Celebrity chef Richard Corrigan in Christmas hamper venture
Celebrity Chef Richard Corrigan of the Virginia Park Lodge is offering a unique gift to the person in charge of Christmas dinner arrangements this year.
'Christmas Dinner by Richard Corrigan delivered to your door' is a hamper for the holiday season showcasing the award-winning cooking with a selection of the finest festive goods.
The hamper feeds up to six people and comes in a beautiful wicker basket packed full of festive favourites. It features roast turkey Wellington, with sage and onion stuffing, red wine and thyme jus, a honey and English mustard glazed ham hock, and herb crusted smoked salmon.
The idea for this year’s hamper has been simmering for a while. London’s response to the pandemic means he has had a chance to spend some time in Virginia: “I came here over a month ago,” he said.
“We were doing take away menus that went down really well. We also supplied a food bank that fed 90 families in and around the Cavan area. We did a vegetable box operation around Cavan town, and two farmers markets in September. People loved it,” said Richard.
The venture sold 650 pots of jam from the estate’s fruit orchards. Food deliveries stemmed out of it. The next step is the hamper: “We have to find things to do with the food we grow and the brilliant team of chefs we have working here.”
The boozy Christmas pudding Is one of the centrepieces of the hamper. It is also available on its own: “Daphne Shackleton, a consultant on our estate, said to me last year ‘your Christmas pudding saved Christmas last year’. It’s a fantastic recipe that goes all the way back to the 16th century.
“We have just 100 Christmas hampers, when they are gone they are gone. It’s a pick up or delivery service. It works out about €40 a head so it’s good value,” he says in full sales mode.
The hamper venture is a response to the times we are living in: “The pandemic has been shocking and terrible for our business, for everyone’s business. We just need to pick ourselves up. This is something that is important to keep the whole team going. It won’t send us off to the Ritz in Monaco, but it just might help pay the electricity bill in The Park Lodge. It is great for the spirits. I think it’s something we will do every Christmas,” the celebrated chef concluded.
The hamper, priced at €275, is packed full of festive favourites prepared by Richard and Virginia Park Lodge’s Executive Chef, Eoin Corcoran, who has worked alongside Corrigan for over 20 years.
All the hard work has been done, leaving you with minimal work to do on the day.
Included in the Christmas Day hamper is: - Roast turkey Wellington, sage and onion stuffing, red wine and thyme jus; Honey and English mustard glazed ham hock; Herb crusted smoked salmon; Corleggy goat’s cheese, beetroot and clementine salad; Duck rillettes, Sheridan’s crackers and spiced plum chutney; Braised red cabbage and kale from Virginia Park Lodge’s Gooseberry Garden; Duck fat potatoes; Gooseberry Garden shoots, roots and leaves; Cranberry and horseradish relish; Corrigan’s Christmas pudding with brandy custard and golden mince pies.
There are step-by-step instructions and tips from Richard Corrigan included.
The hamper and pudding is now available to pre-order from the Virginia Park Lodge website - www.virginiaparklodge.com
Dietary requirements cannot be catered for, but there is a full list of allergens on the Virginia Park Lodge website.
There is a €10 delivery charge (orders need to be placed by 6pm on Thursday, December 17).
The Corrigan’s Christmas pudding is priced at €38 + DPD delivery (orders need to be placed by 6pm on Thursday, December 10).