Nothing says Christmas in the countryside more than a brisk and tranquil winter walk with the family on a frosty Christmas morning. Wrapped up warm in your cosy Christmas jumpers as the cold clings to your cheeks and your booted feet crunch over the frosted leaves and blades of grass beneath you, there’s no better way to build up an appetite and get you looking forward to a day spent warming up in front of a fire than with a reinvigorating walk– and what makes a more idyllic backdrop for this than the enchanting New Forest National Park?
But this year, instead of returning home from the cold and slaving away in the kitchen, imagine waking up in a luxurious hotel and spa set in 130 acres of its own grounds and having everything taken care of for you? As if pulled from your favourite traditional Christmas movie, you’ll feel as joyful as Kevin Mccallister waking up in The Plaza Hotel at the end of Home Alone 2 if you treat yourself and your loved ones to Chewton Glen‘s Christmas House Party package. But even if it’s too late to change your Christmas Day plans now, there’s plenty going on at Chewton Glen this year to have you grinning from ear to ear.
With its proximity to some of the UK’s best walking routes, newly installed treehouse suites that offer visitors the opportunity to really immerse themselves in the great outdoors, and excellent dining options, this festive season at Chewton Glen promises to be truly unforgettable.
Here is just a taste of what you have to look forward to this winter.
Festive Treats from £15 per person
Enjoy afternoon tea and a glass of Sipsmith London Cup at Chewton Glen for £35.50 per person. Choose from sandwiches such as smoked salmon with horseradish butter, Flambards’ egg and mustard cress or the very festive turkey with cranberry and chestnut stuffing, cucumber, cream cheese and chive.
The sweet treats on offer include warm plain and cinnamon and golden sultana scones served with West Country clotted cream and strawberry jam, bitter orange and cranberry cupcakes, mince pies, hazelnut and praline macarons, chocolate and chestnut bouche Noelle, and salted caramel and Bramley apple tart.
If your Christmas budget doesn’t quite stretch that far, for just £15 per person, catch up with your friends in the luxury of the lounges at Chewton Glen and enjoy morning coffee, seasonal pastries, and mince pies. You can even visit the Boutique for those last-minute Christmas gifts.
Beginners Christmas Flowers Afternoon Workshop – 16th December
Join Chewton Glen hotel’s florists Sarah Wilkins and Nicole Rowe for an afternoon Christmas flowers workshop. After enjoying a festive two-course lunch with a glass of wine, followed by coffee and mince pies, you’ll learn how to make a Christmas door wreath and a table arrangement using fresh flowers and Christmas decorations supplied by Corbins Florists. You’ll even get to take home the two arrangements you make. The afternoon workshop will commence at 2pm and finish at 5.45pm.
Festive lunch and dinner at The Kitchen
The hotel’s casual eatery, The Kitchen, was developed in collaboration with noted TV chef James Martin and makes an idyllic setting for a relaxed and unforgettable festive celebration. Perfect for groups of 8 or more, enjoy three courses for £35 per person or three courses with fizz on arrival for £45 per person.
Choose from starters such as gin-cured salmon with keta caviar, charred cucumber and avocado, Laverstock Park black pudding croquette with cranberry and apple, or wood-fired chestnuts and crispy pancetta with pistachio sourdough, and mains like the turkey burger with pigs in blankets, cranberry ketchup, chestnut stuffing and somerset brie, or smoked turkey pizza with Lyonnaise onions, fennel sausage, confit potato, and crispy sage.
For £125 per person, let The Kitchen take all the stress out of thinking about and preparing Christmas dinner this year by doing it all for you. In the spirit of Christmas, The Kitchen has devised a menu all around the idea of sharing, with a sharing platter of tapas treats the whole family can dig into.
You’ll be greeted with Champagne on arrival followed by bread and olives, before enjoying six tapas dishes to share including duck and quail Scotch eggs, mini beef Wellington, mussels and Laverstoke Park chorizo, Loch Duart salmon carpaccio, crispy cauliflower, and butternut squash, truffle and Old Winchester arancini. Follow this with mains of beer-brined roast New Forest ‘Wrolstad’ bronze turkey, butter-roasted fillet of wild seabass, or open lasagne, before finishing with Christmas pudding, cheese, and coffee.
Celebrate the year in style and welcome in 2020 with a spectacular 5-course feast. For £75 per person, your meal will begin with a delicious duck liver parfait, followed by fillet of stone bass, treacle-cured fillet of beef, and warm chocolate and clementine mousse with coffee ice cream.
Finish with whole-baked Tunworth with toasted sourdough and you’ll be counting down the days until New Year’s Eve 2020 when you can enjoy another 5-course feast at Chewton Glen.
Burns Night Dinner – Saturday 25th January
A tribute to the great Scottish Poet, Robert Burns, Burns Night at Chewton Glen is always an affair to remember. Arrive and be greeted with a whisky-inspired cocktail and canapés, followed an indulgent four-course dinner with whisky and wine pairings, chocolates and coffee, and Piper entertainment.
Dishes on the set menu include whisky-cured confit of salmon with spiced lentils, Lebanese cucumber and butter milk, rump of lamb with herb gnocchi, haggis beignet, and whisky jus, and cranachan with salted oat biscuit and caramel meringue. A vegetarian option is also available.
Read our review of The Kitchen at Chewton Glen here, and be sure to look out for our review in our Hampshire Food & Drink Guide 2019. Pick up your FREE copy of the guide here or read a digital version here.
For more on Chewton Glen at Christmas and all throughout the year, visit their website.
