FeastSeasonal EatingTHERE’S ONLYONE WAY WITH TurkeyChristmas TreesMEET THE CHRISTMASTREE GROWER

Foodie Prize DRAW ANNOUNCED

Local Food FactGEESE

Seasonal FoodEXPLAINED

SECRET SUFFOLK

What’s OnPANTOMIME

SHOPPINGFAMILY

DAYS& More...

A SuffolkC hristmasENTERTAINMENTGUIDE

WINTER

PLUS!

WINTER & CHRISTMAS NEWS 2014/15 SUFFOLK FOOD HALL from the

SUFFOLKFOODHALL

Food Hall December opening: n

thevery day 'til 3.30pm on 24 . th st ndThen open 27 to 31 , and Jan 2 Closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day & New Year's Day

FREE

Stop winter moths damaging your fruit trees this winter by applying tree grease around trunks about 45cm (18in) above soil level. Ideally do this in late autumn and renew in February to prevent the scourge of the orchard – female wingless moths – from climbing up trees and laying theireggs in bark crevices, which willthen hatch into leaf-eating caterpillars in the spring.

ContentsTeam's Top Tip

Christmas butchery orders can be taken up until Friday 19th December and our last standard ndmail-order time is 12 noon Monday 22 December, although in some circumstances we might

be able to arrange local delivery after this date. Please do call 01473 786 610 for advice; we will always try and see what can be done!

to Mrs Alison Hickford

from Wrentham, who's customer number was selected by random.org! and receives Afternoon Tea for two at the Cookhouse. Please call to make the reservation.If you didn't win this time, you can buy a voucher at

Congratulations

www.suffolkfoodhall.co.uk/products/view/afternoon-tea-gift-voucher.

Team’s top tip.................................p2Tea for two winner..........................p2Last butchery orders........................p2Great Bear Giveaway.......................p3Local food facts - geese......................p3Christmas entertainment& events..................................p4 & 5Cooking turkey the only way...... . . .p6Seasonal boxes & vegetables....... . . .p6Meet the Christmas tree supplier.....p7Eat it now!......................................p8

Just to let you know...

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Loca lFood Fact th sacking By the late 16 century roasted goose or

boots to turkey had become the traditional English protect their Christmas lunch and in the week before feet, geese Christmas, meat markets such as Leadenhall wouldn't were crammed with the birds, many of allow which had been walked there from Suffolk themselves to and Norfolk. This journey took three be shod (hence months and while turkeys wore leather or the phrase 'to shoe a goose' for something difficult), so had their feet dipped in tar and covered with sand. A flock of 1,000 birds could be managed by two drovers carrying long wands of willow or hazel, and though turkeys moved more quickly than geese they insisted on roosting at night, so their journey took longer.

The GiveawayIpswich based companies GenR8 and The ‘build-your-own’ bear. Bear Garden, want to share some big So how do you get involved?Christmas bear hugs by launching Ipswich’s first ‘Great Bear Giveaway’ - in aid of East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices. The aim of the campaign is to provide every child under EACH’s care this Christmas, with a special personalised

For more informationand to get your card,

visit genr8card.com

Bear Great

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And finally... FATHER CHRISTMASth thwill be at the Suffolk Food Hall on Sunday 14 , Saturday 20

ndand Monday 22 December 10.00am - 3.00pm! Meeting him is free, but all donations to East Anglian Children's Hospice will be much appreciated.

FESTIVE FAMILY OUTING: The Christmas Tree Festival

Open all day Wednesday 3rd December - thWednesday 10 December at St Mary Le

Tower, Tower Road, Ipswich.

Ipswich's biggest and best known church comes to resemble more of a forest than a place of worship as it is filled full of trees of all shapes and sizes decorated in all sorts of different and imaginative ways by local businesses and organisations, all in aid of charity. Free entry.

PANTOMINE: Cinderella at The Theatre Royal Bury St Edmunds

th thFriday 28 November - Sunday 11 January.

The Theatre Royal pantomime is a very intimate, traditional and charming way to do panto - no celebrities and lots of laughs, catchy songs, silly jokes, dastardly villains, swirling dresses, stupendous slapstick and wonderful sets.

To book go to www.theatreroyal.org or call the box office on 01284 769505

CHRISTMASSHOPPING :Woodbridge Mammoth Christmas Street Fair

thSunday 7 December 10am-5pm

The Thoroughfare and Cumberland Street are lined with an excellent range of stalls, and these combined with all the town's usual shops, make a great, conducive opportunity to get your Christmas shopping done.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS SWITCH ON: Aldeburgh

thSaturday 29 November, thSouthwold Friday 5 December

Either evening will be sure to get you in the festive spirit with shops staying open later, visits from Father Christmas, mulled wine, live music, mince pies and even fireworks on the beach.Check on line before going in case details have been changed.

What’s On

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Christingle services will be taking place in churches and schools all across the county this December, but do you know what Christingle is all about? The Children's Society first introduced this service to The Church of England in 1968. Children make their own

Christingle while learning about Christianity and what each element represents. A Christingle is made of an orange that represents the world, with a red ribbon around it representing the blood of Christ. Dried fruits are skewered on to cocktail sticks and pushed into the orange to represent the fruits of the earth and the four seasons, as is a lit candle that represents Jesus Christ as the light of the world. Often families are asked to donate Christmas gifts to be distributed to local disadvantaged children and the collection is in aid of The Children's Society. Why not support your local Christingle service this Christmas?

Inside StoryC hristingle

Secret Suffolk aCt hristmas

We are hosting a quiz night in aid of East Anglia's Children's Hospices on thFriday 30 January 2015. Tickets are £15 and this includes pie, mash, mushy

peas and entry to the quiz. We are fundraising for EACH as our HeadChef will be cycling 1200 miles in 12 days from Land's End to John O'Groats and has a target of £2600 to reach! We guarantee it will be a great evening with delicious food and drink.

Call our events team on 01473 786618 to book tickets and blow those January blues away!

QUIZ NIGHT in aid of CHILDREN’s HOSPICES

Why not enjoy our pick of some of the very best, lesserknown things to do in Suffolk this Christmas?

A Christmas Carol Celebration – Jazz StylethSaturday 6 December, 7pm, the Assembly Hall, Royal Hospital School, Holbrook.

Join the RHS Chapel Choir, Holbrook Choral Society and the Will Todd Ensemble for jazz-inspired carol arrangements by the award winning British composer and pianist Will Todd and expect lots of audience participation!

(£10 concessions). Book via orTickets £15pp www.ipswichregent.com 01473 433100

CHRISTMAS CONCERT:

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Normally in this slot we look at 3 different ways to cook something seasonal. However, Christmas lunch or dinner is not necessarily the best time for experimentation, and so when it comes to cooking the perfect Christmas turkey, we suggest just the one, really mouth-watering, way!

There's only one way with... turkey

Christmas Vegetables & Seasonal BoxesArtichokes Sprouts Cabbage Red Cabbage Cavolo NeroKale Winter salads Leeks Celery Onions Tangerines Chestnuts

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n Always begin by seasoning the turkey, inside and out, with sea salt and freshlyground black pepper. Cut a lemon into quarters, along with a large onion.Tear some bay leaves in half and put these, with the lemon and onion, inside the main cavity of the turkey.

Put some chopped veg, fresh herbs, a little olive oil, sea salt and the gibletsin a large roasting tin.

Mix butter, crushed garlic and fresh herbs and rub this mixture under theskin of the turkey breasts.

Place the bird in the roasting tin, breast-side down (this is crucial for keeping the meat succulent) and season the skin.Cover the bird loosely with foil and roast in a preheated oven, basting with the juices every hour. Small birds (5-6kg)at 200⁰c/gas mark 6 for 30 minutes per kg. Large birds (6.5kg+) at 180⁰c/gas mark 4 for 35 minutes per kg

30 minutes before the end of the cooking time remove the foil and turn your turkey breast side up to brown and crisp the skin. Return it to the oven for the remainder of the cooking time.

Check your turkey is thoroughly cooked by inserting a skewer into the thickest part of the breast and thighs. Juices should run clear. If not, cook for another 15 minutes and try again.If you are in any doubt, use a meat thermometer (we stock them in Home & Garden).

Transfer your cooked turkey to a warmed dish, cover tightly with buttered foil and leave to rest for 30 minutes before carving.

Our hampers are very popularespecially at Christmas. Why not make yourown bespoke hamperand choose everything from the basket to the contents and gift tag.Hampers start from £5 and make the perfectgift for the ultimate foodies.

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Christmas Treescontrolled during growing season and the side Our Christmas trees come from M.P. branches are lightly trimmed.Stephenson & Sons at Oak Tree Farm in

Hasketon near Woodbridge. This is what Both varieties of tree suffer from pests and these owner Richard Stephenson has to say about have to be controlled. The main pest for the

growing and supplying local Christmas Norway Spruce is the green aphid and this has to be trees of the best possible quality: controlled in the autumn. The Nordman Fir

suffers mainly from rust mite which is controlled in At Oak Tree Farm we started growing Christmas the spring.trees in 1967. At that time the only type of tree was the traditional Norway Spruce, and we planted an The harvesting of trees for Christmas begins in late initial 5,000. These were allowed to grow on with November, when they are cut down and left in a little attention paid to them apart from weed field to 'settle'. They are then put through a netting control. After about five years, we began to sell machine – making it much easier to handle them them and were very surprised at the demand and so and protecting them from damage.planted more trees.

Demand for good trees is growing; happily our sales One of the problems with the Norway Spruce as an have doubled since twenty years ago. The main indoor Christmas tree however is that unless the competition now comes from artificial trees, tree is watered in a proper tree support whilst in the but there is nothing like a real tree to make a house it will quickly start to shed needles. The proper Christmas.Nordman Fir is a tree which holds its needles very well, but one of the drawbacks with it is that is it is

Oak Tree Farm's Christmas trees are much slower growing than the traditional Norway available in Home & Garden now!Spruce and because of this it is more expensive. But

despite the higher cost, demand for the Nordman Fir is growing, and now takes over 50% of the market.

The growing of Christmas trees has altered greatly in the last forty years. Trees are planted in the autumn and kept weed free. After three to four years, depending on speed of growth, annual pruning begins - every one of our trees is pruned. The Norway Spruce will have its leader trimmed to about 12 inches and any excessive side growth is sheared lightly to give it a shape. The Nordman Fir requires different pruning; the top leader is

Meet the.C.. hristmas Tree Grower

Suffolk Food Hall - Home & GardenTree reservations

01473 786617

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SUFFOLKFOODHALL

Eat it

Stollen Bread

Mutton

Tangerines

...sure we buy the BEST

Mutton is defined as the meat of an adult sheep – usually an animal over two years old. So as veal is to beef, lamb is to mutton, but mutton often gets an unnecessarily bad press. It can, and should, be absolutely delicious. The key is to get your meat from a trusted supplier, so that it comes from the young wethers (castrated rams) of one of the older, traditional breeds. At the Suffolk Food Hall our mutton comes from the Norfolk Horn and we can also order in Portland mutton. Slightly more gamey than lamb, it comes in the same cuts and usually needs cooking more slowly.

NowTangerines, Satsumas and Clementines(which are all different varieties of the Mandarin) may be popular all the year round,but they are at their sweetest and juiciest around Christmas time – making it exactly the right time to eat them at their best.We travel down to Spitalfields a couple of times a week in the run up toChristmas in order to make absolutely sure we buy the best, direct from a trusted importer.

In the last few years the popularity of Stollen Bread – a loaf cake made with dried fruit, nuts, spices,

marzipan and covered with icing sugar - has rocketed. Stollen Bread originated in Dresden Germany in about 1400

and the Stollen we sell is the famous Christstollen made by the German baker Schlunder. It comes in two sizes - 200g and 1kg. Try serving

your Stollen warmed through, or if it is not all eaten when it's fresh, slice it, toast it and smother it in butter.

Suffolk Food Hall, WhersteadIpswich, Suffolk IP9 2AB. 01473 786610www.suffolkfoodhall.co.uk Follow us for all the latest information

Cookhouse restaurant opening: Party night details at

th th stevery day 'til 3.30pm on 24 . Then open 27 to 31 & New Year's Day 10am to 4.30pm.www.suffolkfoodhall.co.uk/restaurant