The annual Festive Fayre dining at Horizons is now in full swing with 175 people fully booked for Christmas Day lunch and dinner.
Every year new trends develop in Christmas dining, whether its new flavours for turkey stuffing, adding chilli to pigs in blankets, or swapping mixed spice and cinnamon for miso and caramel.
And it’s not just different flavours that have come to the fore. Some hospitality businesses, over the last few years, have adopted more of a “street food” approach to festive and party dining, eschewing the more formal “three course meal” approach, favoured for decades, for casual food cart style presentation, with guests choosing a variety of different finger foods.
So, is traditional festive dining out of favour – well it seems not at Horizons
James McKay, Head Chef at Horizons is keen to stress that his customers very much enjoy traditional festive fayre, but that every year, he keeps it fresh by adding new dishes to his festive menu.
He said: “By far and away, our most popular festive dish is our traditional roast turkey with all the trimmings, part of our festive fayre menu where you choose two dishes, a starter and a main, for £24.95.
“It’s true to say that our turkey dinner always goes down well here.
“Our diners like the classics, but they also very much enjoy our different starters and desserts, as they know we always present them with something new each year.
“This year for example, we have a delicious smoked haddock & dill fishcake starter which is popular. It’s served with saffron aioli. We also decided to shake main course choices up a bit with a sausage and mash dish, albeit seared pork, apple & cranberry sausages, for a festive twist! Feedback on this dish, served with creamed potatoes and mustard gravy, has been very positive.
“Comfort food choices are often what people are looking for at this time of the year.
“We see this in the top dessert choices too – apple pie, and vanilla poached pear, are our most popular sellers, both very warming and satisfying dishes, just like your Granny used to make.
“Our guests like to be served at a table, they like the convivial surroundings of our beautiful restaurant, with its views over the Firth of Forth. If they want a less formal setting, we have the Waterfront Bar with its booth style seating.
“Christmas Dining has become less formal of late, so it all depends what people are looking for.”
James was keen to stress that Horizons “is all about affordability, but we still produce dishes of the very finest quality. We use locally sourced suppliers, as Fife has a bountiful natural larder. Our menus aways try to reflect that.”
He said that it was “an absolute privilege” to cook Christmas Dinner for their guests.
He said: “It’s fantastic that we have many repeat customers year after year, we really appreciate their continued support. Every year, we sell out, and are fully booked for Christmas Day. This year is no exception.
“Our sister Hotel, The Old Manor at Lundin Links, has 134 booked for Christmas Day, which is brilliant for them too. We wish everyone there the best day!”
As not everyone eats out on Christmas Day, James has this advice to avoid being flustered in the kitchen. He advised: “Prepare the week before, by peeling and chopping vegetables, freezing them, and storing them properly. Make sauces, stuffings, and desserts days earlier.
“I’d also set the table on Christmas Eve, so it’s one less thing to worry about on the day. Schedule cooking times too, with a detailed cooking timeline. And don’t be afraid to ask for help by delegating simple tasks to family members so you are not doing everything alone!
“Finally, try to enjoy it, but make sure you put your feet up afterwards!”
