Tiphaine For

Tiphaine For Christmas in Brittany, it has to be seafood. Eating seafood for Christmas might sound odd to most British people, but where I grew up, by the sea in south Brittany, it’s an established tradition. Every December, my first thought is about what will appear on Christmas Eve’s dinner table. I know for sure that we’ll start with (the most delicious) smoked salmon on toast that my grandfather catches earlier in the year in a nearby river, alongside freshly bought langoustines, prawns and oysters from the local market in Auray. More than just seafood, Christmas is also about the greatest conversations of all, listening to my grandfather's fishing stories as well as his rants about the prohibitive cost of seafood at the market (while hoping we’ll never have to buy it ourselves). With the talks over and the seafood eaten, we’re then ready to continue our family dinner already thinking of next year’s seafood feast.

Rachel After the abundance of fresh fruit and veg in summer and autumn, it can be easy to overlook the citrus fruit season, which starts to enjoy the limelight from now (no pun intended). Oranges, satsumas and mandarins are popping up in fruit bowls everywhere – and if you’re looking for a change from mulled wine, the Sidecar is an elegant citrusy cocktail that always brings France into our household at Christmas. Cointreau has found a permanent place in our drinks collection since my first visit to the distillery and world export hub outside Angers, where tours explain the history of the liqueur from 1849 and end with a tasting at the sleek circular bar. The unique distillation process using a mix of sweet and bitter peels gives Cointreau the edge over other orange liqueurs. The Sidecar’s own history is debated, but my favourite story involves an American captain who often travelled to a Parisian bar in the sidecar of his friend’s motorbike. Simply shake two parts Cointreau with two parts Cognac and one part lemon juice. To make it really Christmassy, I like to roll the rim of the glass in cinnamon sugar and drop in a star anise. You’ll be warm in no time…