January is the time when I begin to put some flesh on the bones of the ideas planned for the coming year. We constantly review and refresh menus at Knebworth, from sandwiches and salads within the day-visitor offer in the Garden Terrace Room, to looking at food trends and styles for the forthcoming wedding and conference season.

To develop the array of food on offer in The Garden Terrace Room at Knebworth this year we are focusing on further extending our hand-made cakes and pastries, with an eye on dietary requirements. A new and exciting supplier we’ve found this year means that we are developing a range of gluten-free cakes and pastries; in conjunction with this we are also developing gluten-free and vegan sandwiches and wraps.

When planning a starter, make sure it is cold so you can prepare it in advance . A couple of Christmas dinner menu ideas for cold starters are smoked salmon or pate, or if you are serving soup make it the night before and finish it on the day with cream. This is especially helpful if you are cooking Christmas lunch rather than dinner and are working to a shorter timescale.

When cooking Christmas vegetables it is far easier to prepare them the day before. In fact, green vegetables are actually better cooked in advance. Cook Brussels sprouts in boiling salted water for 3 minutes then plunge then into ice cold water. This will set the colour in them and allows you to reheat them either using boiling water or a microwave. This works well for most Christmas vegetables.

Another good Christmas dinner tip is boiling your potatoes the day before. Always boil potatoes in salted water so they will brown well when roasted. Leave them to steam dry and then place them in the fridge uncovered over night. The next day, simply place them into very hot fat in the oven this will create crisp roast potatoes.

Measure your oven and roasting tin before buying!

Finally, always remember to plan your Christmas dinner menu around your equipment and storage space. For instance if you have a 20lb turkey it is best to make sure that it will fit in your roasting tin AND your oven! If you find you haven’t got a roasting tin big enough you can buy disposable aluminium trays that are recyclable.  The oven problem may still be there, however…

Happy Christmas from the kitchen team at Knebworth House!

Producing seasonal food menus allows us to utilise produce at the peak of freshness. With most seasonal foods particularly seasonal vegetables the less you do to them the better they taste. Creating seasonal food recipes offers better value for money which means we at Knebworth House can be competitive and pass value on to our customers. Plus, from a purely cheffy point of view it also keeps me on my toes coming up with new ideas for our seasonal restaurant menu!

Yum, sprouts - gorgeous if you don't overcook them!

Make sure to look out for seasonal vegetables and fruits. We often complain in this country that tomatoes are tasteless. This is mainly down to the fact that tomatoes are only in season here for about 2-3 months of the year. The rest of the time they are hot-housed, picked green and ripened en-route to the supermarket but it is the sun that gives sweetness to fruits and vegetables. Seasonal vegetables are better value for money, offer better flavour and are more nutritious. Other seasonal food includes fish and meat. When shopping ask for fish that is in season because it is better for managing and sustaining fish stocks.

Winter Seasonal Ingedients

Apples, Beetroot, Brussels Sprouts, Butternut Squash, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celeriac, Celery, Chestnuts, Chicory, Cranberries, Jerusalem Artichokes, Kale, Leeks, Mushrooms, Pears, Potatoes – Main Crop, Pumpkin, Swede, Turnips. Walnuts

We love adding a little spice to menus

 

 Menu Ideas 1

Saffron and cardamom crusted salmon, courgette and sweet pepper pakora, cucumber and mint salad and yoghurt dressing

Roast rump of lamb marinated with ginger and coriander, spiced potatoes and cauliflower cake and black lentil sauce

Light coconut mousse, pineapple and cardamom compote and iced mango lassi

Menu Ideas 2

Chilli fish and potato cake with chat masala dressing, vegetable salad

Hariyali Tikka (baked green chicken breast), mustard seed carrots and okra with cashew nut and cumin rice

Glazed lemon tart with star anise sultanas

Buffet Menu Ideas 

Vegetable Samosas

Onion Bhajis

Palak Pkodi Kadi – Spinach fritters with yoghurt dip

Murg pakora with coriander chutney

Tandoori macchi – baked salmon skewers

Paneer tikka skewers

Seekh Kebabs – spiced minced lamb skewers with mint chutney

Vegetable pakoras with groundnut chutney

Andy - Knebworth head chef

As head chef at Knebworth I like to speak directly to wedding couples and event organisers too if possible. Our bespoke menus are really only limited by your imagination and budget. So what can you expect when you come here?

Well the first thing I always ask is about personal likes and dislikes and what they choose to eat when they have a choice – because this always colours the menu.  The fact is you actually can’t cater for all 180 people in the room – but you certainly can make sure that the bride and groom adore their meal and that it fits with what they want from their day!

International influences are becoming more and more popular. In the last year we have done an Italian/Caribbean wedding, an Asian/European “East Meets West” wedding, incorporated Chinese, Thai, American and Japanese ingredients and styles… you name it!  Guinness punch mousse for dessert, anyone?

Odd requests are fine too – one couple asked for potato wedges as a wedding starter and we were happy to do that. Can potato wedges be glammed up? Of course they can – picture a delicate little cheese and chive mousse dip, crossed crispy bacon to give a bit of architectural shape on the plate, surrounded by finely cut crispy wedges…

All we ask of our customers is that they let their imagination roam, and tell us what they are really after – and let us help.  Don’t worry, we will tell you if the ideas really won’t work or are too heavy – and find a way to make it work for you. We’re happy to design more classic wedding menus too of course!