{"id":69329,"date":"2023-12-12T01:33:15","date_gmt":"2023-12-12T01:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/?p=69329"},"modified":"2023-12-12T01:33:15","modified_gmt":"2023-12-12T01:33:15","slug":"christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/","title":{"rendered":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend, and it’s not just the pigs who’ll be in blankets<\/h1>\n

In the bleak midwinter, whether it’s gathering around the fireplace or the TV, Christmas for most people is all about relaxing, getting cozy and avoiding the chilly weather outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

But rather than sheltering from the UK’s often wet and windy weather, a growing trend is seeing families cooking up and serving their roast dinners outside.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many homeowners were inspired to make the most of their gardens after being stuck at home during the pandemic, fitting patios with barbecues, pizza ovens and huge fire pits.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now, state of the art garden dining rooms are being shown off by their proud owners, who are preparing to bring out the blankets this festive season and host Christmas parties with a twist.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here, four al fresco diners put forward their case for the outdoor Christmas feast.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alpine fun in all weathers\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Clare Lamont, 50, struggles to tear her husband Alan, 52, away from their outdoor kitchen at the Essex home where they live with their daughters Amelie, 16, and Isla, 13.<\/p>\n

The couple, who own a forest products company, bought the five-bed house ten years ago and added the kitchen in 2021 at a cost of around \u00a330,000.<\/p>\n

‘Inspired by his business travels to Brazil, where outdoor cooking and entertaining are popular, Alan’s passionate about barbecuing, smoking meat and slow-cooking briskets,’ Clare explains.<\/p>\n

‘We had a tiny outdoor kitchen in our last house but wanted to create a proper entertaining space here. We use it in all weathers.’<\/p>\n

The French oak structure with cedar cladding houses a brick-built pizza oven, gas barbecue, a Kamado Joe charcoal barbecue, a sink, a granite-topped food prep area, and a high-tech lighting and sound system. There’s also a living area with squishy seating and a spectacular open fireplace.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Clare Lamont, 50, struggles to tear her husband Alan, 52, away from their outdoor kitchen at the Essex home<\/p>\n

‘We host an apres-ski-style party for friends during December as the whole area has the feel of an Alpine lodge, and for Christmas gatherings I dress the fireplace with a garland and lights,’ Clare adds.<\/p>\n

‘We’re an outdoorsy family \u2014 we love to ski and we’ve got horses and dogs \u2014 so entertaining outside is an extension of that.<\/p>\n

‘On Boxing Day, a gang of friends come over for mulled wine and bacon sandwiches made on the grill, before we all head off for a dog walk. We also had a lovely New Year’s Eve party out here last year.<\/p>\n

‘We do get the odd incredulous look from people when I announce we’re eating outdoors, but everyone always leaves having thoroughly enjoyed the experience.’<\/p>\n

Meals taste nicer outside\u00a0<\/h2>\n

Media lawyer Sara Vandore-Mackay and her husband Luke, a chef and entrepreneur, have been dining outdoors at Christmas for years. This one will be no different, with a festive feast served beneath fir trees bedecked with fairy lights at home in rural Devon.<\/p>\n

Far from a chilly festive meal being met with resistance from their son Murdo, ten, and daughters Sula, seven, and Skye, five, the children are as excited as they are.<\/p>\n

‘We’ve hosted Christmas outdoors for our families for the past 11 years, but this year it will just be the five of us,’ says Sara.<\/p>\n

She and Luke, both 46, moved from London to their six-bedroom Devon property in 2019, and also run their sizeable outdoor kitchen as a cookery school and feasting venue (highgrangedevon.com).<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Media lawyer Sara Vandore-Mackay and her husband Luke, a chef and entrepreneur, have been dining outdoors at Christmas for years<\/p>\n

‘Outside, the kids can run around and climb trees while we cook, meaning we’re actually all together, being sociable,’ says Sara.<\/p>\n

The kitchen contains an impressive list of equipment including a stainless steel Alfa pizza oven, seven Kamado Joe barbecues, a huge South African braai barbecue \u2014 which can accommodate six chickens at a time \u2014 a Vulcanus Grill fire pit for cooking over wood and sinks with hot and cold running water.<\/p>\n

An old oak tree was used to create a huge outdoor dining table that seats 25 people, with a tarpaulin ‘roof’ to protect it from the elements, and they hired The Outdoor Kitchen Collective to help design the set-up.<\/p>\n

Though it’s difficult to estimate the cost of their kitchen because Luke used his 20 years as a chef to call in a few favours, a similar kitchen would cost around \u00a320,000.<\/p>\n

He says: ‘Whether it’s Christmas dinner or fishfinger sandwiches, everything tastes better cooked and eaten al fresco.’<\/p>\n

\u00a345,000 and it’s fabulous!<\/h2>\n

Lorraine Stait, 56, and husband James, 53, an internet marketeer, have hosted family and friends in their \u00a345,000 outdoor kitchen at their five-bedroom home in East Horsley, Surrey \u2014 even when it’s snowing.<\/p>\n

‘We always use it for entertaining on New Year’s Eve and we’ll cook some of the Christmas dinner outdoors and sit under blankets and have mulled wine, hot chocolate and Champagne before going indoors to eat it,’ says Lorraine (left), who owns an online boutique lovefromlola.com and has three sons Oliver, 28, Edward, 27, Finlay, 16.<\/p>\n

‘It’s only the fact that there are 25 of us for Christmas lunch which means we’ll be forced indoors to eat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Lorraine Stait, 56, and husband James, 53, an internet marketeer, have hosted family and friends in their \u00a345,000 outdoor kitchen<\/p>\n

‘Having the outdoor kitchen is the best thing we’ve ever done. We’re regularly out there entertaining or enjoying it as a family in pouring rain, frost and snow. As long as everyone dresses appropriately, it’s a fabulous way to entertain.<\/p>\n

‘Our neighbour, a landscape gardener, designed our garden and put us in touch with a specialist designer who created our kitchen, so he’s fully supportive of all our gatherings and often a guest, too, as are many of our other neighbours. Nobody ever complains about the delicious cooking smells and the sound of people having fun.’<\/p>\n

Lorraine’s kitchen is cedar-clad and has a fridge, wine cooler, sink, built-in barbecue, drawers and storage as well as bar stools at the granite worktop. ‘The timber cladding gives it the feel of a ski chalet and beautiful lighting makes it so festive.<\/p>\n

‘During Covid, the kitchen was an absolute lifesaver and we threw ourselves into an outdoor lifestyle. It’s very therapeutic cooking and entertaining outside \u2014 even in the winter.’<\/p>\n

We’ll do spit roast turkey<\/h2>\n

Built in a minimalist Scandi style to reflect the interior of her five-bed Victorian home, Hannah Beaumont-Laurencia’s new outdoor kitchen will be an integral part of their festive entertaining this year.<\/p>\n

‘We’ll be spit-roasting our turkey on the grill, ensuring it has a lovely flavour while keeping the smell of the fat out of the house,’ says Hannah, 39, who lives in Didsbury, Manchester with her husband Nelson, 44.<\/p>\n

‘We love entertaining and, being Portuguese, Nelson is always outdoors cooking in summer.<\/p>\n

‘But there was a real disconnect \u2014 the boys would be out there enjoying a beer with him, while the girls would be with me indoors while I prepared salads. So I came up with the idea of an outdoor kitchen and dining area.’<\/p>\n

It features a sink, storage, a Whistler barbecue costing \u00a31,800, a \u00a3500 side burner and two hob rings. Next to it is a pretty dining area with a reclaimed wood dining table set beneath a pagoda entwined with wisteria.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Hannah Beaumont-Laurencia’s new outdoor kitchen will be an integral part of their festive entertaining this year<\/p>\n

The whole space cost \u00a320,000, around half of which went on the kitchen itself.<\/p>\n

‘We used micro cement for the worktops, which looks like polished concrete but is much easier to maintain, and it’s all clad in timber,’ Hannah (left) says.<\/p>\n

‘I’ll be making mulled wine on the hob when we have our Christmas party. I’ve decorated the whole area with fairy lights and beautiful foliage, with dried hydrangeas on the table.<\/p>\n

‘We’ve installed wall lights and floor lights so it’s very atmospheric. We have lots of friends locally who have outdoor kitchens, too, so there’s quite a social circle here that’s centred around cooking and eating outdoors.<\/p>\n

‘It will be very Christmassy doing our entertaining in our own garden at home.’<\/p>\n

Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend, and it’s not just the pigs who’ll be in blankets In the bleak midwinter, whether it’s gathering around the fireplace or the TV, Christmas for most people is all about relaxing, getting cozy and avoiding the chilly weather outside. But rather than sheltering from the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":69328,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nChristmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend, and it’s not just the pigs who’ll be in blankets In the bleak midwinter, whether it’s gathering around the fireplace or the TV, Christmas for most people is all about relaxing, getting cozy and avoiding the chilly weather outside. But rather than sheltering from the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"rapidcelnews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Christmas-al-fresco-An-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"mediabest\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/\",\"name\":\"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lifestyle\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/category\/lifestyle\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"rapidcelnews.com\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609\",\"name\":\"mediabest\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"mediabest\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com","og_description":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend, and it’s not just the pigs who’ll be in blankets In the bleak midwinter, whether it’s gathering around the fireplace or the TV, Christmas for most people is all about relaxing, getting cozy and avoiding the chilly weather outside. But rather than sheltering from the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/","og_site_name":"rapidcelnews.com","article_published_time":"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00","author":"mediabest","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_image":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/Christmas-al-fresco-An-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend.jpg","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"mediabest","Est. reading time":"7 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/","url":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/","name":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend - rapidcelnews.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00","dateModified":"2023-12-12T01:33:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/lifestyle\/christmas-al-fresco-an-outdoor-feast-is-the-new-trend\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lifestyle","item":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/category\/lifestyle\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Christmas al fresco! An outdoor feast is the new trend"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/","name":"rapidcelnews.com","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/74db1979fe71b5ea01513ec1ce5bc609","name":"mediabest","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/d7cef2e0d8d634cb49d54f7c48b549a1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"mediabest"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69329"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rapidcelnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}