Unboxing day: restaurants offering nationwide Christmas meal kits

Kolamba Love from Lanka

Sri Lankan restaurant Kolamba has launched a Love from Lanka three-course meal kit of comfort dishes and small sharing plates (pictured above). The kit includes dishes such as mutton rolls; Ceylon chicken curry; basmati rice; dhal; beetroot curry; and green bean curry; as well as a chocolate biscuit pudding. To help customers get in an even most festive mood the kit also includes a Mirrissa margarita cocktail and a cinnamon scented candle.
https://www.restokit.co.uk/collections/kolamba​

Goila Butter Turkey

Saransh Goila’s butter chicken concept is getting a seasonal twist for one day only with a change of bird. Its Goila Butter Turkey Experience provides an Indian twist to the classic Christmas treatment of the bird and comes with turkey made with Goila’s 80:20 tomato to dairy ratio (as opposed to the usual 60:40) and the infusion of smoke and comes with dal makhana, jeera rice, sourdough naan, pickled shallots and coriander chutney. It is available from Restokit priced at £39.50 for two people and is  only available on 23 December.
https://www.restokit.co.uk/collections/goila-butter-chicken​​

Gymkhana’s Christmas Feasts

Indian restaurant Gymkhana has created three festive feast boxes for Christmas. Its lamb raan feast (£140 for four people) features a lamb raan complete with gold leaf garnish and comes accompanied by papads and mango chutney; samosa chaat; makai palak; dal maharani, kachumber salad; lacha paratha and pilau rice with gulab jamun for dessert. Also on offer is a tandoori chicken feast (£100 for two people) and a vegetarian experience that includes samosa chat; achari paneer tikka; beetroot chops with pao; mushroom pilau; and pudina paratha. The kits are available from Restokit.
https://www.restokit.co.uk/collections/gymkhana​​

Bocca Di Lupo New Year's Eve Banquet

Jacob Kenedy’s Italian restaurant is helping ring in Capodanno – ​the New Year – with a feast from around the country. The New Year’s Eve Banquet box includes taralli and trio of dips – pecorino cream, pesto Genovese, and spicy nduja; radish and celeriac truffle salad; angnolotti del pin; cotechino with lentils and salsa verde; and tiramsu. There’s also a pane carasau with an assortment of cheese and salumi and a chocolate salame as well as a bottle of prosecco and negronis for two thrown in for free. Boxes, available via Restokit on 30 and 31 ​December only, start at £145 for two people but can be bolstered with the addition of lobster and tagliata (£215) and one also with black truffle (£250).
https://www.restokit.co.uk/collections/bocca-di-lupo​​

You be Chef by Robert Thompson

Isle of Wight-based chef Robert Thompson has taken an a la carte approach to his Christmas offer to give diners full control of their festive celebrations – as his You be Chef offer implies. There are four starters to choose from, including lightly cured Chalkstream trout in seaweed and lime; parfait of sauteéd chicken livers with a smoked chicken butter; and velouté of butternut squash baked with Douglas Fir; while main options include ballotine of New Forest venison with a chicken and roasted chestnut mousse; confit of Dingley Dell pork belly with a Bramley apple and sage stuffing; and poached fillet of cod with a devilled shrimp butter. Desserts are either Granny Smith apple posset; Titanic au chocolate with a mincemeat centre; vanilla roasted pineapple; or a white chocolate and cherry delice – or you could order all of them. Savoury dishes start at £15 and desserts at £14.
https://youbechef.com/christmas/​

Gunpowder's stuffed chicken

Modern Indian restaurant group Gunpowder is ditching the more traditional turkey for chicken this year with the launch of a spiced bird stuffed with boiled eggs via the Dishpatch webiste. Its alternative turkey centrepiece is a take on the popular murgh musallam and is a whole Cornish, corn-fed chicken from Butcher & Edmonds, marinated for 30-hours in yoghurt and then smothered in homemade roasted red pepper purée and tandoori spices. The chicken is then filled with a  stuffing of black pork mince, dried apricots, hot lime, mango pickle, ginger, chilli and spices before having a boiled egg popped in for good measure. The bird is then scattered with fennel, melon and blue poppy seeds, as well as chilli flakes for a bit of heat, ready to be roasted and comes accompanied by Gunpowder’s makhani sauce, made with ginger, garlic, tomatoes and spices. Available for delivery on 23 December, the stuffed chicken serves two people and comes pre-prepared, ready to be cooked.  
https://www.dishpatch.co.uk/feasts/festive-stuffed-chicken​​

Côte's Festive Collection

Côte has gone all out on Christmas this year, adding a whole host of meal kit options to its notably successful home delivery service. The French brasserie brand’s Festive Collection has been designed to give customers lots of different excuses to order-in throughout the whole of the Christmas period. For example, there’s a Deck The Halls Box for the day the decorations go up and there’s even a box for Betwixtmas - the period between Christmas and New Year - that contains a selection of buffet dishes. Each Côte at Home Experience Collection box comes with easy-to-follow instructions, and meals require less than 30 minutes of preparation time, from unboxing to plating. Orders can be supplemented with items from Côte’s in-house fromagerie, butchery, and bakery. There’s also a drinks selection that includes wines and pre-mixed cocktails. 
https://coteathome.co.uk/christmas/​​

Dirty Bones Holiday Kit

Dirty Bones has given its cook-at-home kits a festive makeover with a Thanksgiving spin. Serving two people, its Holiday Kit features a truffled version of its classic Mac Daddy burger featuring truffled mac & cheese, BBQ braised short rib and double aged-brisket patties as well as Tater Tots with bread sauce aioli and crispy brussels sprouts topped with sweet and sour cranberries, with a whole bottle of Curtice Brothers' chili ketchup on the side. To accompany the feast there's also the option to include pre-mixed cocktails The Rum Baby Rum and Dirty Bones' house lager (a vegetarian version is also available).  
www.getdirtyathome.com​ ​

Rick Stein's at Home Christmas box

For those looking to ditch the beef or turkey for something a little bit more sophisticated, the Christmas feasting box from Rick Stein's at Home is at hand. Available throughout December the festive seafood box serves two people and comes with four courses of Rick Stein classics: tuna guacamole ​with spring onion, chilli and soy dressing; langoustines dressed with Pernod and tarragon; brill with truffle butter and mashed potato and Christmas spiced custard tart with Cornish clotted cream. The restaurant group is also selling a range of Christmas hampers including a Christmas and New Year celebration hamper and a luxury Boxing Day one, with items such as champagne, Christmas pudding, chocolate truffles, Cornish Coppa ham and smoked salmon.
rickstein.com​ ​

Aktar at Home

Aktar Islam’s Christmas Day feast is one of the most indulgent on the market with the Birmingham-based chef creating a rib of beef meal for either four or six to eight people. The meal includes numerous starts such as jamón Ibérico with marinated figs; duck liver parfait; homemade bread served with whipped beef fat and garlic butter; chicken, ham hock terrine with pickles; smoked salmon and horseradish crème fraiche; and marinated olives while the rib of beef (either 2kg or 4kg) is supported by a host of sides, not least pigs in blankets; pork sage and onion stuffing; roast heritage carrots and parsnips; roast and creamed potatoes; Yorkshire puddings; truffled cauliflower cheese; sprouts tossed in iberico ham; hispi cabbage with pommery mustard; and bone marrow and malbec gravy. Islam (probably quite rightly) assumes there won’t be room for a heavy Christmas pudding instead offering a selection of cheese, crackers, truffle honey and quince jelly; choux buns, festive crème pâtissier chocolate sauce; and petit fours. Meals are priced at £275 to £350.
https://aktarathome.co.uk/product/christmas-day-feast-2021/​​

Elite Bistro Christmas at Home

Elite Bistros founder Gary Usher has continued to build his at Home business since the lifting of lockdown and has created three festive editions for this year’s celebrations – turkey, beef and butternut squash. As with Elite’s year-round offer, the meals are highly presentable and simple to prepare, with dishes including potted mackerel with sourdough crisps, pickled cucumber with mustard seed and dill; pre-cooked and sliced Aubrey Allen turkey breast; 35 -day dry aged sirloin on the bone; roast butternut squash with spiced nut dressing; cauliflower cheese; and shredded Brussels sprouts with crispy bacon bits and chestnuts. For dessert there’s a whisky and brandy soaked Christmas pudding served with cultured brandy butter and orange marmalade; and pistachio and salted lemon fudge. Meals start at £115 for two people rising to £300 for four people for the beef edition.
https://elitebistroathome.com/​​

Côte at Home

On the back of the success of its Côte at Home meal kit business the French casual dining group has created a Christmas menu for the festive period. As well as a festive turkey meal – featuring a turkey roulade with chestnut and cranberry stuffing; braised spiced red cabbage; roasted spiced butternut squash and baby carrots; sprouts with bacon crumb; pigs in blankets; roast potatoes with goose fat among other items - and vegetarian menu (both serving four to six people) it has also created a wide range of festive dishes for people to create their own feasts. These include a crayfish cocktail salad; duck liver pate with plum and armagnac relish; butternut squash en croute; and a pepper and beetroot terrine. There’s also a luxury breakfast box complete with pastries, sausages, bacon, eggs and boudin noir and Comte for people looking to start the day in style. Delivery is available nationwide from 22 November to 23 December.
www.coteathome.co.uk/christmas​​

Hame

Adam Handling’s Hame was one of the big hitting high-end restaurant meal delivery kits of lockdown and this Christmas is no exception. On offer is a Christmas Day package for three to four people (£250) that includes mulled wine; Newcastle Brown Ale sourdough with chicken butter; and his signature cheese doughnuts alongside a choice of beef wellington, turkey or vegetarian wellington with all the trimmings and Christmas pudding, brandy and vanilla or sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce and brandy cream for dessert. Thee is also the option to create your own festive hamper with items such as a Vacherin cheese, caviar and various charcuterie and chutneys.
https://www.adamhandling.co.uk/hame/​​

Made in Oldstead

Tommy Banks has put together three different Christmas boxes for the main event – a beef wellington menu, one featuring celeriac pithivier, and one with a duck crown – that allows customers to cater for a large number of people. Each meal starts with chicory root, onion, old Winchester – financiers made with home-grown chicory root finished with an onion and chicory root puree and gratings of Old Winchester cheese – and slices of cured salmon served with pickled fennel and whipped buttermilk; or chestnut, Jerusalem artichoke and sea herbs for the vegetarian celeriac option. The duck crown menu serves a maximum of four people but Banks’ made-to-order beef wellington option, accompanied by duck in blankets, Pommes Anna, braised red cabbage and seasonal Oldstead greens, can serve up to 10 people for £81 a head.
https://madeinoldstead.co.uk/christmas/​​

Tom Kerridge Turkey

The Hand & Flowers chef-patron is talking turkey this Christmas having teamed up turkey farmer Copas. Birds are available in three sizes - 4kg (eight to 10 portions) at £145; 5kg (10-12 portions) at £160; and 6kg (12-14 portions) at £175 including delivery – and come with trimmings such as a pigs in blanket kit; stuffing made with cranberries, sage, onions and chestnuts; bread sauce; and turkey gravy with brandy. Customers can also choose to buy the turkey breast roast and legs or the crown and legs to suit all sized gatherings. Turkeys can be delivered nationwide on the 22 December.
www.tomkerridge.com/xmas-turkey​​

Home by Simon Rogan

Diners who find themselves alone at Christmas and are not looking to cook a large meal for one aren’t left out by L’Enlcume chef-patron Simon Rogan, who has created a five-course meal that can feed just one person if required. The meal kicks off with truffled celeriac soup with confit duck, Granny Smith apple and chestnut; followed by sourdough and whipped butter; pine-cured smoked salmon with toasted rye, whipped cod’s roe and beetroot; and turkey with all the trimmings and finishes with a Christmas pudding with brandy anglaise; and mince pie chocolates (a British cheese selection, caviar, a wine flight and an aperitif can all be added to the order). Meals start at £95 per person with nationwide delivery from £10.
https://www.homebysimonrogan.co.uk/christmas​​

Hawksmoor at Home Festive Feasting box

There’s no turkey on offer in steakhouse restaurant group Hawksmoor’s festive box, but there is plenty of meat. Serving four to six people (£200) the box comprises smoked salmon with cream cheese and soda bread; two fillet steaks; a large porterhouse to share; chips, creamed spinach; garlic mushrooms; peppercorn sauce; a sticky toffee pudding as well as a bottle of Rioja Agrado and sour cherry negroni for four people.
https://shop.thehawksmoor.com/product/festive-feasting-box/​​