Had enough of all the drama that comes with Christmas-dinner preparation? Sick of being left elbow deep in sprout peelings and stuffing while the rest of the family sits munching in front of the telly? Why not give yourself an early Christmas present and order in the big day's feast, writes Alanna Gallagher
Christmas dinner can be an endurance test; a marathon of days of preparation, workloads fights about who’s supposed to be doing what, not to mention the hours of pot-walloping washing up. If you don’t fancy toiling over a hot stove, pick up the phone and let the experts do the dirty work for you. Say no to drama, martyrdom and endless leftovers and instead enjoy a December 25th that’s memorable for all the right reasons.
At Donnybrook Fair, dinner for six with all the trimmings is soup to start (choose from roast winter vegetable, tomato and basil, mushroom or minestrone), followed by smoked salmon. For mains, there is half a turkey breast, a ham on the bone, stuffing, gravy, cranberry or Cumberland sauce, dauphinoise potatoes and three of the following four vegetables – Brussels sprouts, red cabbage, roast vegetables or mashed potato. The meal is followed by a cheese board that includes a selection of Irish farmhouse varieties. For dessert, there is plum pudding and brandy sauce and mince pies to serve with coffee. Everything is pre-cooked and needs reheating only. Dinner for six costs approximately €214.
Donnybrook Fair can take orders until close of business December 19th if you would like them to deliver (anywhere within the Greater Dublin area). Orders for collection need to be made by end of day December 20th. Deliveries to greater Dublin will be made on December 23rd. Deliveries to Dublin 4, 6 and 8 can be made on Christmas Eve. Call 01-6683556, extension 205, or see donnybrookfair.ie.
At Fallon and Byrne, dinner starts with a creamed celeriac and leek soup, followed by smoked salmon and brown bread. Dinner of roasted turkey breast and honey-glazed ham is served with three types of stuffing (sage and onion, chestnut, celery and apple and carrot and lemon), rich red-wine gravy, creamy bread or cranberry sauce, three types of potato (gratin, baby roast and mashed) and three types of vegetable (Brussels sprouts, roast root vegetables and red cabbage) that can be delivered washed and prepped or ready-cooked.
Dinner is followed by a cheese board and Christmas pudding served with vanilla-bean cream or brandy butter. And mince pies for later. Dinner for six costs approximately €202 and can be picked up at their Exchequer Street premises until midnight on Christmas Eve. Pre-order by calling 01-4721010 or see fallonandbyrne.com. Both Fallon and Byrne and Donnybrook Fair also offer par-cooked options.
Marks and Spencer has a catalogue dedicated to making festive entertaining easy, and it is available in all of its stores. The menu starts with mushroom soup, followed by Douglas fir smoked Scottish salmon. For mains, there is classic turkey crown with pork and caramelised chestnut stuffing, dry-cured gammon joint with ginger beer and orchard fruits, served with a connoisseur vegetable pack that has Brussels sprouts with Chatenay carrots, braised red cabbage and creamy mashed potato.
There is cheese to follow and plum pudding with pouring brandy cream. Dinner for six coasts approximately €162 and includes mince pies to serve with coffee later. Orders must be placed by 3pm on December 15th. See marksandspencer.com/ireland.
Cork’s Nash 19 offers a menu for parties of six or over that doesn’t include cooking the ham or turkey, but it does take the sting out of all the ancillary preparations. Starting with beetroot and Ardsallgh goats’-cheese soup, followed by Burren Smokehouse organic smoked salmon and brown bread, red cabbage, gratin potato, mash, Pam’s Christmas jus, celeriac puree, Brussels sprouts and pancetta and cranberry compote. Free-range bronze turkey costs €11 per kilo and Crowe’s farm-reared ham costs €14.95 per kilo. Follow with a selection of Munster cheeses, plum pudding and award-winning mince pies. This costs approximately €151 for six. Delivery nationwide is €10.50. Local next-day delivery is €7.50. Call 021-427880 or see nash19.com.
Caterer Aidan Chadwick suggests a tian of smoked salmon, crab and tiger prawn to start, followed by breast of Irish free-range turkey, baked Dunlavin ham and thyme, carrot and onion stuffing, served with port and cranberry jus, glazed carrots with lime butter, roasted parsnips, baby Brussels sprouts, goose-fat potatoes and creamy mash followed by a cheese plate and traditional handmade plum pudding with brandy butter or vanilla-bean cream.
This service costs €420 for six; €70 per person with a minimum of six persons required. This includes a free bottle of pink prosecco. Menus for 20 people and over cost €60 per head. Prices don’t include either soup or mince pies. The menu requires just 30 minutes of cooking time on Christmas Day – the food is delivered par-cooked on Christmas Eve.
Final order day is December 18th. Call 087-1528572 or see aidanchadwick.com.