FESTIVE FOODIES

As the festive season approaches, we speak to four of Bristol’s finest independents –Spirited, RareButchersofSouthville, TheBristolCheesemonger and Partisan Produce –to find out what must be on our menu this Christmas...

Spirited is North Street’s new spirits shop and bar, specialising in whisky and rum. Owner Katy

Kennedy recommends some local liqueurs and festive flavours that will make sure it’s a merry

Christmas...

Spirited stocks a wide range of spirits, but we have a big focus on whisky and rum. As the nights are getting colder, we’re turning our minds to opulent drinks, like sherry cask-aged whiskies, with their lovely Christmas cake flavours; sweet whisky liqueurs perfect for a boozy coffee; rich rums for late night sipping; and hot buttered rum to warm the cockles.

Not new and unusual as such, but it is great to see how many good quality bottled cocktails are out there now. It makes enjoying cocktails at home so much easier. The Coconut Espresso Martini (£28) from Silver Circle Distillery is sure to be a big seller this festive season.

Bristol and the South West have so many incredible producers to choose from, so this will by no means be an exhaustive list, but we work a lot with local distilleries Pyschopomp and Circumstance, who make gin, vodka, rum and grain spirits, focusing on slow processes, experimentation and big flavours. We’re also huge fans of The Aperitivo! Co, and sell a lot of the Turin sweet vermouth, which makes a cracking Negroni. We work with the aforementioned Silver Circle Distillery too –they’re over in the Wye Valley and make fantastic gin and Aquavit as well.

Then there is Electric Bear, who supply our beers, Bristol Distilling Co., Shipshape and Bristol Fashion, 6 O’Clock Gin, The Cotswolds Distillery... the list goes on.

Well… it’s a real journey. I like to start with a little low ABV Moscato d’Asti with brunch, then Champagne with snacks, a pre-lunch Negroni, a nice Pinot Noir with the turkey, port with cheese, then onto the whisky, which is likely to be Glenfarclas 105 (£59.95) –my favourite Christmas dram.

Absolutely! We’re aiming to do tastings every couple of weeks. On 14 December, we will be running our own ‘Christmas Spirits’ tasting, and there will be several drop-in tastings in the run-up to Christmas. We are also in discussions with some other local businesses about chocolate and spirits workshops, wreath-making and more. Keep an eye on our socials and join the mailing list for more details.--

• Follow Spirited on Instagram (@spirited.bristol) and join the mailing list to stay up to date with news and events at: spiritedbristol.com. Spirited image credit: Lindsey Davis (Instagram: @lindsey_s_davis)

Some 11 years since it first opened its doors, Rare Butchers of Southville has built an impressive reputation. Voted Bristol’s best butcher at the Bristol Good Food Awards four years in a row and Best Retailer of the Year at the 2019 Bristol Business Awards, the North Street butcher is widely celebrated for its pristine cuts of meat bursting with flavour. We chat to owner Chris Cierpik about his busiest time of year...

Rare Butchers’ produce comes from within a 50-mile radius of Bristol. We get our lamb from a farm in Abbots Leigh. We source our venison from Ashton Court –we sell a lot of venison in different cuts; sausages, steaks, diced, racks, mince and fillets for wellington, which are very popular at Christmas time. Our freerange chicken comes from Radstock, our eggs from Chew Valley, our pork from Taunton and beef from Somerset and Devon. We get our turkeys from Chew Magna –I’ve known the farmer for 40 years. His turkeys are such high quality and so juicy. We’re proud to source the best quality, free-range meat from farmers across the South West.

We sell about half a tonne of gammon over the Christmas period.

The Bristol Cheesemonger specialises in cheeses from within the UK, with a focus on seasonality and smaller production cheeses. From the very beginning founder Rosie had made it her main focus to visit as many farms and dairies as possible. Jenny Howell and Oliver Smith have doubled down on that commitment as new directors and have made the Bristol Cheesemonger one of a small handful of cheese shops within the UK to buy cheese directly from the producer. We catch up with Jenny to find out more about Wapping Wharf’s beloved cheese shop...

This year, we have strengthened our relationship with our suppliers, tasting and hand-selecting more batches than ever. Our Westcombe and Montgomery’s Cheddar is tasting incredible. We have also hand-picked our raw milk Stilton from Sparkenhoe Farm in Leicestershire.

We have been working closely with our nearest cheesemaker in We’ve got smoked and unsmoked gammon –they are very popular at this time of year not only because they have such a great taste but because you can cook it, keep it in the fridge for a few days and just slice off a piece when you need it.

Last year, the queue was out the door, passed Yafo several doors up and around into Exeter Road –and we were running. We get 9001,000 customers every week throughout the year anyway, and considerably more during the Christmas period, so we’re about to get very busy.

From Monday 19 December –Friday 23 December, we’ll be open 8am –5pm. On Saturday 24 December, we’ll be open 8am –1pm. Closed Sunday 25 –Tuesday 27 December. Re-open Wednesday 28 December, 8am –1pm and then open as usual from Thursday 29 –Saturday 31 December, 8am –5pm.

• Follow Rare Butchers on Instagram: @rarebutchers and Facebook: @RareMeatButchersofSouthville. Photography by Benjamin Andrews; benjaminandrewsphotography.com

North Somerset –Failand Hill Farm’s Wandering Ewe Dairy –from the beginning. Their hard sheep’s milk cheese has become a shop favourite. We of course have the usual Bristol

Cheesemonger classics in stock, but we’ll have a few more surprises this year too –you’ll have to come taste for yourselves.

We are a South West Cheese specialist, which means that we have close relationships with our local producers –the cheese is often collected or delivered in person. The Old Cheese Room, which makes Baronet and Lypiatt amongst other amazing cheeses, is particularly good. Owner Julianna is based in Wiltshire and is a master of her craft. Having made cheeses alongside some of the greats, she is becoming a legend in her own right. Norton and Yarrow who make Brightwell Ash and Sinodun Hill are based in Oxfordshire and regularly pick up awards. We were recently judging at the World Cheese Awards, and Sinodun Hill was placed in the top 16 cheeses in the world. Devon Blue, another cheese that we supply, also came in the top 10 cheeses in the world. What’s more, Ben from Ticklemore Dairy in Totnes makes a range of suburb blues, which you can also sample in the shop.

Our monthly cheese selections are our most seasonal product on the website and remains a popular Christmas gift. More importantly, it is fantastic value. Oli writes a newsletter every month, which talks you through the theme. We often release cheeses before they enter the shop, or exclusively to monthly cheese subscribers. You can sign up on a rolling subscription, or you can opt for a one-month, three-month or six-month supply.

I love a bit of truffle brie, or better still brie with truffled honey. A bit of Wensleydale also makes me think of my Yorkshire roots and is amazing with a mince pie.

I think a fondue on Boxing Day is wonderful. You can dip a leftover brussel sprout, carrot or roastie and you don’t need any special equipment. All you have to do is: cook the cheese on the hob (there are many excellent recipes online, which you can adapt), create a trivet so your small pan has a safe, solid base and pop a few tealights underneath. Hey presto, DIY fondue.

You can build your own bespoke cheese tower, or you can opt for a premade design on our website. These have proven popular choices and make beautiful centerpieces that you can dress with figs, grapes, Terry’s chocolate oranges or whatever takes your fancy. A beautiful half stilton is absolutely gorgeous. Larger cuts of cheese stay fresher for longer, which is worth noting if you need them to last until New Year’s Eve.

• For more information, visit: bristol-cheese.co.uk. The Bristol Cheesemonger image credit: Nicci Peet

Partisan Produce was founded by former chef and selfconfessed, obsessive foodie Toby Stafford-Deitsch in 2020, initially as a veg box scheme, which quickly evolved into a personal and friendly locally focussed home delivery business. Here, Toby lets us in on what’s on offer at Partisan Produce this festive season...

We’re based in the Chew Valley just 12 miles south of Bristol where we are surrounded by exceptional producers including New Manor Farm Shop for our butchers, Chew Valley Dairy for our milk and Greenacres Farm for our free-range eggs. Our goal is to deliver outstanding local produce while providing the closest to home and most sustainable shopping experience that we can. We work with smaller producers to create a better shopping experience where we know the provenance of each product, from our Fowey Cornish mussels to our organic Chew Valley lamb. By doing this we directly help to support local farmers, independent shops and businesses across the South West.

We’re really proud of all of our produce from our dayboat Cornish fish to our Somerset-reared meats and everything in between. We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for the great people that we get to work with. We have a couple of special hampers on our website celebrating all that makes us Partisan Produce and our regular customers have been loving them.

King Stone Dairy’s rollright –an organic vacherin style soft cheese from Gloucestershire. We think it’s extra special and are including it in a bunch of our Partisan Produce hampers this year.

We’re getting our turkey from Rectory Farm in Somerset. Olly, Ella and Edward are supplying us this year with wonderful freerange birds.

Aside from my love of sprouts and loathe of crossing them, I really

enjoy a good cheeseboard; there are countless incredible cheesemakers in the South West so it’s going to be a real toss up on the day as to what gets prime spot. A cave-aged Wookey Hole Cheddar truckle will be on there for sure.

I’m juggling cheffing while running a food business going into Christmas so currently next to none. However, running Partisan Produce is immensely satisfying and rewarding –I love being able to play a small part in the local food economy. Farm to plate, baby!

Currently, 15 December for turkeys and 18 December for everything else. We will be delivering local orders on Wednesday 21, Thursday and Friday 23 December. All of our produce including from our fishmonger is available for home delivery over these days.

Fishmonger at New Manor Farm Shop until 12pm.

Order collections and Fishmonger at New Manor Farm Shop until 12pm.

New Manor Farm Shop –pre-order collections until 12pm. n