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‘Tis officially the season for festive snacks and drinks. Whilst we have seen elements of Christmas food hitting the shelves as early as September this year, many of us will hold off on indulging in a mince pie or a glass of mulled wine until the 1st December.
This year’s Christmas food offering has seen some revived classics, some unusual twists on old favourites and a few out-of-the-box newcomers. Read on to find out which festive food trends have caught our eye.
Cocktails…but not as we know them
2022 has seen our favourite tipples take on a new form: dessert! Major supermarkets Tesco and Asda are taking familiar flavours such as Peach Bellini, Passionfruit Martini and Espresso Martini and creating delectable sweet treats for all the family to enjoy. For Tesco, this trend has come to life via a Peach Bellini Trifle, a Passionfruit Pavlova Wreath, and the Espresso Martini Dessert which is reminiscent of a tiramisu. Waitrose have taken a more subtle route with their cocktail-inspired sweet treats with their Mandarin Stollen. As part of the “Heston from Waitrose” range, it is infused with flavours of a classic Negroni and topped with candied orange slices.
(No) Beef Wellingtons
For many, the indulgent Beef Wellington is a Christmas staple. Beef fillet coated with pate and duxelles, wrapped in puff pastry makes for a hearty Sunday dinner centrepiece. However, with more and more of us going vegetarian, vegan or even flexitarian, the supermarkets are catering to all with meat-free variations on the classic dish.
Co-op are offering a vegan-friendly Mushroom Wellington, whilst Aldi have used a soya-based beef-flavoured meat replacement to keep the dish closer to the original recipe. Tesco’s Wicked Kitchen range have added a wheat and soya-filled wellington complete with roasted garlic, herb and mushroom duxelles to their Christmas food shelves too.
Traditional and Not-so-traditional Flavours
Everyone has their favourite Christmas flavour combinations, and more often that not it is the more traditional ones that reign supreme. Chocolate orange, sticky toffee and black forest are dominating the space this year.
Cakes, muffins, cookies: you name it, there’s a sticky toffee version of it this year. Chocolate orange has always been synonymous with Christmas, and from what we can see that is not set to change any time soon. Tesco’s Outrageous Orange Chocolate Dessert as part of its vegan Wicked Kitchen range means everyone can enjoy this festive flavour combination.
A new trend in Christmas food we have seen creeping in over the last few years is blonde chocolate. From the M&S Golden Blond Chocolate Flavour Cream Liqueur, to Co-op’s Golden Blonde Sponge Crown, the caramelised flavours from this new chocolate gives everything a layer of decadence.
Sweet goes savoury
Traditionally sweet snacks are taking a savoury turn this Christmas – with Waitrose seemingly leading the pack with profiteroles and panettone. Its range includes a Parmesan & Black Pepper Panettone, Nduja & Burrata profiteroles and Pear & Fig Mince Pies in Triple Cheese Pastry from their “Heston from Waitrose” range.
Aldi are following suit with their mature cheddar filled profiteroles in place of cream and chocolate, making a change from their traditional Christmas food offering.
Is your commercial catering establishment offering any of these festive favourites? Get in touch to find out which Counterline display unit is best for your offering.
