On The Menu This Month: December

We’re nearly at the bottom of the ski slope for the Foundation Term. And as Leiths dusts off its snow boots and takes a break for the holidays, our Diploma students will no doubt be making a beeline for the gluhwein, a cosy blanket and probably some mashed potato and festive television.

The winter season at Leiths is a-hustling-and-a-bustling with mince pies to be made, pheasants to be plucked (this, I must stress, is optional) and a drinks party to celebrate all our students have achieved in the last three months. Think about it. Back in September, they spent a whole morning perfecting the French omelette. Now, they’re doing a buffet for twenty, practical exams and imbibing all the Leiths secrets to make Christmas dinner run smoothly.

If I’m being entirely honest with you, I remember my Christmas dinner advice really annoying my Mum. Her disgruntled murmurs were very much in the vein of ‘the way I’ve been doing it for thirty years works’. She’s not wrong. Who did I think I was clattering into the kitchen after three months at culinary school with dreams of brined turkey and a timeplan stolen wholesale from Leiths? Advice for any students in a similar position, I think a good tidings approach of ‘meet in the middle’ is best. Yes, make the swede and red cabbage ahead of time but with all due respect for the baby Jesus, on the 25th of December, consider giving your temperature probe the day off. There’ll be plenty of opportunities to use that in the Intermediate Term, trust me.