A Festive Table by Season Suppers

To celebrate this beautiful holiday season, we asked our collaborator, Season Suppers, to prepare a beautiful holiday table, an opportunity to gather with family and friends, around a delicious and spicy meal. In this article, she tells us about her Christmas table, her seasonal inspirations, and gives us some good tips for preparing her holiday table.

C. I simply love this time of year. Winter has its own palette of flavours, and spices play an important role in my cooking. Seeds, roots and plants. They always give a dish a little extra flavour. Cinnamon and ginger are my favourite duo for Christmas. I use them in baking and add them to pies, cakes and gingerbread dishes. For my holiday table, I made a delicious cake using Amaretto and Chai Mix. Then there are the Peppers which give a nice spicy touch to dishes. I love using White Kampot Pepper with its milder, fresher flavour which goes particularly well with fish. I recently added it to a scallop ceviche preparation. But my favourite is the Fresh Green Kampot Pepper with Salt. It is versatile and can be added to almost any dish as a garnish, added directly to dishes or at the end of cooking, a treat!

C. Choosing the menu is the most exciting part. I love making the shopping list and thinking about what the dish will look like on the table. I always take a particular interest in the place I’m hosting and try to buy accordingly; from local shops or find what is available in the surrounding area, which is characteristic of the region. For this occasion, as I am based in the UK, I chose Scottish Whisky smoked salmon to serve on toast, with Fresh Green Kampot Pepper with Salt, local Brussels sprouts cooked with maple syrup to accompany the main course, and some Gloucester cheese with truffles, which I found in my local grocery shop.

C. When it comes to organisation, I like to prepare in advance. I decide on my menu according to the time I have, and I always prepare the day before what can be done. Running around during the day can be quite overwhelming. So I start in the morning by setting my table. Choosing the right tablecloth, plates, glasses… I always tend to change my table a million times, so getting it ready in the morning gives me time to change it to suit my mood. Candles and flowers are always a good addition, and can easily be changed according to the season.
For Christmas, you can choose evergreen branches, and white or gold candles in jars, but also, let yourself play with some dried fruits to give a little colour. Ultimately, I try to keep it simple and not overload my table with decorations, focusing on a few pieces that give the table a special and unique character.

– Smoked salmon toast with Fresh Salted Kampot Pepper

– Marinated chicken with Brussels sprouts in maple syrup, Kampot Flower of Salt, and Red Kampot Pepper

– A cake with amaretto and Chai Mix

“I hope these tips will inspire you for your next holiday table!”

Constance Dero – Season Suppers