankets, are a more recent addition to a traditional Christmas dinner in the UK. They are slightly different from the American pig in a blanket, which is more like our sausage rolls, with the meat wrapped in a blanket of pastry rather than bacon.

Cranberry sauce came to the UK from America, and was supposedly first enjoyed alongside turkey at the very first Thanksgiving.

Traditionally enjoyed after Christmas dinner, Christmas pudding is also known as figgy pudding and plum pudding - the latter because Victorians referred to raisins as plums. Christmas pudding started out as a porridge-like substance with dried fruits and spices mixed in, typically enjoyed alongside meat. Over the years it became gradually thicker, until people started wrapping it in a pudding cloth to boil, leading to the Christmas pudding we enjoy today.

When mince pies first originated they were made using meat, most often mutton, hence the name. Gradually the meat used lessened over time, to be replaced with more dried fruit, spices and sugar, eventually turning into the meatless mince pies we enjoy today. In the middle ages it was believed that eating a mince pie every day for 12 days from Christmas Day would bring happiness for the next 12 months.

Typically made from red wine sweetened with sugar and flavoured with spices, mulled wine is usually served hot. The tradition is thought to have begun with the Romans, who drank mulled wine to combat cold weather, adding spices to make it last longer. Mulled cider and apple juice are also enjoyed during the festive season.

A mixture of sparkling wine and orange juice, Bucks Fizz was invented in 1921 at London’s Buck’s Club, reportedly to give people an excuse to drink earlier. It is now typically used as a part of a Christmas Day breakfast.