Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Close your eyes and think of Christmas dinner … and then open your eyes to something new at the Kempinski Grand & Ixir Hotel Bahrain City Centre.
Festive food really depends on your nationality; I should know being half Polish, for example, where the main family feast in this Eastern European country is celebrated on Christmas Eve … with a fish dish!
Now that is absolute sacrilege in my father-in-law’s mind, a true Yorkshire man who fills our plates in true British-style on Christmas Day with turkey and all the trimmings and enough Brussels sprouts to keep the wife away from cuddling you until New Year’s Eve.
Families, however, can embark on a remarkable culinary journey this holiday season with Kempinski’s Christmas Dinner in Saveur.
The team of chefs invite diners to indulge their senses with an exceptional gourmet three-course meal, prepared with the finest, freshest ingredients to create a festive menu of timeless classics.
But don’t expect any turkey.
The Christmas set menu includes a choice of starters such as scallops, a cannellini bean soup with braised Atlantic lobster, truffle oil and bacon bits, or goose liver pan-fried foie grass, gingerbread, spiced crimson pears and butter raisin reduction.
The good lady wife Kathryn, my teenage daughter Immy and I went for the same choice and the two copied my main course and dessert too.
Little Stan, who thinks his grand-dad is a culinary genius, went for a Margareta pizza and a pasta in white sauce from a different menu.
The posh nosh starters looked a picture on the plate. The smoked mini scallops were accompanied by pickled cucumber, mint and pea puree, a hazelnut crumble and a sliver of white chocolate I thought was a little slice of cheese. The girls proved me wrong when they called over the waiter to check. What is it with women and chocolate?
Our main course featured slow-cooked pheasant breast, a rich gamey bird I’m sure Prince William and his wife Catherine (morning sickness notwithstanding) will be tucking into at his dad’s palatial residence at Highgrove over the festive season.
There were also grilled homemade pheasant sausages which were the highlight of the meal, glazed baby carrots, two tiny portions of fondant potatoes, celeriac moose, caramelised dry fruits and one tiny spear of asparagus. Now I love asparagus but what good is one spear?
I’m not convinced a plate of good-looking nosh is enough to fill your belly and as soon as I’d finished I was enviously eying little Stan’s two slices of pizza he wanted to save for later.
Perhaps I should have gone for the alternative fish dish and let my inner-Pole come to the surface. Top cured and bottom seared Norwegian salmon may have done the trick. Every Scandinavian I know loves their grub, so I bet the helping was bigger.
I was definitely feeling like a fish out of water, out of my depth in a culinary haven of haute cuisine.
Fortunately the pudding was filling. The Christmas Dome chocolate dessert had a peanut and caramel heart with a crunchy base and worked wonders with lemongrass ice cream.
It was a pleasant, pheasant affair but I kept thinking of Blighty and grand-dad’s dining table in a couple of weeks’ time.
Acting Executive Chef Stefanos Melianos was having none of my nonsense though. He explained: “I chose a menu with multiple appetisers and main courses that reflects not only the Christmas holiday, but also the winter season, which is often overlooked.
“Pheasant, goose and venison are ingredients mostly served during winter in Europe. Imagine a roast goose in August … this just isn’t right.
“You can choose your own components and create a three-course menu, or even just enjoy one dish. As the guest, you have the choice.
“We also have to look after our corporate clients as well, who might be here just for one or two nights at a time for business purposes. To give them a small and sophisticated dose of the winter and festive season, I believe a fixed menu is most appropriate.
“For the local and leisure families, we have other activities within the hotel, such as our Santa’s Culinary Wonderland and Friday Festive Brunch, both of which are buffet-style and also include the traditional elements of Christmas.”
But why did he go along with the fine dining line rather than a plate of traditional turkey?
Chef Stefanos stuck to his guns. “Traditional turkey? Honestly speaking … traditional for whom? Christmas is not only about turkey. There are many countries with a completely different tradition for Christmas and this holiday season; for example, in Sweden, they celebrate Christmas with ‘Smalahove’, which is a braised goat. In Greece, Christmas is celebrated with lamb, and in Germany, with goose and salmon.
“Until the late 1600s, we did not even have turkey in Europe. The middle class ate goose, while the rich upper class ate swan.
“Nevertheless, turkey is still tasty and a great meal to celebrate this season with friends. That is why we offer our Kempinski Christmas Turkey Boxes for pick-up on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day! The order even includes all the traditional trimmings, specifically vegetables, gravy, roast potatoes and cranberry sauce!”
So, there you have it. The choice is yours.
Kempinski’s Christmas Dinner costs BD22++ for the three-course set menu.
