The holiday countdown has begun! The season of giving … and eating … is upon us and with just 13 sleeps to go, homes around the world are being decorated, traditional recipes are being dusted off, flights are filling up, shopping lists are being frantically ticked off and festive plans are well underway.
What are some of the festive season family traditions that are passed down from generation to generation in your household? Do you decorate a tree and hang stockings by the chimney? Do you sing Christmas carols and don ridiculously oversized paper crowns and the ugliest Christmas sweaters you can find? Is your table setting small and intimate or overflowing and full of family drama? Or, do you simply jet off to celebrate the end of the year in a faraway place, free from all the stress, shopping and to-do’s?
No matter how, or where, you celebrate the holidays, and whether you slave away in the kitchen cooking a festive feast for 2 or 52, nothing brings people together like good food, fine wine and great company. The most memorable meals happen when you’re surrounded by your most favourite people.
So, as you gear up to eat, drink and be merry over the festive season, our #TuesdayTreat and Christmas gift to you is the gift of a family recipe, or three. Many an &Beyond guest will know that we love to share our #recipesof&Beyondand we have made it a tradition to share a collection of our secret recipes every December, from our festive kitchens to yours. Here are some of Karen Groenewald’s (Executive Chef at &Beyond Sossusvlei Desert Lodge in Namibia) favourite holiday treats. And in case you missed last year’s festive season snacks, here they are. May you bake them with love and may they be devoured with reckless, calories-don’t-count abandon.
Happy holidays from all of us at &Beyond. May your festive season be happy, healthy, safe and memorable, not to mention full of belly-aching laughter, an attitude of gratitude, and eat-til-you-can’t-eat-no-more irresistible food. We’ll leave you with one of our favourite toasts…